<p>"你家有几口人?" is asking the singular 'your family' (one single family as a unit)</p>

<p>“你们家有几口人?” is asking the plural 'you' (everyone in the family can answer this question. You as a member of the family, can answer this question on everyone's behalf)</p>

<p>"你的家中有几口人?" is asking the singular 'you' (how many people are in your family)</p>

<p>All sentences above are valid</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-26T00:51:26.297Z
2019-04-26T01:39:26.317Z
2019-04-26T01:39:26.317Z
Tang Ho
<p>Not really as @Tang Ho said. </p>

<p>When you are talking to a single person, asking <code>你们家有几口人</code> is equivalent to <code>你家有几口人</code>, here 你们 refers to all the members of his/her family and sounds a little bit more polite. </p>

<p>When you are talking to a person together with his/her family members nearby, you should ask 你们家有几口人, because they are probably listening. </p>

<p>When you’re asking a group of people how many members are there in their family respectively, you will asking 你们家<strong>都</strong>有多少口人 and here <code>你们</code> refers to all the people you are talking to.</p>

<p>And we tend to omit the 口. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>你/你们家有多少人？</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-26T06:41:54.297Z
2019-04-26T06:41:54.297Z
imkzh
<p>That's a cultural issue: Chinese people tend to "collectivize" things when they are talking about institutions or groups of people.</p>

<p>So, even if there are only two people talking, they tend to use 你们 and 我们 even if they are alone. That's a way to sound more polite.</p>

<p>It's not wrong to use 你 or 我, it's just a habit to use the plural when talking about family, school, company, etc.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-12T12:23:52.237Z
2019-06-12T12:23:52.237Z
Enrico Brasil
<p>I understand that 你们 is plural as in you're talking to more than 1 person; however, this question is said to one person so how come we do not say </p>

<p>"你家有几口人"</p>

<p>Why do we add a 们 to it or am I misunderstanding something here?</p>

<grammar>
Confused about 们 in this particular sentence "你们家有几口人"
# Confused about 们 in this particular sentence "你们家有几口人"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-26)

I understand that 你们 is plural as in you're talking to more than 1 person; however, this question is said to one person so how come we do not say

"你家有几口人"

Why do we add a 们 to it or am I misunderstanding something here?

**Tags:** grammar


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-04-26. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

"你家有几口人?" is asking the singular 'your family' (one single family as a unit)

“你们家有几口人?” is asking the plural 'you' (everyone in the family can answer this question. You as a member of the family, can answer this question on everyone's behalf)

"你的家中有几口人?" is asking the singular 'you' (how many people are in your family)

All sentences above are valid


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### Answer by username_2 on 2019-04-26. Score: 2

Not really as @username_1 said.

When you are talking to a single person, asking `你们家有几口人` is equivalent to `你家有几口人`, here 你们 refers to all the members of his/her family and sounds a little bit more polite.

When you are talking to a person together with his/her family members nearby, you should ask 你们家有几口人, because they are probably listening.

When you’re asking a group of people how many members are there in their family respectively, you will asking 你们家**都**有多少口人 and here `你们` refers to all the people you are talking to.

And we tend to omit the 口.

> 你/你们家有多少人？


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### Answer by username_3 on 2019-06-12. Score: 1

That's a cultural issue: Chinese people tend to "collectivize" things when they are talking about institutions or groups of people.

So, even if there are only two people talking, they tend to use 你们 and 我们 even if they are alone. That's a way to sound more polite.

It's not wrong to use 你 or 我, it's just a habit to use the plural when talking about family, school, company, etc.


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