"Gāo Wénzhōng yǒu jiějie" = "Gao Wenzhong has an older sister/older sisters"?

[BreannaD-K]

In my book, "Shei2 you3 jie3jie?" is translated as "Who has older sisters?" and "Gao1 Wen2zhong1 you3 jie3jie" is translated as "Gao Wenzhong has an older sister."

I'm assuming that both the question and response are general, meaning the exact number of older sisters isn't the concern. As such, would "Gao1 Wen2zhong1 you3 jie3jie" perhaps better be translated "Gao Wenzhong has an older sister/older sisters" so that it's clear in English that it's a general statement (i.e. that "an" doesn't mean "one" [as in yi2 ge])?

 

[Contraine]

If accuracy is paramount, then "Gao Wenzhong has an older sister/older sisters" is the best translation. However, for conversational flow and given its higher probability, I'd lean towards "Gao Wenzhong has an older sister." Also, "他有姐姐" doesn't sound that natural to me. Typically, I'd say "他有一/两/三个姐姐".

 

[dojibear]

In my book, "Shei2 you3 jie3jie?" is translated as "Who has older sisters?"

Literally, this is "Who has an older sister?" It means "at least one older sister".

"Gao1 Wen2zhong1 you3 jie3jie" is translated as "Gao Wenzhong has an older sister."

Literally, this is "Gao Wenzhong has an older sister." It means "at least one older sister".

As such, would "Gao1 Wen2zhong1 you3 jie3jie" perhaps better be translated "Gao Wenzhong has an older sister/older sisters" so that it's clear in English that it's a general statement (i.e. that "an" doesn't mean "one" [as in yi2 ge])?

In English, "a/an" means "one". We only put it before singular nouns. It is translated as 一个 [yi3 ge] in Chinese.

 

[BreannaD-K]

I suppose it's the absence of yi2 ge that primarily concerned me. Given that absence, plus jie3 jie being translated as both the singular "older sister" and plural "older sisters," I assumed that I was dealing with understood general statements. Yay for having been right!

Also, having a translation, however awkward sounding, that encapsulates the grammar as best as possible helps me learn the language better than a smooth translation like one might find in a novel. Yay for the alternative translation "at least one older sister"!

It seems the WordReference community has answered my question again! Xie4 xie!