在和老外闲聊的时候，
老外突然问了一句：
"Do you have a family？"
family我们知道是"家, 家庭",
难道他在问: “你有家吗？”
然后傻乎乎的回答：
Yes I do, there are five people in my family.
是的，我有家，我家有5口人。
这时候恐怕老外会觉得很尴尬吧！
其实正确的理解应该是：
Do you have a family？
你成家了吗？有孩子吗？
For native speakers the family has always been the extended family. That probably came because they had lots of contact many of my relations when I was very young.
对于以英语为母语的人来说，这里的family被认为是你自己组建的新家庭。这可能是常规的family多是在我们的小时候与我们的联系更多。
They wouldn't ask "Do you have a family?" if I were referring to parents or other extended family, unless I were a foster child or something.
如果真的想问对方的父母或亲戚时，是不会用“Do you have a family?”来问的，除非背景是你在和一个收养的孩子聊天。
更常见的情况就是直接具体的问：
"Do you have parents nearby?"
你的父母在你身边吗？
"Do you have brothers and sisters?"
你有兄弟姐妹吗？
"Do you have a family?" 的隐含义其实是"Do you have a spouse/partner and children?"（你有伴侣或者孩子吗？你组建你自己的家庭了吗？）
如果你结婚了,你就回答：
Yes，I'm married. 嗯，我结婚了；
如果你没有结婚, 你就回答：
NO. I'm single. 我单身。
