Brothers and sisters
HSK 1 Unit 2: Family and age · Lesson 1 of 5 · About 15 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can name the people in your family, say older and younger brother and sister, count them with 两 and join them with 和.
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Warm-up: do you remember?
Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.
Meaning
What does 国 mean?
That is 英语 (Yīngyǔ).
That is 认识 (rènshi).
Show the answer
Answer: C, country.
国 (guó) means country.
Characters
Which word means “and ...? (asks the same question back)”?
懂 (dǒng) means to understand.
您 (nín) means you (polite).
Show the answer
Answer: B, 呢.
“and ...? (asks the same question back)” is 呢 (ne).
New words
Older or younger?
In everyday Chinese there is no single word for brother or sister: you normally say whether the person is older or younger than you.
| Chinese | English |
|---|---|
| 哥哥 gēge | older brother |
| 弟弟 dìdi | younger brother |
| 姐姐 jiějie | older sister |
| 妹妹 mèimei | younger sister |
The second syllable of these words is in the neutral tone: 哥哥 is gēge, not gēgē. In 姐 and 妹 you can see 女 (woman) on the left.
我有一个哥哥。
Wǒ yǒu yí gè gēge.
I have an older brother.
她没有妹妹。
Tā méiyǒu mèimei.
She doesn't have a younger sister.
两 and 和
Before a measure word, two is 两 (liǎng), not 二. Use 二 when you count or say a number: 一, 二, 三; 十二.
我有两个姐姐。
Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè jiějie.
I have two older sisters.
Not:
我有二个弟弟。But: 我有两个弟弟。 Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè dìdi.
Two people or things: 两个.
和 (hé) means and, mostly between nouns and pronouns: 爸爸和妈妈. It does not join two sentences.
我家有爸爸、妈妈、哥哥和我。
Wǒ jiā yǒu bàba, māma, gēge hé wǒ.
In my family there are my dad, my mum, my older brother and me.
Characters
- 姐 = 女
- 妹 = 女
Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.
Do you have brothers?
Anna and Zhang Wei chat during a coffee break at work.
Listen first
Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.
Listening
Listen first. How many older sisters does Zhang Wei have?
Show the answer
Answer: C, two.
张伟 says 我有两个姐姐: two older sisters.
Listening
Who is in Anna's family?
Anna has no brothers.
Show the answer
Answer: B, her dad, her mum and a younger sister.
安娜 says 爸爸、妈妈、妹妹和我.
Show the transcript
安娜
张伟，你有哥哥吗？
Zhang Wei, do you have an older brother?
张伟
我没有哥哥。我有两个姐姐和一个弟弟。
I don't have an older brother. I have two older sisters and a younger brother.
安娜
你家有六个人！
There are six people in your family!
张伟
对。你呢？
Right. And you?
安娜
我家有四个人：爸爸、妈妈、妹妹和我。
There are four of us: my dad, my mum, my younger sister and me.
Speak: listen, record, compare
Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.
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Recording is not available in this browser. Listen, then repeat aloud and compare by ear.
我没有哥哥。我有两个姐姐和一个弟弟。
Wǒ méiyǒu gēge. Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè jiějie hé yí gè dìdi.
I don't have an older brother. I have two older sisters and a younger brother.
我家有四个人：爸爸、妈妈、妹妹和我。
Wǒ jiā yǒu sì gè rén: bàba, māma, mèimei hé wǒ.
There are four of us: my dad, my mum, my younger sister and me.
张伟，你有哥哥吗？
Zhāng Wěi, nǐ yǒu gēge ma?
Zhang Wei, do you have an older brother?
Practice
Meaning
What does 爸爸 mean?
That is 医生 (yīshēng).
That is 我 (wǒ).
Show the answer
Answer: C, dad.
爸爸 (bàba) means dad.
Characters
Which word means “older brother”?
弟弟 (dìdi) means younger brother.
医生 (yīshēng) means doctor.
Show the answer
Answer: B, 哥哥.
“older brother” is 哥哥 (gēge).
Pinyin
How do you read 姐姐 (older sister)?
Show the answer
Answer: C, jiějie.
姐姐 is read jiějie. Check the tone mark on every syllable.
Listening
Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
弟弟 dìdi
That would be 名字 (míngzi).
That would be 人 (rén).
Show the answer
Answer: C, younger brother.
You heard 弟弟 (dìdi): younger brother.
Pinyin
Type the pinyin of 妹妹 (younger sister). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.
Show the answer
Answer: mèimei
妹妹 is mèimei in pinyin.
Grammar
Which is right for two younger brothers?
二 is for counting, not before 个.
A measure word is needed: 两个.
Show the answer
Answer: B, 两个弟弟.
两个弟弟. Before a measure word, two is 两.
Fill the gap
Complete: I have an older brother and a younger sister.
我有一个哥哥＿＿一个妹妹。
也 means also and goes before a verb.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 和.
我有一个哥哥和一个妹妹。 和 joins two nouns.
In context
Your father's son is younger than you. Who is he?
哥哥 is older than you.
Show the answer
Answer: C, 弟弟.
弟弟: a younger brother.
Word order
Put the words in order: I have two older sisters.
- 有
- 我
- 两
- 姐姐
- 个
Show the answer
我有两个姐姐 Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè jiějie.
I have two older sisters.
我有两个姐姐。 两 + 个 + noun.
Your family tree
Say out loud who is in your family, older and younger, in three sentences.
- Say how many people are in your family: 我家有…个人。
- Name everyone, joining the last two with 和.
- Say who you do not have: 我没有…。
Sentence frames
我家有＿＿个人：＿＿和我。
Wǒ jiā yǒu ＿＿ gè rén: ＿＿ hé wǒ.
There are ... of us: ... and me.
我有两个＿＿。
Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè ＿＿.
I have two ...
Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:
Review and finish
Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.
- I can name older and younger brothers and sisters.
- I say 两个, never 二个.
- I join nouns with 和.
Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.