How to Talk About Your Spouse and Children

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your spouse and children in Chinese.

For example, "This is my husband, son, two daughters, and me." is

这是我的先生、儿子、两个女儿和我。 (Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, liǎng gè nǚér hé wǒ.)

Anna Xu is studying with her Chinese teacher, Lin Li .

The teacher notices a picture on Anna’s computer and asks about the people visible in the picture.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

先生 (xiānsheng)

"husband"

先生

儿子 (érzi)

"son"

儿子

女儿 (nǚér)

"daughter"

女儿

Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response.

Ready?

这是你的家人吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?)

是的。这是我的先生、儿子、两个女儿和我。(Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, liǎng gè nǚér hé wǒ.)

Once more with the English translation.

这是你的家人吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?)

"Is this your family?"

是的。这是我的先生、儿子、两个女儿和我。

"Yes it is. This is my husband, son, two daughters, and me."

Let’s break down the conversation.

Do you remember how the teacher asks,

"Is this your family?"

这是你的家人吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?)

First is 这 (zhè), "this." 这 . 这。

Next is 是 (shì), in this case, it’s like the "is," in "This is…." 是 . 是。

After this is 你的 (nǐ de), meaning, "your." 你的。

There are two parts:

First is 你 (nǐ), "you." 你 . 你。

Second is 的 (de),a possessive marking particle. 的 . 的。

Think of 的 (de) as a way to indicate possession. The word it follows possesses the thing that comes after it. In this sentence, it marks 你 (nǐ), "you," as the possessor.

Together, 你的 (nǐ de), "your." 你的。

Next is 家人 (jiārén), "family." 家人。

This has two parts:

First is 家 (jiā), "home" or "family." 家家.

Next is 人 (rén), "person" or "people." 人 . 人.

Together, it's 家人 (jiārén), literally "home people," but translates as "family." 家人.

Last is 吗 (ma). This is a question marking particle. It turns a sentence into a question. 吗. 吗.

All together, it's 这是你的家人吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?) "This is your family?" but it translates as "Is this your family?"

这是你的家人吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?)

Remember this question. You'll hear it again later.

Let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Anna says,

"Yes, it is. This is my husband, son, two daughters and me."

是的。这是我的先生、儿子、两个女儿和我。 (Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, liǎng gè nǚér hé wǒ.)

There are two parts to the response:

First is 是的 (shì de), which translates as "Yes, [it is]," in this context. 是的.

This starts with 是 (shì), meaning "yes," when responding to a yes-no question. 是 . 是.

Note: 是 (shì) is used to affirmatively answer questions that contain 是, like

这是你的家人吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?) "Is this your family?"

By replying 是 (shì), you are affirming the information in the question.

It's followed by 的 (de), which, in this case, is a sentence-final particle that indicates the speaker is certain about what he or she is saying. 的 (de).

Together, 是的 (shì de) is a set phrase meaning "Yes, it is." 是的。

Note: "it is," is understood from context, as this is a response to the question.

After this, Anna points to the picture, and says,

这是我的先生、儿子、两个女儿和我。(Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, liǎng gè nǚér hé wǒ.)

"This is my husband, son, two daughters and me."

First is 这 (zhè), "this" 这。

Next is 是 (shì), in this case, it’s like the "is," in "This is…." 是.

Together, 这是 (zhè shì), "this is." 这是。

After this, 我的 (wǒ de), meaning "my." 我的。

There are two parts:

First is 我 (Wǒ), "I." 我 . 我。

Next is 的 (de), the possessive-marking particle. 的。

Together, 我的 (wǒ de), "my." 我的。

Next is 先生 (xiānsheng). A formal way to say "husband." 先生 . 先生.

Together, 我的先生 (wǒ de xiānsheng), "my husband." 我的先生。

Next is 儿子 (érzi), "son." 儿子 . 儿子。

After this is 两个女儿 (liǎng gè nǚér), ”two daughters”. 两个女儿。

This starts with 两个 (liǎng gè), meaning “two”. 两个。

There are two parts:

First is 两 (liǎng), “two”. It is used to refer to the quantity of something.两 . 两。

Next is 个 (gè), a general measure word. 个.个.

In Chinese, think of a measure word as a counting word, which is used with a numeral to indicate the number of a noun.

After this is 女儿 (nǚér), "daughter." 女儿 . 女儿。

Together, 两个女儿 (liǎng gè nǚér), ”two daughters”. 两个女儿。

Next is 和 (hé), "and" 和 . 和。

Finally, she points at herself in the picture and says 我, meaning "me" in this context. 我。

All together, it's 是的。这是我的先生、儿子、两个女儿和我。(Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, liǎng gè nǚér hé wǒ.)

"This is my husband, son, two daughters, and me."

是的。这是我的先生、儿子、两个女儿和我。(Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, liǎng gè nǚér hé wǒ.)

The pattern is:

这是我的 FAMILY MEMBER 、FAMILY MEMBER和我。

"This is my FAMILY MEMBER ，FAMILY MEMBER and me."

To use this pattern, simply replace the FAMILY MEMBER placeholders with your family members.

Imagine your family members are your wife, son, daughter, and you.

Wife is 太太 (tàitai). 太太 . 太太.

Say

"This is my wife, son, two daughters, and me."

Ready?

这是我的太太、儿子、两个女儿和我。 (Zhè shì wǒ de tàitai, érzi, liǎng gè nǚ'ér hé wǒ.)

"This is my wife, son, two daughters, and me."

