How to Say “I Have” in Chinese: The Verb 有
In Chinese, “to have” or “someone has something” is:
有
yǒu
to have / there is / to exist
我有手机。
wǒ yǒu shǒujī.
I have a phone.
我有时间。
wǒ yǒu shíjiān.
I have time.
我有一个哥哥。
wǒ yǒu yí ge gēge.
I have an older brother.
In Chinese, you do not need to translate “у меня” literally. The sentence is built more simply: I + have + object.
Basic structure with 有
The simplest structure is:
Who + 有 + what
我有书。
wǒ yǒu shū.
I have a book.
他有车。
tā yǒu chē.
He has a car.
她有电脑。
tā yǒu diànnǎo.
She has a computer.
我们有课。
wǒmen yǒu kè.
We have a lesson / We have class.
你有问题吗？
nǐ yǒu wèntí ma?
Do you have a question?
Literally, the Chinese phrase 我有书 is built as “I have a book,” but in Russian we translate it naturally as “у меня есть книга.”
有 with things
With 有 yǒu, you can talk about the things you have.
我有手机。
wǒ yǒu shǒujī.
I have a phone.
我有电脑。
wǒ yǒu diànnǎo.
I have a computer.
她有一支笔。
tā yǒu yì zhī bǐ.
She has a pen.
他有一本书。
tā yǒu yì běn shū.
He has a book.
我们有两杯咖啡。
wǒmen yǒu liǎng bēi kāfēi.
We have two cups of coffee.
有 with family and people
有 is often used when we talk about family, friends, or people.
我有一个哥哥。
wǒ yǒu yí ge gēge.
I have an older brother.
她有一个妹妹。
tā yǒu yí ge mèimei.
She has a younger sister.
他有很多朋友。
tā yǒu hěn duō péngyou.
He has many friends.
你有孩子吗？
nǐ yǒu háizi ma?
Do you have children?
我有一个中文老师。
wǒ yǒu yí ge Zhōngwén lǎoshī.
I have a Chinese teacher.
Here, the structure stays the same: who + 有 + who / what.
有 with time
In Chinese, 有 is very often used with the word 时间 shíjiān — “time.”
我有时间。
wǒ yǒu shíjiān.
I have time.
我今天有时间。
wǒ jīntiān yǒu shíjiān.
I have time today.
你明天有时间吗？
nǐ míngtiān yǒu shíjiān ma?
Do you have time tomorrow?
他没有时间。
tā méi yǒu shíjiān.
He does not have time.
我现在没有时间。
wǒ xiànzài méi yǒu shíjiān.
I do not have time right now.
This is a very useful structure for everyday communication: arranging a meeting, a lesson, a call, or a walk.
Negation: 没有
To say “I don’t have,” use 没有 méi yǒu.
Important: 不 is not used with 有. You cannot say 不有.
Correct:
没有
méi yǒu
not to have / there is no
Who + 没有 + what
我没有手机。
wǒ méi yǒu shǒujī.
I don’t have a phone.
她没有电脑。
tā méi yǒu diànnǎo.
She doesn’t have a computer.
他没有哥哥。
tā méi yǒu gēge.
He doesn’t have an older brother.
我今天没有时间。
wǒ jīntiān méi yǒu shíjiān.
I don’t have time today.
In spoken Chinese, 没有 is often shortened to 没.
我没时间。
wǒ méi shíjiān.
I don’t have time.
我没钱。
wǒ méi qián.
I don’t have money.
他没手机。
tā méi shǒujī.
He doesn’t have a phone.
Both 没有 and 没 are correct, but 没有 sounds a little fuller and clearer for beginners.
Questions with 有
To ask a question, you can add the particle 吗 ma at the end of the sentence.
你有手机吗？
nǐ yǒu shǒujī ma?
Do you have a phone?
你有时间吗？
nǐ yǒu shíjiān ma?
Do you have time?
他有车吗？
tā yǒu chē ma?
Does he have a car?
你有中文课吗？
nǐ yǒu Zhōngwén kè ma?
Do you have a Chinese lesson?
You can also use the form 有没有 yǒu méi yǒu.
