有 (yǒu) is one of the first verbs you learn and one of the most useful. It means "to have (possess)" and also "there is / there exists" — English splits these across two constructions ("I have a car" vs "there is a book"), but Chinese uses one verb for both. 有 has a second claim to fame: it is the only verb in Mandarin negated with 没 rather than 不. "I don't have money" is 我没有钱 — never *我不有钱. Burn that in early, because 不 and 没 split cleanly everywhere else, but 有 is the lone exception where 没 is forced.
Sense 1: have / possess
The possession sense: subject 有 object. The object is usually counted with a measure word — 一个哥哥, 一辆车 — but bare mass/abstract objects (钱, 时间) need none.
我有一个哥哥和一个妹妹。
wǒ yǒu yí ge gēge hé yí ge mèimei
I have an older brother and a younger sister.
你有没有零钱？我想买瓶水。
nǐ yǒu méiyǒu língqián? wǒ xiǎng mǎi píng shuǐ
Do you have any change? I want to buy a bottle of water. — 有没有 = the yes/no question form.
不好意思，我现在没有时间。
bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ xiànzài méiyǒu shíjiān
Sorry, I don't have time right now. — negation is 没有, never 不有.
Sense 2: there is / exists
Put a place first, then 有, then the thing that exists there: 地方 + 有 + 东西. This is the standard "there is / there are" of Chinese — see the existential 有 construction. The thing introduced is typically new information, so it stays indefinite ("a book," "some milk").
桌子上有一本书。
zhuōzi shàng yǒu yì běn shū
There's a book on the table. — place + 有 + thing.
我们学校附近有一家很好的咖啡馆。
wǒmen xuéxiào fùjìn yǒu yì jiā hěn hǎo de kāfēiguǎn
There's a really good café near our school.
冰箱里没有牛奶了，我去买。
bīngxiāng lǐ méiyǒu niúnǎi le, wǒ qù mǎi
There's no more milk in the fridge — I'll go buy some.
Sense 3: there are (amounts and measurements)
有 also states quantities and measurements — how many, how tall, how deep, how far.
我们班有三十个学生。
wǒmen bān yǒu sānshí ge xuésheng
Our class has thirty students.
这条河有五米深。
zhè tiáo hé yǒu wǔ mǐ shēn
This river is five metres deep. — 有 + measurement.
Sense 4: comparison — as ... as
有 heads a comparison of degree: A 有 B (这么/那么) + adjective = "A is as ... as B." The negative 没有 is extremely common here: 没有你高 "not as tall as you."
我儿子已经有我这么高了。
wǒ érzi yǐjīng yǒu wǒ zhème gāo le
My son is already as tall as me. — 有…这么高 'as tall as'.
今天没有昨天那么热。
jīntiān méiyǒu zuótiān nàme rè
Today isn't as hot as yesterday. — 没有…那么热 'not as hot as'.
The 有-family
有 seeds a cluster of high-frequency words: 有的 (yǒude) "some," 有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr) "a bit (slightly negative)," 有时候 (yǒu shíhou) "sometimes," 有意思 (yǒu yìsi) "interesting."
我今天有点儿累，想早点睡。
wǒ jīntiān yǒudiǎnr lèi, xiǎng zǎodiǎn shuì
I'm a bit tired today — I want to sleep early.
有的人喜欢喝茶，有的人喜欢喝咖啡。
yǒude rén xǐhuan hē chá, yǒude rén xǐhuan hē kāfēi
Some people like tea, some like coffee.
Key collocations
| Phrase | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 有没有 | yǒu méiyǒu | do (you) have…? (yes/no question) |
| 没有 | méiyǒu | not have / there isn't |
| 有的 | yǒude | some (of them) |
| 有点儿 | yǒudiǎnr | a bit, slightly |
| 有时候 | yǒu shíhou | sometimes |
| 有意思 | yǒu yìsi | interesting |
| 有名 | yǒumíng | famous |
| 有用 | yǒuyòng | useful |
Grammar notes
有 shares the "existence" job with 是 (shì) and 在 (zài), but they carve up the space: 有 introduces something new at a place (桌上有书 "there's a book on the table"), 是 identifies what fills a place (桌上的是书 "the thing on the table is a book"), and 在 locates a known thing (书在桌上 "the book is on the table"). One more quirk: 有 is atelic, so it never takes 了 for completion the way action verbs do — "I got a car" is 我有车了 (change of state), not a perfective 了 on 有 itself.
Common Mistakes
1. Negating with 不. The single most common 有 error. Its negative is always 没有.
❌ 我不有兄弟姐妹。
Wrong — 有 negates with 没, never 不.
✅ 我没有兄弟姐妹。
wǒ méiyǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi
I don't have any siblings.
2. Translating 'have to' as 有. English "have to" is obligation, not possession — use 得 / 要 / 必须, not 有.
❌ 我今天有加班。
Wrong for 'I have to work overtime' — 有 is possession, not obligation.
✅ 我今天得加班。
wǒ jīntiān děi jiābān
I have to work overtime today. — obligation = 得.
3. Dropping 有 in the 'there is' pattern. Chinese cannot juxtapose a place and a thing with nothing between them; the existence verb 有 is obligatory.
❌ 桌子上一本书。
Wrong — 'there is' needs the verb 有.
✅ 桌子上有一本书。
zhuōzi shàng yǒu yì běn shū
There's a book on the table.
4. Answering a 有 question with 是/不是. Yes/no answers echo the verb: reply 有 or 没有, not 是/不是 (on which negative to pick, see 没有 vs 不是).
❌ ——你有护照吗？——不是。
Wrong — a 有-question is answered with 有 / 没有.
✅ ——你有护照吗？——没有。
—— nǐ yǒu hùzhào ma? —— méiyǒu
'Do you have a passport?' 'No (I don't).' — echo the verb 有.
Key Takeaways
- 有 = both "have/possess" (我有车) and "there is/exists" (桌上有书) — one verb for both.
- It is the only verb negated with 没: 没有, never *不有.
- Existential order is place + 有 + thing; the thing stays indefinite (new info).
- 有 also states amounts (有三十个学生) and heads comparisons (没有你高 "not as tall as you").
- "Have to" (obligation) is 得/要/必须, not 有; answer a 有-question with 有 / 没有.
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- 是 (shì) — to be (copula)HSK 1 — 是 (shì) is the copula that links two nouns — 我是学生 (I am a student). Its one job is X = Y. It does NOT go before adjectives (她很高, not *她是高) and it does NOT mark location (书在桌子上, not *书是桌子上) — those are 很 + adjective and 在.
- 在 (zài) — be at / progressive / -ingHSK 1 — 在 (zài) is the verb 'be located at' (我在家), the location coverb that sits BEFORE the verb (在家吃饭), and the progressive marker 'be V-ing' (他在打电话) — three linked uses of one word.
- Two Negators: 不 (bù) vs 没 (méi)HSK 1 — Mandarin has exactly two everyday negators. 不 (bù) negates the habitual, willed, future, and all adjectives and modal verbs; 没(有) (méi yǒu) negates the verb 有 and any completed or experienced action. The split is NOT about tense — it's habit/intention/quality (不) vs completion/existence (没).