Learn how to ask and answer the question "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
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| Eric: Top 25 Chinese Questions You Need to Know - Lesson 13: Do you have any brothers or sisters? in Chinese. In each lesson of this 25 part series, you'll master a common question for Chinese learners, and then learn how to answer it like a native. You'll learn how these key phrases work by breaking them down into each component. Then through repetition and new vocabulary, you'll expand your understanding of the question, its answers, and any variations. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn how to respond to the common question, “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” In Chinese this is |
| Cho: 你有兄弟姐妹吗? |
| The first word in the question is |
| Cho: 你 |
| Eric: meaning “you” in English. |
| Cho: (Slow, by syllable) 你 |
| Eric: Listen again and repeat. |
| Cho: 你 |
| {Pause} |
| Eric: This pattern of first introducing a word at natural speed, providing the translation, breaking it down, and then giving it again at natural speed will be repeated throughout the series. Try to speak aloud as often as possible. The next word in the question is |
| Cho: 有 |
| Eric: meaning “to have” |
| Cho: (Slow, by syllable) 有 |
| Eric: Now repeat. |
| Cho: 有 |
| {Pause} |
| Listen to the the first 2 words of the question and repeat. |
| Cho: 你有 |
| {pause} |
| And next |
| Cho: 兄弟姐妹 |
| Eric: meaning “brothers or sisters” or “siblings.” |
| Cho: (Slow, by syllable) 兄弟姐妹 |
| Eric: Now repeat. |
| Cho: 兄弟姐妹 |
| {Pause} |
| Listen to the the first 3 words of the question and repeat. |
| Cho: 你有兄弟姐妹 |
| {pause} |
| And next |
| Cho: 吗 |
| Eric: a particle indicating a yes-or-no question |
| Cho: (Slow, by syllable) 吗 |
| Eric: Now repeat. |
| Cho: 吗 |
| Listen to the entire question and repeat. |
| Cho: 你有兄弟姐妹吗? |
| {pause} |
| Eric:You will hear this common question again and again throughout your studies. Master the following pattern and responses to the question “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” |
| Cho: 我有一个妹妹。 |
| Eric: "I have a younger sister.” Again, slowly. Repeat the phrase. |
| Cho: (Slow) 我有一个妹妹。 |
| {pause} |
| Eric: Let's break it down from the beginning. The first word: |
| Cho: 我 |
| Eric: means “I.” |
| Cho: (Slow, by syllable) 我 |
| Eric: Now repeat |
| Cho: 我 |
| {Pause} |
| Eric: Next is |
| Cho: 有 |
| meaning “to have.” |
| Cho: (Slow, by syllable) 有 |
| Eric:Now repeat. |
| Cho: 有 |
| {Pause} |
| Eric: Next is |
| Cho: 一个 |
| Eric: meaning “one” or “one thing” |
| Cho: (Slow, by syllable) 一个 |
| Eric:Now repeat. |
| Cho: 一个 |
| {Pause} |
| Eric: And next |
| Cho: 妹妹 |
| Eric: meaning “younger sister.” |
| Cho: (Slow, by syllable) 妹妹 |
| Eric:Now repeat. |
| Cho: 妹妹 |
| {Pause} |
| Eric: Listen to the speaker say, “I have a younger sister” and then repeat. |
| Cho: 我有一个妹妹。 |
| {pause} |
| Eric: To use a different phrase, replace “a younger sister” with “an elder brother.” |
| Cho: 哥哥 |
| Eric: an elder brother |
| Cho: (slow) 哥哥 (regular) 哥哥 |
| Eric: Listen to the phrase again, this time with an elder brother |
| Cho: 我有一个哥哥。 |
| Eric: It mostly stays the same. Simply replace “a younger sister” with “an elder brother.” Say “I have a elder brother.” |
| {pause} |
| Cho: 我有一个哥哥。 |
| Eric: To expand on the pattern, replace “an elder brother” with “an elder sister.” |
| Cho: 姐姐 |
| Eric: an elder sister |
| Cho: (slow) 姐姐 (regular) 姐姐 |
| Eric: Listen to the phrase again, this time with an elder sister |
| Cho: 我有一个姐姐。 |
| Eric: It mostly stays the same. Simply replace “an elder brother” with “an elder sister.” Say “I have an elder sister.” |
| {pause} |
| Cho: 我有一个姐姐。 |
| Eric: To make another phrase, replace “an elder sister” with “a younger brother.” |
| Cho: 弟弟 |
| Eric: a younger brother |
| Cho: (slow) 弟弟 (regular) 弟弟 |
| Eric: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “a younger brother” |
| Cho: 我有一个弟弟。 |
