8 ways to use the Chinese verb “有”

The Chinese word "有", which means "have" basically, is not a difficult one for Chinese learners. Except the basic meaning, it has more functions Chinese learners should keep in mind. Functions of the verb "有" can be summarized as follows:

汉字“有”的基本含义是“have”，这对中文学习者来说不难。除此之外，它还有其他应该记住的用途。动词"有"的用途可归纳如下：

1. To express possession 表示拥有

wǒ yǒu zì diǎn

我有字典。

I have a dictionary.

tā yǒu zhōng guó huà

他有中国画。

He has a Chinese painting.

2. To express existence 表示存在

wū lǐ yǒu rén

屋里有人。

There is someone in the house.

cūn zi qián biān yǒu yì tiáo hé

村子前边有一条河。

There is a river in front of the village.

3. To give a list of things 表示列举

wǒ de péngyou yǒu yīng guó rén, zhōng guó rén, fǎ guó rén, rì běn rén

我的朋友有英国人、中国人、法国人、日本人。

Among my friends, there are British, Chinese, French and Japanese.

wū zi lǐ yǒu zhuō zi, yǒu yǐ zi, yǒu shū jià, yǒu guì zi

屋子里有桌子，有椅子，有书架，有柜子。

There are tables, chairs, bookshelves and cabinets in the house. 

4. To express inclusion 表示包含

Yì nián yǒu shí èr gè yuè

一年有十二个月。

A year is composed of 12 months. 

zhè běn shū yǒu shí zhāng

这本书有十章。

This book consists of 10 chapters. 

5. To express the meaning of reaching a certain quantity 表示达到（某个数量）

zhè xiē shuǐ guǒ yǒu sān gōng jīn

这些水果有三公斤。

The fruit weighs 3 kg. 

pán zi lǐ de bēi zi yǒu shí gè

盘子里的杯子有十个。

There are 10 cups in the plate. 

6. "有" can be followed by abstract nouns to form adjective phrases, which can be pre-modified by adverbs of degree, to indicate a great many in some aspect. Such a phrase means "be very good at a certain aspect". 

"有"可以跟一些抽象名词，构成形容词性词组，表示某方面比较多，前边可以受程度副词的修饰。

hěn yǒu jīng yàn

很有经验

very experienced

hěn yǒu xī wàng

很有希望

quite promising

7. "有" can make a general reference 表示泛指

yǒu yì tiān

有一天

someday 

yǒu gè dì fang

有个地方

somewhere 

8. "有" can also be used for comparison 表示比较

tā yǒu bà ba nà me gāo le

他有爸爸那么高了。

He has been as tall as his father.

jīn tiān méi yǒu zuó tiān nà me rè

今天没有昨天那么热。

It is not so hot today as it was yesterday.

The article is translated and editted by Chinlingo. Please indicate the source for any use, reproduction or transfer. 

本文由Chinlingo编译后发布，如需转载，请标明来源。