Learn · Lesson 17
Introducing family
Say who people are with 叫, 家人, and 几口人 without turning every sentence into 是.
Goals
- Introduce yourself with 我叫… and ask 你叫什么名字？
- Name close family with 这是我…
- Ask how many people are in a household
- Keep 的 on 我的妈妈 without overusing it
Names before job titles
我是学生 names a category. 我叫王安 names a person. Beginners mash them: 我是王安 is understandable, but 我叫王安 is the introduction you actually want at a table.
Ask 你叫什么名字？ The question word 什么 stays in place. Do not invert like English.
A short answer is just the name, or 我叫… again. Echoing the frame is clearer than a one-word mumble.
My name is Li Ming.
What is your name?
She is called Teacher Wang.
Pointing at people
这是我妈妈。这是我爸爸。 The pattern is 这是 + 我 + kinship. You already have 是; family nouns are the new payload.
口 in 三口人 is a measure for household members, not a mouth you eat with in this phrase. 你们家几口人？
If you only remember two kinship words this week, make them 妈妈 and 朋友. Stretch later.
This is my mom.
How many people are in your family?
There are four people in my family.
的, but not everywhere
我妈妈 and 我的妈妈 both occur. Close kinship often drops 的 in speech. 我的朋友 keeps 的 more often.
If you are unsure, 我的 is safe. Over-dropping 的 on longer phrases sounds broken.
Practice one photo: point, name, ask 他是谁？
Who is he?
This is my friend.
She is my older sister.
Takeaways
- 叫 for names, 是 for roles, 这是 for pointing.
- 几口人 counts household members.
- 的 is optional on the closest kinship, useful on everything else.
Quick check
1. How do you ask someone’s name?
2. 几口人 asks about…
3. Which is the pointing frame?