For most Chinese learners, the first meaning they learned for 有 yǒu, is probably its basic meaning: ‘to possess, to have’.
1. Possession
The object after 有 can be a concrete noun, such as ‘house’, ‘car’, ‘brother’, etc.; it also can be an abstract noun such as opportunity, confidence, hope etc.
For example:
我有一个弟弟。
I have one younger brother.
我今天下午有空。
I will have spare time this afternoon.
她很有信心通过这次考试。
She has confidence to pass the exam.
Besides possession, 有 yǒu has many other meanings.
2. Existence
有 yǒu expresses existence - the equivalent to ‘there is’ or ‘there are’ sentences in English. The basic sentence structure is:
[somewhere] 有 [somebody or something]
For example:
桌子上有一本书。
There is a book on the table.
教室里有五个学生。
There are five students in the classroom.
前面有一个电影院。
There is a theater ahead.
银行和商店之间有一个邮局。
There is a post office between the bank and the store.
3. Estimation
有 yǒu expresses estimation, often indicating to what degree somebody or something can reach.
For example:
他有多高？
How tall is he?
我觉得，他有一米八左右。
I think he’s about 180 centimeters tall.
太热了！今天的温度有38度!
So hot! Today’s temperature might reach 38℃!
4. Comparison
有 yǒu expresses comparison, that is, to indicate that two people or two things are alike to a certain degree or in a certain aspect.
Affirmative Sentence structure: A有B + adjective/verb
For example:
他有他爸爸那么高。
He is as tall as his father.
他有他爸爸那么喜欢音乐吗？
Does he like music as much as his father?
谁有我这么喜欢他?
Who loves him as much as I do?
Negative sentence structure: A没有B + adjective/verb
For example:
他没有他爸爸那么高。
He is not as tall as his father.
今天没有昨天热。
Today is not as hot as yesterday.
他没有他爸爸那么爱音乐。
He doesn’t love music as much as his father does.
5. Occurrence or Appearance
有 yǒu indicates occurrence or appearance.
For example:
他有了严重的心脏病。
He got a serious heart disease.
去美国以后，她有了很多的变化。
After she went to the US, she changed a lot.
你的汉语发音有了很大进步。
You’ve made a lot of progress with your Chinese pronunciation.
6. A portion of the total; ‘some’.
有 yǒu, placed before a person, time or place noun, indicates a portion of the total, just like English ‘some’.
For example:
这本书很特别，有人喜欢，有人不喜欢。
This book is very special, some people like, some don’t.
有时候，我觉得学习外语非常难。
Sometimes, I feel learning a foreign language is very hard.
上海很大，有地方好玩，有地方不好玩。
Shanghai is very big; some places are interesting, and some are boring.
7. Non-specific reference
有 yǒu is used in phrases like:
有一天
有一年
有一个人
有一个地方
in which the reference to the day, the year, the person, or the place is not specific.
有一天，他做了一个很奇怪的梦。
One day, he had a very strange dream.
有一年，他的家乡发了洪水。
One year, his hometown had a big flood.
从前，有一个人在这里修了一座桥。
Once upon a time, a person built a bridge here.
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