Which measure words do they really use?
See also: Top 10 measure words to know
As a friend who recently arrived in China said, “Yes but do they really USE all of those measure words?” I don’t know about all. But yes, unfortunately, they do use a great deal of them.
These are all the measure words I have heard in natural conversation. Maybe not worth memorizing, but as one learns to speak Chinese, and especially for listening, they’re certainly worth being able to recognize (I can get stumped pretty easily when I hear a seemingly out of place word). ll also give the context I heard the word used in.
If you want to know what other things that measure word applies to, I suggest consulting the back of Chubby or some other measure word reference.
Measure word > for what kind of thing
- bǎ 把 > stuff with handles (knives), chairs
- qǐng lái sān bǎ sháozi 请来三把勺子= please bring 3 spoons
- bān 班 > scheduled transportation
- zhè bānxiào chē shì bú shì zuì hòu yì bān? 这班校车是不是最后一班？= Is this the last school bus?
- běn 本 > bound stuff (books, magazines)
- wǒ yǒu sān běn cídiǎn 我有三本辞典= I have 3 dictionaries
- bǐ 笔 > sums of money
- wǒ bìxū huā yì bǐ qián 我必须花一笔钱= I have to pay a sum of money
- bù 部 > cell phones, sequels of a book/movie
- nǐ wèishénme yǒu liǎng bù shǒujī? 你为什么有两部手机？= Why do you have 2 cell phones?
- duàn 段 > sections of long stuff, parts of songs
- yí duàn fěnbǐ 一段粉笔= a piece of chalk
- duǒ 朵 > flowers
- I can’t remember the sentence, but it was definitely about flowers.
- fèn 份 > bundles/batches (servings of food, multi-page documents)
- yào jǐ fèn? 要几份= How many servings (do you) want?
- jiā 家 > stores
- zhège chéngshì yǒu jǐ jiā wòěrmǎ? 这个城市有几家沃尔玛？= How many Walmarts does this city have?
- jiān 间 > rooms, houses (one room)
- zhège xuéxiào de sùshè jǐ gè rén yì jiān? 这个学校的宿舍几个人一间 = How many people are there in one dorm room at this school?
- jiàn 件 > shirts
- yí cì zuì duō zhǐ néng ná sān jiàn 一次最多只能拿三件= the most you can take at one time is 3 (shirts)
*what the girl at the fitting rooms said
- yí cì zuì duō zhǐ néng ná sān jiàn 一次最多只能拿三件= the most you can take at one time is 3 (shirts)
- jiǎng 讲 > long (usually 2 hour) class periods that may include a break (as opposed to “jié”)
- jīntiān nǐ yǒu jǐ jiǎng kè 今天你有几讲课？= How many classes do you have today?
- jié 节 > 1 hour class periods
- jīntiān nǐ yǒu jǐ jié kè？今天你有几节课？= How many hours of class do you have today?
- jù 句 > sentences
- wǒ zhǐ huì shuō yí jù Kūnmíng huà 我只会说一句昆明话= I can only say one sentence of the Kunming dialect
- kē 棵 > trees
- jīntiān wǒmen zhòng le èrshí kē shū 今天我们种了二十棵树= today we planted 20 trees
- kǒu 口 > people, family members
- nǐ de jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén 你的家有几口人？= How many people are there in your family?
*you could also use “ge 个”
- nǐ de jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén 你的家有几口人？= How many people are there in your family?