你有没有时间？
nǐ yǒu méi yǒu shíjiān?
Do you have time?
你有没有问题？
nǐ yǒu méi yǒu wèntí?
Do you have any questions?
这里有没有咖啡？
zhèlǐ yǒu méi yǒu kāfēi?
Is there coffee here?
Both forms are correct:
你有时间吗？
nǐ yǒu shíjiān ma?
Do you have time?
你有没有时间？
nǐ yǒu méi yǒu shíjiān?
Do you have time?
For beginners, the form with 吗 is usually easier, while 有没有 is very common in live speech.
有 meaning “there is / there are somewhere”
有 is used not only to mean “someone has something,” but also when we say that something exists or is located somewhere.
Place + 有 + who / what
桌子上有一本书。
zhuōzi shàng yǒu yì běn shū.
There is a book on the table.
这里有咖啡。
zhèlǐ yǒu kāfēi.
There is coffee here.
房间里有三个人。
fángjiān lǐ yǒu sān ge rén.
There are three people in the room.
学校旁边有一个商店。
xuéxiào pángbiān yǒu yí ge shāngdiàn.
There is a shop next to the school.
菜单上有茶吗？
càidān shàng yǒu chá ma?
Is there tea on the menu?
In such sentences, 有 is translated as “there is,” “there are,” “exists,” or “is located.”
The difference between 有 and 是
Beginners sometimes confuse 有 yǒu and 是 shì.
是 is used when we say that someone or something is someone or something.
我是学生。
wǒ shì xuésheng.
I am a student.
这是咖啡。
zhè shì kāfēi.
This is coffee.
有 is used when someone has something or when there is something somewhere.
我有咖啡。
wǒ yǒu kāfēi.
I have coffee.
这里有咖啡。
zhèlǐ yǒu kāfēi.
There is coffee here.
Let’s compare:
这是手机。
zhè shì shǒujī.
This is a phone.
我有手机。
wǒ yǒu shǒujī.
I have a phone.
In the first sentence, we explain what it is. In the second sentence, we say that I have a phone.
The difference between 有 and 在
有 and 在 zài can both be connected with location, but they are used differently.
有 answers the question: “What is there in this place?”
桌子上有一本书。
zhuōzi shàng yǒu yì běn shū.
There is a book on the table.
在 answers the question: “Where is a specific object or person?”
书在桌子上。
shū zài zhuōzi shàng.
The book is on the table.
Let’s compare:
房间里有老师。
fángjiān lǐ yǒu lǎoshī.
There is a teacher in the room.
老师在房间里。
lǎoshī zài fángjiān lǐ.
The teacher is in the room.
With 有, we more often introduce new information: there is someone or something in the room.
With 在, we say where an already known person or object is located.
有 with abstract words
有 can be used not only with objects, but also with abstract words: time, money, questions, ideas, opportunities.
我有钱。
wǒ yǒu qián.
I have money.
我有一个问题。
wǒ yǒu yí ge wèntí.
I have a question.
她有一个好主意。
tā yǒu yí ge hǎo zhǔyi.
She has a good idea.
我们有机会。
wǒmen yǒu jīhuì.
We have an opportunity.
你有兴趣吗？
nǐ yǒu xìngqù ma?
Are you interested? / Do you have interest?
These phrases often appear in spoken Chinese and are a good fit for the beginner level.
有 yǒu is one of the most important verbs in Chinese. It means “to have,” “there is,” or “to exist,” and it helps you build many useful phrases.
Who + 有 + what
我有手机。
wǒ yǒu shǒujī.
I have a phone.
To say “don’t have,” use 没有 méi yǒu:
我没有时间。
wǒ méi yǒu shíjiān.
I don’t have time.
To ask a question, you can use 吗 or the form 有没有:
你有时间吗？
nǐ yǒu shíjiān ma?
Do you have time?
你有没有时间？
nǐ yǒu méi yǒu shíjiān?
Do you have time?
The main thing is not to confuse 有 with 是 and 在. 是 says who or what something is. 有 says that someone has something or that something exists somewhere. 在 shows where a specific person or object is located.