Level 1 · Beginner
Having things with 有
Subj. + 有 + Obj.
有 (yǒu) means "to have": 我有两个姐姐 "I have two older sisters". It's also how Chinese says "there is/are" — 家里有猫 "there's a cat at home".
有 is special: it's the only verb negated with 没 instead of 不. "I don't have money" is 我没有钱 — 不有 does not exist.
Examples
我有两个姐姐。
我有兩個姐姐。
wǒ yǒu liǎng gè jiě jie
I have two older sisters.
你有笔吗？
你有筆嗎？
nǐ yǒu bǐ ma
Do you have a pen?
我没有钱。
我沒有錢。
wǒ méi yǒu qián
I don't have money.
他没有时间。
他沒有時間。
tā méi yǒu shí jiān
He doesn't have time.
Common mistakes
✗ 我不有弟弟。
✓ 我没有弟弟。
有 is negated with 没, never with 不.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like It's Raining, The Stars inside the Literate Chinese app.
