Breakdown of wǒ yǒu wǔ gè péngyou.
Used when counting nouns or when specifying a specific instance of a noun.
There are also classifiers for people, for bound items such as books and magazines, for cups/glasses, etc.
The classifier 个 is a general one that can be used for any of these.
Questions & Answers about wǒ yǒu wǔ gè péngyou.
个 is a measure word (also called a classifier).
In Chinese, when you count nouns, you must put a measure word between the number and the noun:
- number + measure word + noun
So:
- 五个朋友 = five (units of) friend → “five friends”
You can’t say ✗ 五朋友; that is ungrammatical.
Measure words don’t usually have a concrete meaning in this context; they are just required by the grammar.
No, but it is the most common and neutral one.
- 五个朋友 – normal, everyday speech
- 五位朋友 (wǔ wèi péngyou) – politer, more respectful; often used for guests, customers, etc.
- 五名朋友 (wǔ míng péngyou) – more formal/literary or used in written reports
For basic conversation, 个 is the default and perfectly correct.
Chinese nouns usually do not change form for singular vs. plural.
- 朋友 can mean “friend” or “friends”, depending on context.
- 五个朋友 clearly means “five friends” because of the number.
- If you just say 朋友 without a number, the meaning (one friend / some friends / friends in general) comes from context.
There is no -s ending like in English.
Written pinyin is péngyǒu, but in real speech, the second syllable 友 very often becomes a neutral tone:
- Careful/slow: péngyǒu (péng – 2nd tone, yǒu – 3rd tone)
- Natural speech: péngyou (péng – 2nd tone, you – neutral)
The neutral tone is lighter and shorter. This kind of reduction is common in many two-syllable words in Mandarin.
The basic word order is:
- Subject + Verb + Object
Here:
- 我 = subject (“I”)
- 有 = verb (“have”)
- 五个朋友 = object (“five friends”)
So:
- 我有五个朋友 = Subject + Verb + Object
You cannot say ✗ 有我五个朋友 in this meaning. That order is wrong for “I have five friends.”
有 has two very common uses:
Possession – “to have”
- 我有五个朋友。 = I have five friends.
- 他有车。 = He has a car.
Existence – “there is / there are”
Pattern: 在 + place + 有 + something- 桌子上有一本书。 = There is a book on the table.
- 门口有很多人。 = There are many people at the door.
In 我有五个朋友, it’s the possessive meaning.
In Chinese, 有 by itself already means “to have”.
You do not add 是 in a normal sentence of possession.
- ✅ 我有五个朋友。 = I have five friends.
- ✗ 我是有五个朋友。 – This is wrong or at least very unnatural in this meaning.
There is a special emphatic structure 是…的, but that’s different and not needed here.
To negate 有, you normally use 没 (méi), not 不 (bù):
- 我没有五个朋友。
Literally: “I don’t have five friends.”
Depending on context, this can mean:
- “I don’t have five friends (I have fewer than that),” or more loosely
- “I don’t have (any) five friends.”
For basic “I don’t have friends”:
- 我没有朋友。 = I don’t have (any) friends.
The common way is to add 吗 (ma) at the end:
- 我有五个朋友吗？ = Do I have five friends? / Do you think I have five friends?
For someone else:
- 你有五个朋友吗？ = Do you have five friends?
Structure: Statement + 吗？
Yes, sometimes, if the subject is very clear from context.
For example, if you have been talking about yourself the whole time, in casual speech you might say:
- 有五个朋友。 – “(I) have five friends.”
However, when you’re learning or when the context is not crystal clear, it’s safer to keep the subject:
- 我有五个朋友。
Yes, in natural speech:
我 (wǒ) and 有 (yǒu) are both 3rd tone.
When two 3rd tones are together, the first becomes 2nd tone:- Written: wǒ yǒu
- Spoken: wó yǒu
朋友 is usually pronounced péngyou with a neutral tone on you, as explained earlier.
So a natural pronunciation is roughly:
- wó yǒu wǔ gè péngyou
Use adjectives or descriptive words in front of 朋友:
“I have five very good friends.”
- 我有五个很好(的)朋友。
- 我有五个非常好的朋友。
“I have five Chinese friends.”
- 我有五个中国朋友。
- Or more explicit: 我有五个中国人朋友。 (less common; usually 中国朋友 is enough)
Order still follows: number + measure word + (adjective) + noun.