Saying "a lot" with "youdeshi"

In Chinese there is no shortage of ways to say "a lot." 有的是 (yǒudeshì) is one of those ways. However, we need to be very clear: 有的是 is not the same as 有的 (meaning "some") + 是. As a single phrase, 有的是 indicates that the amount or quantity of something is very large, and it can sometimes indicate a tone of exaggeration.

Structure

Subj. + 有的是 + Noun

You can also put the noun at the beginning of the sentence, and put 有的是 at the end, like so:

Noun + Subj. + 有的是 。

Examples

• 他 爸 是 大 老板 ，有的是 钱 。Tā bà shì dà lǎobǎn, yǒudeshì qián.His dad is a big boss. He's got plenty of money.
• 她 是 全职 妈妈 ，有的是 时间 。Tā shì quánzhí māmā, yǒudeshì shíjiān.She's a full-time mother. She's got plenty of time.
• 我 一 个 大男人 ，有的是 力气 。Wǒ yīgè dà nánrén, yǒudeshì lìqì.I'm a big man. I've got plenty of strength.
• 上海 这么 大 的 城市 ，工作 机会 有的是 。Shànghǎi dà de chéngshì, gōngzuò jīhuì yǒudeshì.Shanghai is such a big city. It's got plenty of job opportunities.
• 这样 的 笔 我 家 有的是 ，这些 都 送给 你 。Zhèyàng de bǐ wǒ jiā yǒudeshì, zhèxiē dōu sòng gěi nǐ.I have tons of this kind of pen at home. Here, just take these.
• 这样 的 资源 网上 有的是。Zhèyàng de zīyuán wǎngshàng yǒudeshì.There's a lot of these kinds of resources on the Internet.
• 这 种 风格 的 咖啡店 上海 有的是 。Zhè zhǒng fēnggé de kāfēi diàn shànghǎi yǒudeshì.There are lots of this style of cafe in Shanghai.
• 别 担心 ， 世界 上 男人 有的是 ，分手 了 还 可以 再 找 。Bié dānxīn, shìjiè shàng nánrén yǒudeshì, fēnshǒu le hái kěyǐ zài zhǎo.Don't worry. There are plenty of men in the world. If you break up, you can find someone else.

It's important to note that "有的是" can not be directly negated. If you want to make a negative statement, you'll just have to use 没有很多.

• 我 不 有的是 钱 。
• 我 没 有的是 钱 。
• 我 没有 很 多 钱 。Wǒ méiyǒu hěn duō qián.I don't have a lot of money.

See Also

Sources and Further Reading

NEEDS SOURCES

HSK5