有 (yǒu): Possession and 没有 | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

有 (yǒu) is the verb "to have," and it's one of the most useful words in Chinese: 我有一辆车 ("I have a car"), 他有两个孩子 ("he has two kids"). But 有 carries one quirk you must learn on day one, because it breaks a rule that holds for almost every other verb: 有 is negated only by 没, never by 不. "Don't have" is 没有 (méiyǒu), and 不有 is simply not Chinese — one of the few truly exceptionless facts in the language. This page covers 有 for possession, its 没有 negation, and how to ask "do you have…?" It's the same 有 that also means "there is / exists" — that sense gets its own existence page.

有 for possession: Subject + 有 + Noun

In its possession sense, 有 sits between a possessor and the thing possessed. When you're stating a quantity, the noun takes its measure word just as it would after a number: 有 + (Number + MW) + Noun.

Possessor	有	Amount + noun	Meaning
我 (wǒ)	有 (yǒu)	一辆车 (yí liàng chē)	I have a car
他 (tā)	有 (yǒu)	两个孩子 (liǎng ge háizi)	he has two children
我们 (wǒmen)	有 (yǒu)	很多时间 (hěn duō shíjiān)	we have lots of time

我有一辆车，周末可以带你去海边。

wǒ yǒu yí liàng chē, zhōumò kěyǐ dài nǐ qù hǎibiān

I have a car — I can take you to the beach this weekend. (informal) — 有 + 一辆车, the measure word 辆 after the number.

他有两个孩子，一个上小学，一个还小。

tā yǒu liǎng ge háizi, yí ge shàng xiǎoxué, yí ge hái xiǎo

He has two kids — one's in primary school, one's still little. (informal) — 两个孩子, 两 not 二 before the measure word.

我有个问题想请教你。

wǒ yǒu ge wèntí xiǎng qǐngjiào nǐ

I have a question I'd like to ask you. (polite) — the 一 before 个 is commonly dropped in speech.

Note that 有 is not 是: 我是老师 says what I am, while 我有工作 says what I possess. Mixing them up — 我是一辆车 ("I am a car") — is a classic slip, sorted out on the copula 是 page.

The defining quirk: 没有, never 不有

Here is the fact to burn in from the start. Almost every verb in Chinese can be negated with 不 (for habits, willingness, general truths). 有 cannot. Its only negation is 没有.

Why is 有 the lone exception? Because 没 is precisely the negator of existence and completion — it says "there isn't" or "it didn't happen." The opposite of "having" something is that thing not existing in your possession — which is exactly what 没 expresses. 不, by contrast, negates qualities and choices ("not tall," "won't go"), and "having" is neither a quality nor a choice. So 有 and 没 are a matched pair: 有 asserts, 没有 denies. Treat 有 → 没有 as a single fixed unit, like a two-sided coin. (More on the 没 side: 没(有) as a negator.)

我没有钱，这个月花超了。

wǒ méiyǒu qián, zhège yuè huā chāo le

I've got no money — I overspent this month. (informal) — 没有, never 不有.

家里没有牛奶了，我下楼买点儿。

jiā li méiyǒu niúnǎi le, wǒ xià lóu mǎi diǎnr

We're out of milk at home — I'll pop down and get some. (informal) — 没有 negates possession/existence.

对不起，我今天没有时间，改天吧。

duìbuqǐ, wǒ jīntiān méiyǒu shíjiān, gǎitiān ba

Sorry, I don't have time today — another day. (polite) — 没有时间, a very common phrase.

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In casual speech 没有 often shortens to just 没 before the noun: 我没钱 (wǒ méi qián), 我没时间. Both are fine; 没有 is a touch fuller, 没 a touch more colloquial. What never happens is dropping to 不有.

Asking "do you have…?"

Two question forms cover almost everything. The A-not-A form 有没有 (yǒu méiyǒu) stacks the positive and negative — literally "have-not-have" — and is the most idiomatic way to ask. Alternatively, tag 吗 (ma) onto a plain 有 sentence. You answer a 有 question with 有 ("yes, I do") or 没有 ("no, I don't") — never with 是 or 不是.

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. (informal) — 有没有, the A-not-A question.

——你有笔吗？——有，给你。

nǐ yǒu bǐ ma? — yǒu, gěi nǐ

— Do you have a pen? — Yeah, here you go. (informal) — 有…吗 asks; a bare 有 answers 'yes'.

——这附近有没有厕所？——好像没有。

zhè fùjìn yǒu méiyǒu cèsuǒ? — hǎoxiàng méiyǒu

— Is there a toilet nearby? — I don't think so. (informal) — the answer echoes the verb: 没有, not 不是.

Two neighbours to keep in view

The same 有 does two more jobs you'll meet soon, both flagged here so the connection is clear. First, 有 means "there is / exists" — 桌子上有一本书 ("there's a book on the table") — the existence use. Second, 没有 shows up in comparisons meaning "not as … as": 我没有你高 ("I'm not as tall as you"), covered on 没有 for comparison. All three share the core idea of asserting or denying that something is there — possessed, present, or measuring up.

桌子上有一本书，是你的吗？

zhuōzi shang yǒu yì běn shū, shì nǐ de ma?

There's a book on the table — is it yours? (informal) — the existence sense of 有.

我没有你高，得踮脚才够得着。

wǒ méiyǒu nǐ gāo, děi diǎn jiǎo cái gòudezháo

I'm not as tall as you — I have to stand on tiptoe to reach. (informal) — 没有 in a comparison, 'not as … as'.

Common Mistakes

1. Negating 有 with 不. The cardinal error. 有 is negated only by 没 → 没有.

❌ 我不有钱。

Incorrect — 有 never takes 不. Say 我没有钱 (or 我没钱).

✅ 我没有钱。

wǒ méiyǒu qián

I don't have money. — 没有, the only negation of 有.

2. Answering a 有 question with 是 / 不是. The answer must echo the verb: 有 or 没有.

❌ ——你有车吗？——不是。

Wrong answer word — you can't deny 有 with 不是. Answer 没有.

✅ ——你有车吗？——没有，我一般坐地铁。

nǐ yǒu chē ma? — méiyǒu, wǒ yìbān zuò dìtiě

— Do you have a car? — No, I usually take the subway. — the answer echoes 有 → 没有.

3. Using 二 instead of 两 before the measure word. After 有, "two + MW" is 两, never 二.

❌ 我有二个妹妹。

Incorrect — before a measure word 'two' is 两, not 二. Say 两个妹妹.

✅ 我有两个妹妹。

wǒ yǒu liǎng ge mèimei

I have two younger sisters. — 两个, not 二个.

4. Dropping the measure word after a number. 有 + number + noun still needs the classifier.

❌ 我有三问题。

Incorrect — a counted noun needs its measure word: 三个问题.

✅ 我有三个问题。

wǒ yǒu sān ge wèntí

I have three questions. — 三个问题, with 个 in the slot.

Key Takeaways

有 (yǒu) = "have / possess": 我有一辆车, 他有两个孩子. A counted noun after it keeps its measure word.
有 is negated only by 没 → 没有 (méiyǒu). 不有 is always wrong — this is the single most important negation exception in Chinese. Learn 有 → 没有 as one fixed pair.
没有 often shortens to 没 before a noun (我没钱); it never shortens toward 不.
Ask with 有没有 or 有…吗; answer with 有 or 没有, never 是 / 不是.
The same 有 also means "there is / exists" (existence) and appears in comparisons as "not as … as" (我没有你高).

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