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Lesson 5: Measure words



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Measure Words/量词(liang4ci2)

style="white-space: wrap; background-color:#FFFFCC;"| In Chinese, most specified or numbered nouns must be preceded by measure words according to the type of object. It is like the English use of “pair” in the phrase “two pairs of pants”. Like the word “pair,” Chinese measure words are placed between the noun and the preceding number or demonstrative pronoun. 
1. 这本书里没有一个汉字。
Zhè bĕn shū lǐ méi yŏu yí gè Hànzì.
This book doesn’t contain one Chinese character.

2. 那间宿舍有六十个学生。
Nà jiān sùshè yŏu liùshí ge xuésheng.
That dorm has sixty students.

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Some Common Measure Words



Column key: Trad. is Traditional, Simp. shows changes made for the simplified variant (if any).

Trad. Simp.  Pinyin  Main uses  Example 
個 个 ge (gè)  individual things, people — usage of this classifier in conjunction with any noun is generally accepted if the person does not know the proper classifier.  一个书包 yí gè shū bāo, a schoolbag 
把 || bǎ  "handful" — objects that can be held or grabbed (knives, scissors, keys; also chairs)  一把刀 yì bă dāo. One knife.  
包 || bāo  "package", "bundle"  一包纸巾 yì bāo zhǐ jīn; a package of paper towels 
杯 || bēi  "cup" — drinks  一杯水 yì bēi shuǐ. A cup of water. 
本 || běn  "volume" — any bound print or written matter (books, etc.)  一本书 yì běn shū. A book. 
册 || cè  slimmer volumes of books 
次 || cì  "time" — opportunities, accidents 
滴 || dī  "droplet" water, blood, and other such fluids  一滴水 yì dī shuǐ. a drop of water 
點 点 diǎn  ideas, suggestions, can also mean "a bit" 
朵 || duǒ  flowers, clouds  一朵花 yì duŏ huā. One flower. 
根 || gēn  thin, slender objects, lit. "a root of a..." (needles, pillars, grass, vegetable roots etc.)  一根针 yì gēn zhēn. A needle 
家 || jiā  gathering of people (families, companies, etc.) 
架 || jià   objects with a "frame" or structure; generally used for machines or mechanical objects (esp. cars, planes, etc.)  一架車 yì jià chē. One car. 
件 || jiàn  matters, clothing, etc.  一件衣服 yí jiàn yī fù 
節 节 jié  "a section" — of bamboo, tutorials and classes, etc. 
輛 辆 liàng  automobiles, bicycles, vehicles, etc.  一辆车 yí liàng chē. One car. 
面 || miàn  any flat and smooth objects, lit. "a surface of a..." (mirrors, flags, walls, etc.)  一面镜子 yí miàn jìng zi. One mirror 
匹 || pǐ  horses and other mounts, or rolls/bolts of cloth  一匹马 yì pǐ mă. One horse. 
片 || piàn   "slice" — any flat objects, like cards, slices of bread, tree leaves etc.  一片叶子 yì piàn yè zi. One leaf. 
瓶 || píng  "bottle" — drinks 
艘 || sōu  ships  一艘船 yì sōu chuán. One ship. 
所 || suǒ  any buildings, apartment 
台 || tái  heavy objects (TVs, computers, etc.) and performances (in theatre esp., etc.) 
條 条 tiáo  long, narrow, flexible objects (fish, trousers, etc.)  一条鱼 yì tiáo yú. One fish. 
頭 头 tóu  "head" — herd animals (pigs, cows, sheep etc., never for fowls or birds), hair  一头牛 yì tóu niú (Literally translated into English, "头" means head. So literally we are saying one head of cattle.) 
位 || wèi  polite classifier for people (e.g. "gentleman", "professors") 
張 张 zhāng  "sheet" — squarish or rectangular flat objects (paper, tables, etc.), faces, bows, paintings, tickets, constellations  一张纸 yì zhāng zhĭ. One piece of paper. 
支 || zhī  stick-like objects (pens, chopsticks, etc.)  一支笔 yì zhī bî. One pen. 
隻 只 zhī  one of a pair (e.g. hands, limbs), animals (birds, cats, etc.)  一只狗 yì zhī gŏu. One dog. 
種 种 zhǒng  types or kinds of objects, ideas, etc. 

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Comments

Zeeshan posted 4 months ago
No, it isn't complete. I know at least one more measure word which doesn't appear in this table. 门 is used for exams, tests,idea. 下个星期还有一门考试. 是一门不好的心思
Zeeshan posted 4 months ago
No, it isn't complete. I know at least one more measure word which doesn't appear in this table. 门 is used for exams, tests,idea. 下个星期还有一门考试. 是一门不好的心思
Zeeshan posted 4 months ago
No, it isn't complete. I know at least one more measure word which doesn't appear in this table. 门 is used for exams, tests,idea. 下个星期还有一门考试. 是一门不好的心思
Zeeshan posted 4 months ago
No, it isn't complete. At least I know one more measure word which doesn't appear in this table. 门 is used for exams, tests,idea. 下个星期还有一门考试. 是一门不好的心思
freda posted 4 months ago
i mean this measure word table
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