有 — possession and existence

• Subject + 有 + Object
  I have… / she has…
• Place + 有 + Thing
  There is a … at/on/in that place.
• Subject + 没有 + Object
  The only negation of 有.

有 does two jobs English splits between "have" and "there is". With a person in front it means possession: 我有一个姐姐。 With a place in front it means existence: 桌子上有一本书。 — there's a book on the table.

Note the word order of that second pattern. Chinese states the location first and the thing second — the opposite of English. "There is a bank near here" is 这儿附近有一个银行。

有 and 在 are mirror images. 有 introduces something new at a known place (桌子上有书); 在 tells you where a known thing is (书在桌子上). Old information first, new information last.

Negation is fixed: 没有. 不有 is not a word. In speech 有 can drop after 没 before another verb (我没去), but as a main verb it stays: 我没有钱。

Want to hear these words in your own sentences? Paste any Chinese text into the Pinyin Annotator or the Chinese → Pinyin translator.

How do you say "there is" in Chinese?

Use 有 with the place first: 桌子上有一本书 (there's a book on the table), 这儿附近有一家银行 (there's a bank near here). Chinese states the location before the thing, the reverse of English.

What is the difference between 有 and 在?

有 introduces something new at a known place — 房间里有一张床 (there's a bed in the room). 在 says where a known thing is — 床在房间里 (the bed is in the room). Choose by asking which part your listener already knows.

How do you negate 有?

Only with 没: 没有 (méiyǒu). 不有 does not exist. 我没有车 — I don't have a car.

Does 有 need a measure word?

The noun after 有 does, whenever a number is present: 我有两个孩子 (two children), 我有一本书 (one book). Without a number no measure word is needed: 我有时间.