Courses › First Steps › Family Members
A1 · Lesson 4

Family Members

家人
What you will learn

Talk about your family in Cantonese — parents, siblings, grandparents, and common questions about family.

Dialogue

Conversation

A
美玲，你屋企有幾多人呀？
Mei Ling, how many people are in your family?
B
我屋企有五個人。爸爸、媽媽、哥哥、家姐同我。
My family has five people. Dad, Mum, older brother, older sister, and me.
A
你有冇細佬或者妹妹呀？
Do you have any younger brothers or sisters?
B
冇呀，我係最細嗰個。你呢？
No, I am the youngest. And you?
A
我屋企得三個人。爸爸、媽媽同我。我冇兄弟姊妹。
My family only has three people. Dad, Mum, and me. I have no siblings.
B
你爺爺嫲嫲住喺邊度呀？
Where do your grandparents live?
A
佢哋住喺廣州。我哋成日去探佢哋。
They live in Guangzhou. We often go visit them.
B
好好呀！家人好重要。
How nice! Family is very important.
Vocabulary

Key Words & Phrases

屋企
home / family
爸爸
dad
媽媽
mum
哥哥
older brother
家姐
older sister
細佬
younger brother
妹妹
younger sister
爺爺
paternal grandfather
嫲嫲
paternal grandmother
有
to have / there is
冇
do not have / there is not
同
and / with
Grammar

Language Patterns

Having and not having: 有 (jau5) / 冇 (mou5)

Use 有 to express possession or existence. The negative form is 冇 — unique to Cantonese (Mandarin uses 没有).
我有兩個妹妹。
ngo5 jau5 loeng5 go3 mui6 mui2.
I have two younger sisters.
我冇兄弟姊妹。
ngo5 mou5 hing1 dai6 zi2 mui6.
I have no siblings.

Yes/no with 有冇

To ask a have/not-have question, place 有冇 (jau5 mou5) before the object. This is the A-not-A question pattern.
你有冇細佬？
nei5 jau5 mou5 sai3 lou2?
Do you have a younger brother?
你有冇寵物？
nei5 jau5 mou5 cung2 mat6?
Do you have pets?

Listing with 同 (tung4)

Use 同 to connect nouns in a list, like English and. For longer lists, 同 typically appears before the last item.
爸爸同媽媽
baa4 baa1 tung4 maa4 maa1
Dad and Mum
哥哥、家姐同我
go4 go1, gaa1 ze2 tung4 ngo5
Older brother, older sister, and me

Asking family size: 你屋企有幾多人？

Use 屋企有幾多人 to ask about family size. Answer with 有 + number + 個人.
你屋企有幾多人呀？
nei5 uk1 kei2 jau5 gei2 do1 jan4 aa3?
How many people in your family?
我屋企有四個人。
ngo5 uk1 kei2 jau5 sei3 go3 jan4.
My family has four people.
Practice

Test Your Knowledge

Translate · Question 1
How do you say "I have one older sister" in Cantonese?
Answer
我有一個家姐 (ngo5 jau5 jat1 go3 gaa1 ze2)
Fill_blank · Question 2
你有 ___ 細佬呀？ (Do you have younger brothers?)
Answer
冇 — making it 你有冇細佬呀？
Choose · Question 3
What is the Cantonese word for "home/family"?
  • 屋企
  • 家姐
  • 屋頂
  • 企鵝
Answer
屋企 (uk1 kei2)
Translate · Question 4
Translate: 我屋企有六個人。
Answer
My family has six people.
Translate · Question 5
Say "Dad and Mum live in Hong Kong" in Cantonese.
Answer
爸爸同媽媽住喺香港 (baa4 baa1 tung4 maa4 maa1 zyu6 hai2 hoeng1 gong2)

Finished this lesson?

←
Previous
Numbers 1–100
Next
Days & Time
→