"我有三个孩子。"

Translation: I have three children.

[ph516503]

we have to use liang instead of "er" for quantities, is there an equivalent for 三? Or is 三个 good enough?

[tvltvl]

Yeah, I was wondering that too. Anybody know what this liang vs er is all about and if it is only applicable to 2 and not to other numbers?

[deactivated user]

Using a different word in place of a number (liang vs er) is ONLY for two. No other numbers

[ph516503]

Thank you.

[MultiYuniversal]

why doesn't kids work? -_- duolingo i know you probably won't read this

[ISpeakAlien]

It works for me...

[jad498154]

How can you tell the difference between i love my child or i love my children if they are both translated to 我爱我的孩子

[ISpeakAlien]

Can you use 们 (孩子们) in this situation? If not, you could probably use a number or adjective.

[Danmoller]

Is haizi necessarily "one's children" or can it be just "any children"?

[jungerstein]

It depends on the context. The language lacks some features like definite articles, and we use the word in the both meanings.

• 孩子怎么样了？ = How is the child? If one parent of a child asks the other parent, the child referred is of course 'their children'.
• 孩子咳嗽怎么办？= What should we do when the child / children / a child is / are coughing? As an ad catchline, it could refer to both the children in trouble, or any general child.
• 救救孩子！ = Save children! As the closing exclamation of Lu Xun's 狂人日记， here the 孩子 refer to all the children growing or to be born in this world.

[SeanLogan11]

does the so-called "Zi" have to be there? i mistaken it for "bu".xchinese is tricky.

[deactivated user]

Yes, 孩子 means child or children.
You can also say 小孩.

[momo-wuwen]

Yes, it needs to be there. Remember it's toneless (zi5)

[ISpeakAlien]

子 = zi3
不 = bu4

[Kai660177]

not in china you don't