About This Lesson
Use Family and Pets at Home to practice Chinese conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
你和家人住在一起吗？
nǐ hé jiārén zhù zài yìqǐ ma Do you live with family?
B
我和我的孩子住在一起。
wǒ hé wǒ de háizi zhù zài yìqǐ I live with my child.
A
家里也有宠物吗？
jiālǐ yě yǒu chǒngwù ma Is there a pet at home too?
B
我们有一只小狗。
wǒmen yǒu yì zhī xiǎo gǒu We have a small dog.
A
他们相处得怎么样？
tāmen xiāngchǔ de zěnmeyàng How do they get along?
B
他们每天一起玩。
tāmen měitiān yìqǐ wán They play together every day.Word by Word
你
In “你和家人住在一起吗？”, “你” means “you” and identifies the person being asked about living with family. It appears before the rest of the question as the person being discussed. Use it when addressing one person directly.
和
In “你和家人住在一起吗？”, “和” connects “你” and “家人” and expresses living together with them. It is used to connect people or things in a shared activity or situation. This is useful when talking about who does something together.
家人
In “你和家人住在一起吗？”, “家人” means family members, the people mentioned as living with the listener. It follows “和” in the phrase “和家人住在一起”. Use it when discussing people in someone’s family or household.
住
In “住在一起”, “住” means to live or reside. Here it describes the living arrangement with family, rather than a short visit. A common reuse pattern is to use it when stating where someone lives or who they live with.
在
In “住在一起”, “在” is part of the expression describing living together and links “住” with the following phrase. It helps specify the setting or arrangement connected with living. A common reuse pattern is “在” followed by a place when locating someone or an action.
一起
In “住在一起” and “一起玩”, “一起” means together. It shows that the people or animals share the same living arrangement or activity. Use it before a shared activity, as in “一起玩”, or in an expression describing living together.
吗
At the end of “你和家人住在一起吗？” and “家里也有宠物吗？”, “吗” turns the sentence into a yes-or-no question. It is placed at the end of the question. Use it when asking someone to confirm or deny a statement.
我
In “我和我的孩子住在一起。”, “我” means “I” or “me” and refers to the speaker. It appears at the beginning as the person making the statement and also forms “我的” before a noun. Use it when talking about yourself.
的
In “我的孩子”, “的” marks the relationship between “我” and “孩子”, giving the meaning “my child”. It comes after the person who is connected to the following noun. A common reuse pattern is person plus “的” plus a noun to identify possession or association.
孩子
In “我的孩子”, “孩子” means child and refers to the family member the speaker lives with. It follows “的” to form the phrase “我的孩子”. Use it when talking about a child in a family or household context.
家里
In “家里也有宠物吗？”, “家里” means at home or in the home and sets the location for the question. It comes before the information about what exists there. Use it when discussing people, animals, or things present in someone’s home.
也
In “家里也有宠物吗？”, “也” means also or too and adds a pet to the home situation already being discussed. It appears before “有” in this sentence. Use it when adding another person, thing, or fact to the conversation.
有
“有” means “have” in “我们有一只小狗。” and means “there is” in “家里也有宠物吗？”. The surrounding subject or location determines whether it describes possession or existence. Use it after a person or place when saying that someone has something or that something is present somewhere.
宠物
In “家里也有宠物吗？”, “宠物” means pet and is the animal being asked about at home. It follows “有” as the thing whose presence is being questioned. Use it when talking generally about an animal kept at home.
我们
In “我们有一只小狗。”, “我们” means “we” or “us” and refers to the speaker together with another person or group. It appears before “有” as the people who have the dog. Use it when making a statement about yourself and others together.
一
In “一只小狗”, “一” means one and gives the number of dogs being mentioned. It comes before the animal measure word “只”, not directly before the noun. A common reuse pattern is number plus measure word plus noun when counting something.
只
In “一只小狗”, “只” is the measure word used for the animal. It comes between “一” and “小狗” to form the counted phrase. Use it after a number when counting an animal in this kind of expression.
小狗
In “一只小狗”, “小狗” means a small dog and identifies the pet the speaker has. It follows the measure word “只”. Use it when describing or referring to this kind of dog as a household pet.
他们
In “他们相处得怎么样？” and “他们每天一起玩。”, “他们” means “they” or “them” and refers to the two already mentioned individuals. It appears before the action or interaction being discussed. Use it when talking about more than one person or other already identified beings together.
相处
In “他们相处得怎么样？”, “相处” means to get along or interact with each other. The question asks about the quality of their relationship, not simply where they are. A common reuse pattern is to describe how two people or beings interact with each other.
得
In “相处得怎么样？”, “得” links the action “相处” with the description “怎么样”. It allows the speaker to ask how the interaction is going or what it is like. A common reuse pattern is action plus “得” plus a description of that action.
怎么样
In “相处得怎么样？”, “怎么样” means how or what something is like and asks for an evaluation of their interaction. It comes after “相处得” in this question. Use it when asking how an activity, situation, or relationship is going.
每天
In “他们每天一起玩。”, “每天” means every day and shows that the playing happens as a daily routine. It comes before “一起玩”, the activity being described. Use it before an activity when saying that it happens each day.
玩
In “他们每天一起玩。”, “玩” means to play and describes the shared activity of the child and dog. It follows “一起” to show that they play together. Use it when talking about a person or animal taking part in a recreational activity.
Grammar Points
家里有 + 名词
家里有小狗。
jiālǐ yǒu xiǎo gǒuThere is a small dog at home.
有 introduces something that exists in a place; 家里有小狗 means “there is a small dog at home.”
每天 + 动词短语
他们每天一起玩。
tāmen měitiān yìqǐ wánThey play together every day.
每天 comes before the verb phrase to show how often an action happens.
Chinese Vocabulary
宠物
noun
chǒngwù
pet
狗
noun
gǒu
dog
孩子
noun
háizi
child
家里
noun
jiālǐ
at home
家人
noun
jiārén
family
他们
pron
tāmen
they; them
相处
verb
xiāngchǔ
to get along
小
adj
xiǎo
small
也
adv
yě
also; too
有
verb
yǒu
to have; there is/are
在一起
adv
zài yìqǐ
together
住
verb
zhù
to live
Quiz
Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
they; them
Show Answer
他们to get along
Show Answer
相处child
Show Answer
孩子at home