量词
Chinese Measure Words: List of Common Classifiers with Examples
In Chinese you cannot say "one book" as 一书; a measure word goes between the number and the noun: 一本书. The pattern is Number / 这 / 那 + Measure word + Noun. These are the ones you will use most.
- people and most general things一个人
- people, politely一位人
- most animals, and one of a pair一只手
- long, thin things一条路
- flat things with a surface一张脸
- books and bound volumes一本书
- clothes (upper body), matters and pieces of luggage一件事
- pairs一双手
- things with a handle, and chairs一把刀
- pens, songs and teams一支歌
- vehicles一辆车
- machines and appliances一台电视
- businesses and families一家公司
- cups and glasses of a drink一杯酒
- pieces, chunks, and money一块地方
- songs and poems一首歌
- films, books in a series, and phones一部电话
- trees and plants一棵树
- large, fixed structures一座城市
- letters and emails一封信
- times (how often)一次战争
查一查Look up the measure word for a noun
- person
- year
- question
- matter
- home
- time
- dialect
- moon
- car
- hand
- coin
- company
- stuff
- world
- circumstances
- area
- affair
- friend
- heart
- relation
- head
- country
- telephone
- hour
- opportunity
- plan
- road
- man
- letter
- gate
- squadron
- school
- cause
- news
- path
- part
- way
- ball
- mama
- government
- capability
- means
- movie
- system
- book
- teacher
- organization
- city
- respect
- game
- horse
- hospital
- dog
- face
- region
- spirit
- representative
- target
- center
- rice
- mission
- staff
- thread
- medicine
- song
- life
- household
- blood
- body
- inn
- music
- technology
- eye
- storied building
- photograph
- bank
- television
- proposal
- wine
- light
- side
- sense
- university
- law
- father
- doctor
- illness
- name
- society
- voice
- reporter
- cell phone
- transaction
- history
- city walls
- automobile
- dad
- item
- symbol
- dream
- meeting
- responsibility
- computer
- program
- ticket
- bed
- event
- mother
- idea
- president
- department
- process
- position
- foot
- house
- mountain
- market
- operation
- mouth
- brothers
Common questions
What is a measure word in Chinese?
A word that must go between a number (or 这/那) and a noun: 一本书 "one book", 这件衣服 "this item of clothing". English has a few, like "a sheet of paper"; Chinese uses them with every counted noun.
What if I do not know the measure word?
Use 个 (gè). It is understood almost everywhere, but exams expect the specific one.
How many measure words are there?
Over a hundred exist, but about twenty cover most everyday nouns. They are listed on this page.