For most Chinese learners, the first meaning they learned for yǒu, is probably its basic meaning: ‘to possess, to have’.

1. Possession

The object after 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, yǒu has many other meanings.

 

2. Existence

yǒu expresses existence - the equivalent to ‘there is’ or ‘there are’ sentences in English. The basic sentence structure is:

[somewhere] [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

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

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: AB + 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

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’.

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

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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