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Study in the app →Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 1 · Chapter 6
我家有四口人 My family has four people
The 有 sentence, numbers 1-5, the measure words 个 (general) and 口 (for family members), the question word 几. Family vocabulary begins.
Dialogue
我家有四口人 — My family has four people
- 大山 马小明, 你家有几口人? Ma Xiaoming, how many people in your family?
- 马小明 我家有四口人. My family has four people.
- 大山 哪四口人? Which four?
- 马小明 爸爸、妈妈, 我, 跟我的同学. Dad, mom, me, and my classmate.
- 大山 同学是家人吗? Is a classmate family?
- 马小明 我的同学也是我家人! 我们都是好朋友. My classmate is family too! We're all good friends.
Dialogue
你有几个朋友 — How many friends do you have?
- 谢小文 大山, 你有几个朋友? Dashan, how many friends do you have?
- 大山 我有三个朋友. I have three friends.
- 谢小文 谁? Who?
- 大山 马小明, 你, 高老师. Ma Xiaoming, you, Teacher Gao.
- 谢小文 高老师是你朋友吗? Is Teacher Gao your friend?
- 大山 是的! 高老师也是我朋友! Yes! Teacher Gao is my friend too!
Dialogue
一二三四五 — One Two Three Four Five
- 高老师 同学们, 我们一起说: 一、二、三、四、五. Class, let's say together: 1 2 3 4 5.
- 大山 一、二、三、四、五. 1 2 3 4 5.
- 高老师 大山, 你家有几口人? Dashan, how many in your family?
- 大山 我家有五口人. Five.
- 高老师 谢小文呢? And Xie Xiaowen?
- 谢小文 我家有三口人. 爸爸、妈妈, 跟我. Three: dad, mom, and me.
Vocabulary
- 家
-
noun home; family
- 有
-
verb to have; there is
- 几
-
pronoun how many (small)
- 个
-
measure word (general measure word)
- 口
-
measure word (measure for family members)
- 一
-
numeral one
- 二
-
numeral two
- 三
-
numeral three
- 四
-
numeral four
- 五
-
numeral five
- 爸爸
-
noun dad
- 妈妈
-
noun mom
- 都
-
adverb all; both
New characters
- 有
-
have
没有 méiyǒu — not have还有 hái yǒu — also; additionally有意思 yǒu yìsi — interesting - 四
-
four
- 口
-
mouth
路口 lùkǒu — intersection - 几
-
how many
- 爸
-
(in 爸爸 = dad)
爸爸 bàba — dad - 妈
-
(in 妈妈 = mom)
妈妈 māma — mom - 都
-
all
- 个
-
general measure word
这个 zhè ge — this one那个 nà ge — that one哪个 nǎge — which one - 三
-
three
三百 sān bǎi — three hundred - 一
-
one
一点儿 yìdiǎnr — a little bit一些 yìxiē — some; a few一起 yīqǐ — together - 二
-
two
二百 èr bǎi — two hundred - 五
-
five
五百 wǔ bǎi — five hundred - 说
-
say; speak
听说 tīngshuō — have heard that传说 chuánshuō — legend; folktale说话 shuōhuà — speak; talk (recall Bk1) - 呢
-
(particle: what about?)
- 妹
-
(in 妹妹 = younger sister)
妹妹 mèimei — younger sister
Hanzi — writing & recognition
yǒu have Writing
Pictograph: a hand holding meat / moon — extended to "have / possess." Anchors the 有 sentence.
jǐ how many Writing
Pictograph: a small table. Modern: "how many?" — for small numbers (typically <10). Anchors the 几口人? question.
gè general measure word Writing
The most common Chinese measure word. Almost any noun can take 个 as its counter (一个朋友, 三个学生).
jiā home; family Writing
Compound: 宀 (roof) over 豕 (pig). Original sense: "a house with a pig in it = home" (livestock = settled household). Modern: home / family.
yī one Recognition
èr two Recognition
sān three Recognition
sì four Recognition
wǔ five Recognition
dōu all Recognition
Grammar
The 有 Sentence
Explanation
有 expresses possession / existence. Pattern: A 有 B = "A has B." Negation: 没有 (NOT *不有). 我有朋友 (I have a friend); 我家有四口人 (my family has 4 people). 几 asks small numbers (typically < 10) — 几口人? = "how many people?"
Examples
- 我家有四口人. My family has four people.
- 你有几个朋友? How many friends do you have?
- 我有三个朋友. I have three friends.
- 我没有妹妹. I don't have a younger sister.
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