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Su Xiaoyu shows Alex a family photo on her phone.
Chinese has no word for “brother”. It has 哥哥 for an older one and 弟弟 for a younger one, and you must choose — the same for 姐姐 and 妹妹. There is no neutral term to fall back on, so before you can mention a sibling at all you have to say where they sit relative to you. This is not politeness; it is simply how the words are built, and it runs right through the family: 舅舅 is your mother's brother, 叔叔 your father's younger brother, and so on. 还 turns up twice in this course with different senses. In lesson 2 it was “in addition” — 还要两个三明治. Here it is “still” — 我妹妹还是学生. The word has not changed; what it adds is “more than before” in one case and “not yet finished” in the other. 口 counts people in a household and nothing else. Anywhere outside 家, people are counted with 个.
How do I read these pronunciations? See the pronunciation guide.
1. 有 and 没有 — the verb 不 cannot touch
有 means both “to have” and “there is”. Its negative is 没有 — and this is the one verb in the language that 不 may not negate. 不有 does not exist. Learn 有 and 没有 as a pair now and you will avoid a mistake that otherwise persists for months.
2. 几 — how many, for small numbers
几 asks “how many” when the answer is expected to be small — family members, brothers, hours. It takes a measure word straight after it, exactly as a real number would: 几口人, 几个哥哥. For quantities that could run large, Chinese uses 多少 instead, which you will meet at the supermarket.
3. 的 — possession, and when to drop it
的 links an owner to what they own: 我的全家福, 苏小雨的手机. But it is left out with family and close relationships — 我妹妹, 我爸爸, 我家 — where including it sounds oddly formal, as though you were distinguishing your sister from someone else's. Keep 的 for objects, drop it for people you belong to.
4. 这 and 那 — pointing, with the measure word intact
这 is this and 那 is that, and in front of a noun they behave like numbers: the measure word still has to be there. 这个人, 那个人, 这杯咖啡. Only when 这 or 那 stands alone as the subject — 这是我的全家福 — does the measure word disappear, because there is no noun for it to attach to.
A. Fill in the Blank · 填空
Fill in the blank with a word from this lesson's vocabulary.
- 1.你家几口人？have / there are
- 2.五人(measure word for family members)
- 3.我妹妹。don't have
- 4.这是我全家福。(possession)
B. Multiple Choice · 选择
Choose the best answer.
- 1.How do you say “I don't have a younger sister”?
- 2.Which is correct?
- 3.Why must you choose between 哥哥 and 弟弟?
- 4.Which phrase would a native speaker NOT say?
C. Rearrange the Sentence · 排序
Rearrange the words into a correct sentence, adding the punctuation shown in parentheses.
- 1.Tap tiles below…
- 2.Tap tiles below…
- 3.Tap tiles below…
- 4.Tap tiles below…
D. True or False · 判断
Based on the dialogue, mark each sentence T (true) or F (false).
- 1.There are five people in Su Xiaoyu's family.
- 2.Her older brother is a student.
- 3.Her parents live in Beijing.
- 4.The family has a dog.
E. Matching · 连线
Match each line on the left with the best response on the right.
F. Translation · 翻译
Translate items 1–2 into Chinese, and items 3–4 into English.
- 1.I have an older brother.
- 2.How many people are in your family?
- 3.我妹妹还是学生。
- 4.他们在上海。
Generate a brand-new dialog on any topic, using this lesson's 20 vocab words — plus any words you add below.
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Every relative has their own word
English brother covers two Chinese words, and the split runs through the whole family: 哥哥 is an older brother, 弟弟 a younger one, with 姐姐 and 妹妹 doing the same for sisters. Beyond that it gets finer still. An uncle on your father's side has a different word from one on your mother's, and your father's older brother a different word again from his younger brother. Naming a relative therefore states their generation, their side of the family and their age relative to yours all at once. 口 counts them: mouths to feed.