Lesson 2: Family Members and Personal Descriptions

Lesson 2: Family Members and Personal Descriptions

Bring a real or imagined family photo to this lesson. Your task is to introduce the people, say how many there are and give a short description of each. You can use fictional people if you prefer to keep family details private.

You already know 我 — wǒ (I), 是 — shì (be), 很 — hěn, and yes/no questions with 吗 — ma. This lesson adds 有 — yǒu (have), counting patterns and more precise family vocabulary.

1. Name the relationship

The second syllables of bàba, māma, gēge, dìdi, jiějie and mèimei are neutral in the pronunciation shown here. Do not give both syllables the first syllable's tone. 女儿 — nǚ'ér is different: both syllables have tone marks, and the apostrophe separates the syllables before ér. The vowel ü is not u: keep the tongue forward as for “ee” while rounding the lips, then compare with a recording.

These familiar family words are used by adults as well as children. They are not a rule telling you to duplicate any relative's name yourself.

Mandarin distinguishes older from younger siblings. Calling someone 姐姐 instead of 妹妹 changes the relationship, even though both translate as “sister” in less specific English.

These are useful common terms; families and regions also use alternatives. 外 — wài, literally “outside,” helps you distinguish the two maternal terms in this table. It does not mean that every maternal relative must have 外 in their name or that a particular family considers someone an outsider.

Say “my” without adding an English possessive ending

我爸爸 — wǒ bàba and 我的爸爸 — wǒ de bàba both mean my dad. 的 — de marks a possessive relationship, but it can be omitted in this close-family construction.

这是我妈妈。— Zhè shì wǒ māma. — This is my mother.

这 — zhè means this. With 是, it lets you introduce someone in a photo. 这是我的妈妈 is also valid; do not mark it wrong merely because it includes 的.

2. Have, not have, and also have

我有一个姐姐。— Wǒ yǒu yī ge jiějie. — I have one older sister.

The pattern is person + 有 + person/thing possessed. Mandarin does not change 有 to match English “have” versus “has.”

他有女儿。— Tā yǒu nǚ'ér. — He has a daughter/daughters.
她有妹妹。— Tā yǒu mèimei. — She has a younger sister/younger sisters.

Without a number, these sentences establish the relationship, but do not specify exactly how many. 他 — tā means he, and 她 — tā means she; the pronunciation is the same, while the written characters differ.

For ordinary “do not have,” use 没有 — méiyǒu:

我没有弟弟。— Wǒ méiyǒu dìdi. — I don't have a younger brother.

Do not use 不有 for this meaning. A short 我没有 can answer “I don't have one” when the thing is already clear.

也 — yě means also/too and comes before the predicate in the patterns here:

我也有一个女儿。— Wǒ yě yǒu yī ge nǚ'ér. — I also have one daughter.
我没有哥哥，也没有弟弟。— Wǒ méiyǒu gēge, yě méiyǒu dìdi. — I have neither an older nor a younger brother.

The second sentence says nothing about sisters. Likewise, 我没有姐姐，也没有妹妹 says the speaker has no sisters; it does not establish whether they have brothers.

3. Count people with a classifier

Learn the numbers needed in this lesson:

For ordinary counting of people, use number + classifier + noun:

三个人 — sān ge rén — three people

个 — gè is a common general classifier. It is often pronounced lightly as ge in these phrases. It works for the people we count here and many other nouns; it is not a universal substitute for every classifier. For example, a book normally uses 本 — běn: 一本书 — yī běn shū, one book. Some nouns already act as units: 三天 — sān tiān, three days, needs no extra 个.

Use 两 — liǎng for two before 个 in this counting pattern:

两个哥哥 — liǎng ge gēge — two older brothers
两个妹妹 — liǎng ge mèimei — two younger sisters

Use 二 when counting the sequence 一、二、三 and in numbers such as 二十 — èrshí, twenty. The choice is between 二 and 两, not between 一 and 两: 一 means one. For this beginner pattern, learn 两个人; do not extend “always 两 before every unit” to every numerical expression.

A note on 一 in speech

We write its base tone yī in ordinary examples. It changes in connected speech: 一个 is commonly yí ge, while 一本书 is yì běn shū. These are sound changes of 一, not different quantities. In a counting sequence, 一 remains yī. The character does not change.

Ask about family size

你家有几个人？— Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ ge rén? — How many people are in your family?

我家有五个人。— Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ ge rén. — There are five people in my family.