这是我的太太、儿子、两个女儿和我。

In this lesson, you learned two relatively formal words for husband and wife.

先生 (xiānsheng), "husband," and 太太 (tàitai), "wife."

In less formal situations, the following words are commonly used:

老公 (lǎogōng), “husband.” 老公 . 老公.

老婆 (lǎopo), “wife.” 老婆 . 老婆.

Again, the key pattern is:

这是我的 FAMILY MEMBER 、FAMILY MEMBER和我。

"This is my FAMILY MEMBER ，FAMILY MEMBER and me."

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

这是我的先生、儿子、两个女儿和我。 (Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, liǎng gè nǚér hé wǒ.)

“This is my husband, son, two daughters, and me.”

这是我的先生、儿子、两个女儿和我。

这是我的太太、儿子、两个女儿和我。 (Zhè shì wǒ de tàitai, érzi, liǎng gè nǚ'ér hé wǒ.)

“This is my wife, son, two daughters, and me.”

这是我的太太、儿子、两个女儿和我。

这是我的太太、女儿和我。 (Zhè shì wǒ de tàitai, nǚér hé wǒ.)

“This is my wife, daughter, and me.”

这是我的太太、女儿和我。

这是我的先生、儿子和我。(Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi hé wǒ.)

“This is my husband, son, and me.”

这是我的先生、儿子和我。

这是我的先生、我的两个儿子和我。 (Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, wǒ de liǎng ge érzi hé wǒ.)

“This is my husband, my two sons, and me.”

这是我的先生、我的两个儿子和我。

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how Anna says

"Yes, it is."

是的 (shì de)

And how to say "me?"

我 (wǒ)

Do you remember how to say "and?"

和 (hé)

And how to say "daughter?"

女儿 (nǚér)

And do you remember how to say "two daughters?"

两个女儿 (liǎng gè nǚér)

Do you remember how to say "son?"

儿子 (érzi)

And how to say "husband?"

先生 (xiānsheng)

Do you remember how to say "my husband?"

我的先生 (wǒ de xiānsheng)

Do you remember how to say "this?"

这 (zhè)

这 zhè)

Do you remember how Anna says,

"Yes, it is. This is my husband, son, two daughters, and me."

是的。这是我的先生、儿子、两个女儿和我。(Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi, liǎng gè nǚér hé wǒ.)

Do you remember how to say "family?"

家人 (jiārén)

And how to say “your family?”

你的家人 (nǐ de jiārén)

Do you remember how to say the question-marking particle?

吗 (ma)

And do you remember how the teacher asks,

"Is this your family?"

这是你的家人吗？ (Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?)

Do you remember the formal word for "wife?"

太太 (tàitai)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Xianwen’s colleague, Wei Wang .

You have a wife, 太太 (tàitai), and a daughter, 女儿 (nǚér).

Respond to Xianwen’s question referring to the photo.

Don’t forget to include "Yes, it is," at the beginning of your response.

Ready?

这是你的家人吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?)

是的。这是我的太太、女儿和我。 (Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de tàitai, nǚér hé wǒ.)

Listen again and repeat.

是的。这是我的太太、女儿和我。 (Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de tàitai, nǚér hé wǒ.)

Let’s try another.

Imagine you’re Xianwen’s boss, Yi Yang .

You have a husband, 先生 (xiānsheng), daughter, 女儿 (nǚér) and a son, 儿子 (érzi) .

Ready?

这是你的家人吗？

是的。这是我的先生、女儿、儿子和我。 (Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, nǚér, érzi hé wǒ.)

Listen again and repeat.

是的。这是我的先生、女儿、儿子和我。 (Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, nǚér, érzi hé wǒ.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Xianwen’s friend, Meilan Ma .

You have a husband, 先生 (xiānsheng), and a son, 儿子 (érzi).

Ready?

这是你的家人吗？

是的。这是我的先生、儿子和我。 (Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi hé wǒ.)

Listen again and repeat.

是的。这是我的先生、儿子和我。 (Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi hé wǒ.)

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your spouse and children in Chinese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of talking about family. Let’s review the family members.

Do you remember the word for "younger sister"?

妹妹 (mèimei)

And the word for "younger brother"?

弟弟 (dìdì)

Do you remember the word for "mother"?

妈妈 (māma)

And the word for "father"?

爸爸 (bàba)

Imagine you're Ben Lee , and you have a father, 爸爸 (bàba), mother, 妈妈 (māma), and a sister, 妹妹 (mèimei).

Respond to your classmate Zhenxuan Zhang , who sees a picture in your wallet, and asks for the people in it.

Ready?

这是你的家人吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?)

是的。这是我的爸爸、妈妈、妹妹和我。(Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de bàba, māma, mèimei hé wǒ.)

Listen again, and repeat.

是的。这是我的爸爸、妈妈、妹妹和我。(Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de bàba, māma, mèimei hé wǒ.)

Now imagine that you're Ben's mother, Karen Lee , and you have a husband, 先生 (xiānsheng), son, 儿子 (érzi), and a daughter, 女儿 (nǚér). Your friend asks about the people in the picture on your phone.

这是你的家人吗？(Zhè shì nǐ de jiārén ma?)

是的。这是我的先生、儿子、女儿和我。(Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi , nǚér hé wǒ.)

Listen again, and repeat.

是的。这是我的先生、儿子、女儿和我。(Shì de. Zhè shì wǒ de xiānsheng, érzi , nǚér hé wǒ.)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Talk About Family unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

What's next?

Show us what you can do.

When you're ready, take your assessment.

You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results.

Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

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