| Eric: It mostly stays the same. Simply replace “an elder sister” with “a younger brother.” Say “I have a younger brother.” |
| {pause} |
| Cho: 我有一个弟弟。 |
| Eric: To say "no" in a simple way, you can say |
| Cho: 我没有. |
| Eric: This is like saying “No, I don't. ” in English. Let's hear it slowly. |
| Cho: (Slowly) 我没有. |
| Eric: And one more time at normal speed. |
| Cho: 我没有. |
| Now it's time for a quiz. Imagine you’re visiting China and someone asks you if you have any brothers or sisters. You want to say you have a younger sister. Respond to the question. |
| Cho: 你有兄弟姐妹吗? (five seconds) 我有一个妹妹。 |
| Eric: Now imagine you have an elder brother. Respond to the question. |
| Cho: 你有兄弟姐妹吗? (five seconds) 我有一个哥哥。 |
| Eric: Imagine you have an elder sister. Answer the speaker's question. |
| Cho: 你有兄弟姐妹吗? (five seconds) 我有一个姐姐。 |
| Eric: Imagine you have a younger brother. Respond to the question. |
| Cho: 你有兄弟姐妹吗? (five seconds) 我有一个弟弟。 |
| Eric: You want to ask someone if they have any brothers or sisters. Ask the question. |
| (5 seconds) |
| Cho: 你有兄弟姐妹吗? |
| {pause} |
| Eric: Now it's time to answer the question with actual information about yourself. |
| Cho: 你有兄弟姐妹吗? |
| {pause} |
| Eric: This is the end of Lesson 13 |
Comments
HideDo you have any brohers or sisters? Try to answer in Chinese!
你好 robert groulx！
谢谢 for commenting. We are very happy to have you here. Let us know if you have any questions.
Kind regards,
雷文特 (Levente)
Team ChineseClass101.com
thank you for the lesson transcript
favorite phrase is 你有兄弟姐妹吗?
i have 2 brothers and one sister
robert
Hello Samantha,
Thank you for your comment. 很好！
继续加油！😄
Ngai Lam
Team ChineseClass101.com
Hello Jia,
Thank you for your comment. No, we can only say 没有 (méiyǒu), which is the negative of 有 (yǒu).
As always, let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai Lam
Team ChineseClass101.com
我有四个姐姐和一个弟弟。😉
Hi, i have a doubt.
instead of mei2you3 can we also say bu2you3?
Hello Abriana Shepard,
Thank you for your comment. Yes, you can put them together to form one sentence, using the connecting word 和 (and). The sentence becomes:
我有一个哥哥，一个妹妹和一个弟弟。
Keep it up and let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai Lam
Team ChineseClass101.com
我有一个哥哥。
我有一个妹妹。
我有一个弟弟。
Is there way I can say all of this together without breaking it up into multiple sentences.
Hello Hebbe,
Good job! You can make the sentence shorter and it becomes Wǒ yǒu yī ge mèimei hé yī ge dìdi.
Keep it up and let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai Lam
Team ChineseClass101.com
Wǒ yǒu yī ge mèimei Hé Wǒ yǒu yī ge dìdi . 😄😄
Hello Julia (Jules) Whalen,
Thank you for your comment. Did you mean the tone of 个? It has the neutral tone here.
In this sentence '我们家只有我一个孩子。', 我们家 means 'my family', 只 means 'only', so 只有 means 'only has'.
Thank you for learning with us, let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai Lam
Team ChineseClass101.com
I also saw the comments below, wouldn't it be 家人 for family instead of 家只？
我很感谢
我有一个弟弟和一个哥哥。
他们是孩子。
What is the accent on 个 please?
Hello Derrick,
Thank you for your comment.
Keep going and let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai Lam
Team ChineseClass101.com
Wo you yī ge mèimei.
Hello Nipon,
Thank you for your comment, very good! 😄
Enjoy learning Chinese, and let us know if you have any questions.
Ngai Lam
Team ChineseClass101.com
Wǒ yǒu yī ge mèimei .
Hello Alain
A typical native way is '我们家只有我一个孩子。'（my family has only one kid.), instead of '我是我们家唯一的孩子。’（I'm the only kid of my family.).
Wǒmen jiā zhíyóu wǒ yígè háizi ( this line has 3 tone variations.)
'我们家只有我一个孩子。' is a normal way to tell the family detail.
Wǒ shì wǒmen jiā wéiyī de háizi
'我是我们家唯一的孩子。’ is emphatic way about the fact, and generally used when this fact makes some difference around the topic.
Thanks for learning with us. If you have any questions, just let us know.
Amy
Team ChineseClass101.com
我没兄弟姐妹。I was wondering: how do you say: "I am an only child"? Thank you!
I have a little brother named Aaron cung 我有一個小弟弟叫 Aaron