有 Expressing Existence

Learn how to express existence and location in Chinese using the verb 有 (yǒu) to say “There is/are … on/at/in …”

Basic Sentence Pattern

To express “There is/are … on/at/in …” in Chinese, use the verb 有 (yǒu). The basic sentence structure follows the pattern: Place word + 有 + Noun.

Place Word + 有 + Noun

Basic Structure Visualization

Place Word

超市

chāoshì

supermarket

Existence Verb

有

yǒu

there is/are

Existing Thing

顾客

gùkè

customers

Complete Sentence: 超市有顾客。
(There are customers in the supermarket.)

Basic Examples

Structure	Chinese	English Translation
Place + 有 + Noun	超市有顾客。 chāoshì yǒu gùkè.	There are customers in the supermarket.
Place + 有 + Noun	西安有兵马俑。 xī’ān yǒu bīngmǎyǒng.	There are Terracotta Warriors and Horses in Xi’an.
Place + 有 + Noun	这里有面包店。 zhèlǐ yǒu miànbāodiàn.	There is a bakery here.

Place Words

Place words can be:

Location names (北京, 学校, 家)
Demonstrative pronouns (这里, 那里)
Nouns with positional suffixes (超市里, 桌子上)

学校有图书馆。

xuéxiào yǒu túshūguǎn.

There is a library at school.

The Verb 有 (yǒu)

有 (yǒu) is the main verb meaning “to have” or “there is/are”.

我有书。

wǒ yǒu shū.

I have books.

教室里有学生。

jiàoshì lǐ yǒu xuéshēng.

There are students in the classroom.

The Noun (Existing Thing)

The noun represents the thing or person that exists in the specified location.

公园里有花。

gōngyuán lǐ yǒu huā.

There are flowers in the park.

冰箱里有牛奶。

bīngxiāng lǐ yǒu niúnǎi.

There is milk in the refrigerator.

Positional Nouns with 有

Positional nouns (里面 lǐmiàn, 上边 shàngbiān, 后面 hòumiàn, etc.) are often suffixed to regular nouns to create more specific place words. The combination acts as a complete place word in the sentence.

Noun + Positional Noun + 有 + Noun

Positional Noun Combinations

Positional nouns are added after regular nouns to indicate specific locations:

Base Noun

森林

sēnlín

forest

Positional Noun

里面

lǐmiàn

inside

Complete Place Word

森林里面

sēnlín lǐmiàn

inside the forest

Examples with Positional Nouns

Structure	Chinese	English Translation
N + 里面 + 有 + N	森林里面有动物。 sēnlín lǐmiàn yǒu dòngwù.	There are animals in the forest.
N + 上边 + 有 + N	桌子上边有水果。 zhuōzi shàngbiān yǒu shuǐguǒ.	There are fruits on the table.
N + 后面 + 有 + N	老师后面有椅子。 lǎoshī hòumiàn yǒu yǐzi.	There are chairs behind the teacher.

里面 (lǐmiàn) – Inside

房间里面

fángjiān lǐmiàn

inside the room

书包里面

shūbāo lǐmiàn

inside the backpack

书包里面有书。

shūbāo lǐmiàn yǒu shū.

There are books in the backpack.

上边 (shàngbiān) – On top

桌子上边

zhuōzi shàngbiān

on the table

床上边

chuáng shàngbiān

on the bed

床上边有猫。

chuáng shàngbiān yǒu māo.

There is a cat on the bed.

后面 (hòumiàn) – Behind

房子后面

fángzi hòumiàn

behind the house

学校后面

xuéxiào hòumiàn

behind the school

房子后面有花园。

fángzi hòumiàn yǒu huāyuán.

There is a garden behind the house.

Common Positional Nouns

Inside/Outside

里面 (lǐmiàn)

inside

外面 (wàimiàn)

outside

中间 (zhōngjiān)

in the middle

Directional

前面 (qiánmiàn)

in front

后面 (hòumiàn)

behind

旁边 (pángbiān)

beside

Forming Questions with 有

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Negative Sentences with 有

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Practice Exercises

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有 Expressing Existence

有 Expressing Existence

1 Basic Sentence Pattern

Basic Structure Visualization

Basic Examples

Place Words

The Verb 有 (yǒu)

The Noun (Existing Thing)

2 Positional Nouns with 有

Positional Noun Combinations

Examples with Positional Nouns

里面 (lǐmiàn) – Inside

上边 (shàngbiān) – On top

后面 (hòumiàn) – Behind

Common Positional Nouns

Inside/Outside

Directional

3 Forming Questions with 有

4 Negative Sentences with 有

Practice Exercises

Basic Sentence Pattern

Positional Nouns with 有

Forming Questions with 有

Negative Sentences with 有