The Verb 有 (yǒu): to have / there is

Level: beginner (HSK 1). 有 (yǒu) is one of the first verbs you need. It does two jobs English splits into different words: “to have” (possession) and “there is / there are” (existence). It also has a single rule that trips up almost every learner — its negative is built with 没 (méi), never with 不 (bù).

The rule

有 (yǒu) is a verb, the word that carries the action or state in a sentence. It covers two meanings:

• Possession — “to have”. Subject + 有 (yǒu) + object: 我有一本书 (wǒ yǒu yì běn shū), “I have a book”.
• Existence — “there is / there are”. Place + 有 (yǒu) + thing: 桌子上有一本书 (zhuōzi shàng yǒu yì běn shū), “There is a book on the table”.

The one rule to memorise: the negative of 有 (yǒu) is 没有 (méiyǒu), using 没 (méi). Every other verb negates with 不 (bù), but 有 (yǒu) is the exception. 不有 (bù yǒu) does not exist in Mandarin.

Forms at a glance

Note: the short “no” answer is 没有 (méiyǒu), not 不 (bù). To answer “yes”, just repeat the verb: 有 (yǒu).

Example sentences

Common mistakes

• ❌ 我不有书。 (wǒ bù yǒu shū) → ✅ 我没有书。 (wǒ méiyǒu shū) 有 (yǒu) is negated with 没 (méi), never 不 (bù).
• ❌ 我有不钱。 (wǒ yǒu bù qián) → ✅ 我没有钱。 (wǒ méiyǒu qián) The negator goes before 有 (yǒu): 没有 (méiyǒu).
• ❌ 我有两书。 (wǒ yǒu liǎng shū) → ✅ 我有两本书。 (wǒ yǒu liǎng běn shū) A counted noun needs a measure word (here 本 (běn) for books).
• ❌ 你有书吗没有？ (nǐ yǒu shū ma méiyǒu) → ✅ 你有没有书？ (nǐ yǒu méiyǒu shū) or 你有书吗？ (nǐ yǒu shū ma) Use 吗 (ma) or 有没有 (yǒu méiyǒu), not both.
• ❌ 桌子上是一本书。 (zhuōzi shàng shì yì běn shū) → ✅ 桌子上有一本书。 (zhuōzi shàng yǒu yì běn shū) Existence (“there is”) uses 有 (yǒu), not 是 (shì).

A short conversation

A: 你有没有手机？ (Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu shǒujī?) — Do you have a phone? B: 有。你呢？ (Yǒu. Nǐ ne?) — Yes. And you? A: 我没有。家里有一台电脑。 (Wǒ méiyǒu. Jiā lǐ yǒu yì tái diànnǎo.) — I don’t, but there’s a computer at home.

Usage notes

• 有 (yǒu) does not take 了 (le) for a simple negative past. “I didn’t have” is still 没有 (méiyǒu): 昨天我没有时间 (zuótiān wǒ méiyǒu shíjiān), “Yesterday I didn’t have time”.
• Existence sentences start with the place. Put the location first, then 有 (yǒu), then the thing: 房间里有人 (fángjiān lǐ yǒu rén), “There is someone in the room”.
• 有 (yǒu) also builds “some” and set phrases. 有的 (yǒude) means “some”; 有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr) means “a little / somewhat”. These grow from the same verb.
• “Yes/no” answers reuse the verb. Answer 有 (yǒu) for “yes” and 没有 (méiyǒu) for “no”; Mandarin has no single word for “yes”.

Compared with…

• 是 (shì) links two nouns to say what something is (identity): 这是书 (zhè shì shū, “this is a book”). 有 (yǒu) says something exists or is owned: 这儿有书 (zhèr yǒu shū, “there are books here”). See 是 (shì): ‘To Be’ in Mandarin.
• 在 (zài) says a known thing is located somewhere (书在桌子上, shū zài zhuōzi shàng, “the book is on the table”), while 有 (yǒu) introduces something new at a place (桌子上有书, zhuōzi shàng yǒu shū, “there are books on the table”). Both patterns live in the Chinese grammar section.

Quick recap before you practise.

Practice

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Compare the identity verb: 是 (shì): ‘To Be’ in Mandarin
• Count things after 有 (yǒu) with Measure Words with 个 (ge)
• Show possession with 的 (de): 的 (de) for Possession
• Back to the Chinese grammar section