Lesson 11. 有 (yǒu) for Expressing Existence in Chinese

有 (yǒu) is surely a useful word in Chinese! Besides using it for ‘possession’, we can use it to express ‘there is’ or ‘there are’ – the existence of someone or something in a particular place.

POSITIVE SENTENCE

The structure to express existence using 有 (yǒu):

Location + 有 + Object

Location	There is/There are	Object
桌子上	有	一杯咖啡。
桌子上	有	一杯咖啡。
Zhuō zi shàng	yǒu	yībēi kāfēi.
on the table	there is	a cup of coffee
There is a cup of coffee on the table.

Location	There is/There are	Object
我家裡	有	一隻狗。
我家里	有	一只狗。
Wǒ jiā lǐ	yǒu	yī zhǐ gǒu.
in my house	there is	a dog
There is a dog in my house.

NEGATIVE SENTENCE

For expressing ‘there is no’ or ‘there are no’, use 沒 [没] (méi) as the negative determiners. Read: Understanding the Difference Between「不」Bù and「沒」Méi – Chinese No or Not.

Structure: Location + 沒有 [没有] + Object

Location	There is no/There are no	Object
桌子上	沒有	咖啡。
桌子上	没有	咖啡。
Zhuō zi shàng	méi yǒu	kā fēi.
on the table	there is no	coffee
There is no coffee on the table.

Location	There is no/There are no	Object
我家裡	沒有	狗。
我家里	没有	狗。
Wǒ jiā lǐ	méi yǒu	gǒu.
in my house	there is no	dog
There is no dog in my house.

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE

For asking whether someone/something is in a particular place, use the following structure:

Location + 有 + Object + 嗎 [吗] ?

Location	Is there/Are there	Object	?
桌子上	有	咖啡	嗎？
桌子上	有	咖啡	吗？
Zhuō zi shàng	yǒu	kā fēi	ma?
on the table	is there	coffee	?
Is there any coffee on the table?

Location	Is there/Are there	Object	?
你家裡	有	狗	嗎？
你家里	有	狗	吗？
Nǐ jiā lǐ	yǒu	gǒu	ma?
in your house	is there	dog	?
Is there any dog in your house?