Level 2 · Lesson 1

我爸爸，我妈妈
My father, my mother

他是我爸爸。她是我妈妈。

The family words — and why 我妈妈 needs nothing between the two words.

听 · Listen

对话
 安娜 —  李明，他是谁？ 
Li Ming, who is he?  
 李明 —  他是我爸爸。 
He's my father.  
 安娜 —  她呢？ 
And her?  
 李明 —  她是我妈妈。 
She's my mother.  
 安娜 —  你哥哥叫什么名字？ 
What's your elder brother called?  
 李明 —  我哥哥叫李强，我姐姐叫李文。 
My elder brother is Li Qiang, my elder sister is Li Wen.  
 安娜 —  你姐姐是学生吗？ 
Is your elder sister a student?  
 李明 —  她不是学生，她是医生。 
She's not a student, she's a doctor.  

讲解 · Explanation

我爸爸。我妈妈。我哥哥。我姐姐。

Put the pronoun straight in front of the family word. Nothing goes between them — no ending on 我, no little word of any kind. This is why you have got this far without meeting the possessive particle 的: with close family, Chinese simply does not use it. 我妈妈 is the ordinary, natural way to say 'my mother', and 你家 is 'your family'.

爸爸、妈妈、哥哥、姐姐。

All four are one syllable said twice, and the second time it is said light and short — the neutral tone. So bàba, not bàbà; jiějie, not jiějiě. Write the tone mark on the first syllable only. Read them aloud in pairs until the light second half feels automatic; the same shape returns in 弟弟 and 妹妹 next lesson.

我家。你家。李明家。

家 jiā is both the place you live and the people you live with — 'home' and 'family' in one word. 我家 can mean my house or my household, and the situation tells you which. It takes the same bare pattern: 我家, 你家, 李明家, with nothing in between.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
家	home, family	我家 = my home / my family
爸爸	father, dad	second syllable neutral
妈妈	mother, mum	second syllable neutral
哥哥	elder brother	older than you — always
姐姐	elder sister	older than you — always

练习 · Practice

他是谁？ You are pointing at your father. Which answer is right?

你妈妈是老师吗？ Your mother is a doctor, not a teacher. Which answer is right?

她是我姐姐，他是我______。 'She is my elder sister, he is my elder brother.'

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'He is my father.'

家、爸爸、妈妈、哥哥、姐姐 Match each word to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

我爸爸叫……，我妈妈叫……

Say your own family aloud, one person per sentence: 我爸爸叫 …, 我妈妈叫 …, 我哥哥叫 …, 我姐姐叫 …. Then say what each of them does, using the words you already have: 我爸爸是老师。我姐姐是医生。 Finish by asking a friend back — 你爸爸叫什么名字？