几 — jǐ often asks for a relatively small number; it is not restricted to answers below ten. 多少 — duōshao can also ask “how many,” including small quantities. 口 — kǒu is another classifier used for family members: 我家有五口人 is also natural. When a fixed exercise requests 个, use that particular pattern.

To ask about siblings rather than everyone in the family:

你有几个兄弟姐妹？— Nǐ yǒu jǐ ge xiōngdì jiěmèi?

Do not add 吗 to this ordinary information question. 几 already asks for the missing number.

4. Describe a person

A useful plain affirmative pattern is subject + 很 + adjective:

我爸爸很高。— Wǒ bàba hěn gāo. — My father is tall.
她很忙。— Tā hěn máng. — She is busy.

很 is a degree adverb, not a linking verb meaning “is.” It can mean “very,” especially when emphasized. In an ordinary unstressed description it often adds little emphasis, so translating every 很 as a strong “very” can overstate the meaning.

Do not turn this helpful pattern into “every adjective must have 很.” Compare:

你哥哥高吗？— Nǐ gēge gāo ma? — Is your older brother tall?
他不高。— Tā bù gāo. — He isn't tall.

The question and the negative are complete without 很. A bare adjective can also work in a contrast or a context that supplies the comparison. Learn 他很高 as a useful neutral affirmative, rather than labeling all other constructions wrong. Other degree words are possible too, such as 非常 — fēicháng, very/extremely.

Add “also” in the right place

我妈妈也很漂亮。— Wǒ māma yě hěn piàoliang. — My mother is also beautiful.

Here 也 comes before 很: subject + 也 + 很 + adjective. Do not say 很也漂亮. But the words 也 and 很 do not have to appear together in every sentence: 我也有妹妹 uses 也 before 有.

Try it: Make “my younger sister is tall” into “my younger sister is also tall.”

Answer: 我妹妹也很高。— Wǒ mèimei yě hěn gāo.

5. Give an age

Use person + number + 岁 — suì:

他七岁。— Tā qī suì. — He is seven years old.
我儿子十岁。— Wǒ érzi shí suì. — My son is ten years old.
我二十岁。— Wǒ èrshí suì. — I am twenty years old.

There is no extra 个 before 岁 and no need for 是 or 很 in this basic age statement. 他七岁了 is another natural sentence; final 了 can present the age as the current situation or a change. You do not need that particle in the simple pattern practiced here.

我妹妹很小 can describe a sister as little/young, depending on context. If you need an exact age, give the number of years rather than expecting 小 to tell the listener a number.

6. Check a family description against its details

我家有六个人：爷爷、奶奶、爸爸、妈妈、妹妹和我。
Wǒ jiā yǒu liù ge rén: yéye, nǎinai, bàba, māma, mèimei hé wǒ.
There are six people in my family: Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, my younger sister and me.

我没有哥哥，也没有弟弟。我妹妹五岁。她很小。
Wǒ méiyǒu gēge, yě méiyǒu dìdi. Wǒ mèimei wǔ suì. Tā hěn xiǎo.
I have no older or younger brothers. My younger sister is five. She is little.

我爸爸很高。我妈妈也很高。爷爷和奶奶都很好。
Wǒ bàba hěn gāo. Wǒ māma yě hěn gāo. Yéye hé nǎinai dōu hěn hǎo.
My dad is tall. My mom is also tall. Grandpa and Grandma are both well.

和 — hé connects the listed people: 爸爸和妈妈, Dad and Mom. In this lesson use it to connect noun phrases; do not treat it as an automatic replacement for English “and” between complete sentences. 都 — dōu means all/both in 爷爷和奶奶都很好.

Count the list: two grandparents + two parents + one sister + the speaker = six. The speaker's “my family” refers to the group they have chosen to describe; it need not mean everyone who lives at one address or every relative they have.

Your turn

1. Introduce a mother using 这是 and a possessive.
2. Say you have one younger sister and one older brother.
3. Say you have no younger brother.
4. Describe someone as also busy.
5. State that a son is ten years old.
6. List a fictional family and check that the number matches the people you name.

Possible answers: 1. 这是我妈妈。; 2. 我有一个妹妹和一个哥哥。; 3. 我没有弟弟。; 4. 他也很忙。 or 她也很忙。; 5. 我儿子十岁。

For the last task, check both the total and the relationships: 姐姐 and 妹妹 are not interchangeable. Next, you will describe when these people get up, work, study and return home.