I'd say that if you can use 一次, then it's countable: Countable — a wonderful experience: 一次美妙的經歷 If you cannot use 一次, then it's uncountable: Uncountable — lots of experience: 豐富的經驗 Also, my Chinese is really basic, but my impression is that jingli is more often used countably, while jingyan is more often uncountable. What do you think?

Oops! I mixed them up. It should be: experience as an uncountable noun: I think he'll get the job because he has a lot of experience. experience as a countable noun: It's an experience that I'll never forget.

Yes, there is a way that will work with any word. Look up the word in a dictionary. There you will see the different meanings that the word has. Some of those meanings are "countable" and some are "uncountable". The dictionary doesn't tell you which is which but it is usually obvious. Here are the definitions for "experience": Countable: "an event or occurrence that leaves an impression on someone" Uncountable: " the knowledge or skill acquired by experience over a period of time, especially that gained in a particular profession by someone at work" When you want to the word in a sentence, look at the dictionary meanings and decide whether you are using a "countable" or "uncountable" meaning. After you perform this exercise with enough words, you will no longer need to think about the concepts of "countable" and "uncountable". It is the *meaning* of the word that is countable or uncountable, not the word itself. When you use a word, think about the meaning you want it to have, and speak accordingly.

experience as a countable noun: I think he'll get the job because he has a lot of experience. experience as an uncountable noun: It's an experience that I'll never forget.