Children

trevorb

September 04, 2010, 09:13 AM posted in I Have a Question

I think I've been confusing myself here.

I recollect 孩子们 being for large groups of children (like a school class) as opposed to one or two children. 对不对

if this is right what do I use when I talk about my two kids? or is it fine to use 孩子们？

bodawei

September 04, 2010, 11:05 AM

My take would be 两个孩子(都)。。sounds a little more friendly if you are talking about your own two kids. But it would be interesting to know whether a native speaker reads it the same way.

孩子们 is no doubt used in more formal situations, which also commonly involves larger groups.

xiaophil

My wife says both are ok. 我的两个孩子 = my two kids, 我的孩子们 = my children.

gaojian

Of course they are both okay, but when getting the full details about specific kids (yours) then 两个孩子 will make the conversation much more smooth. Like any language it is all about context.

trevorb

September 05, 2010, 09:15 PM

Many thanks,

So the trick is to be quite precise. In English I tend to talk about the kids but I guess people don't know how many unless I expand!

Its normal then to talk about your two kids in chinese rather than to generalise...?