- kuài 块 > chunks of tofu/yuan money
- ná yí kuài dòufu 拿一块豆腐= I’ll take one piece of tofu
- lèi 类 > kinds of people
- wǒmen shì yí lèi rén 我们是一类人= we are (the same) one kind of person
- lì 粒 > small round stuff
- wǒ shènzhì bù néng chī yí lì huāshēng 我甚至不能吃一粒花生= I can’t even eat one peanut
- liàng 辆 > vehicles with wheels (but not trains)
- wǒ yǒu liǎng liàng zìxíngchē 我有两辆自行车= I have 2 bicycles
- mén 门 > subjects (academic)
- nàge kǎoshì yǒu sān mén 那个考试有三门= that test has 3 subjects
*e.g. math, English, history
- nàge kǎoshì yǒu sān mén 那个考试有三门= that test has 3 subjects
- miàn 面 > mirrors
- wǒ xiǎng mǎi yí miàn xiǎo jìngzi 我想买一面小镜子= I want to by a small mirror
- pái 排 > rows of seats, lines of people
- zhàn chéng yì pái! 站成一排！= line up! [stand become 1 line]
- pǐ 匹 > horses
- yì pǐ mǎ gòulái le 一匹马过来了= a horse came over
*from a children’s story
- yì pǐ mǎ gòulái le 一匹马过来了= a horse came over
- piàn 片 > slices, expanses (like clouds, beaches)
- yí piàn ròu 一片肉= a slice of meat
- shēng 声 > utterances, sounds
- wǒ yào xiān duì nǐ shuō yì shēng “xièxie” 我要先对你说一声“谢谢”= I want to say “thanks” in advance
- shǒu 首 > songs, poems
- zhè shǒu gē shì shéi de? 这首歌是谁的？= Who’s song is this?
*this is how I ask about the music blasting over the speakers on campus
- zhè shǒu gē shì shéi de? 这首歌是谁的？= Who’s song is this?
- shuāng 双 > pairs (chopsticks, shoes, eyes)
- wǒ yào mǎi sān shuāng tuōxié 我要买三双拖鞋= I want to buy 3 pairs of slippers.
- tái 台 > big electric stuff, pianos
- wǒ yǒu yì tái xǐyījī 我有一台洗衣机= I have a washing machine
- tào 套 > apartments, houses (multiple rooms)
- nàbian de fángzi yào duōshao qián yí tào? 那边的房子要多少钱一套？= Those houses cost how much per house?
- tiáo 条 > roads, long stuff (rivers, snakes, pants)
- zhè tiáo lù jiào shénme míngzi 这条路叫什么名字？= What’s this road called?
- tóu 头 > pigs, cows
- yì tóu máoniú 一头牦牛= one yak
- wèi 位 > people (polite)
- jǐ wèi 几位= How many people?
*in your party at a restaurant
- jǐ wèi 几位= How many people?
- zhāng 张 > flat stuff (pieces of paper, tables, CDs)
- ná shí zhāng kòngbái de CD 拿十张空白的CD= I’ll take 10 blank CDs
- zhī 只 > cats, birds
- “liǎng zhī lǎohǔ 两只老虎” = “2 tigers” (sung to the tune of “Frere Jacques”)
- zhī 只 > one of a pair
- bā zhī yǎnjing 八只眼睛= 8 Eyes
*the name of a 4 person singing group
- bā zhī yǎnjing 八只眼睛= 8 Eyes
- zhī 支 > stick-like stuff (pen, chopstick, shoe, eye)
- yì zhī bǐ bú gòu 一支筷子不够= 1 pen isn’t enough
- zhǒng 种 > types of stuff
- yǒu liǎng zhǒng júzi 有两种桔子= there are 2 kinds of oranges
- zuò 座 > mountains
- zhōngguó zuì yǒumíng de sān zuò shān 中国最有名的三座山= China’s 3 most famous mountains
NOTE: There are a few other measure words for “times” and “money” that I left off this list but have been included in my previous post.
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20 Responses to “Which measure words do they really use?”
mooney47
said:
Hi, thank you for the posts. Just wondering why you don’t include the characters as well as the pronunciation.
Comment date: Dec 18, 2006
Mitch Davis
said:
My Chinese friend tells me that classical Chinese did not have or use measure words. Is it possible that measure words have arisen for a similar purpose to your theory of adding “zi (子)”, that is, to reduce homonym confusion?
Comment date: Dec 18, 2006
Albert
said:
Mitch,
It’s funny you say that because I just NOW clicked “Publish” for the post on my theories about where they came from post. And yes, predictably, that is one of my ideas.
Hey, while you’re at it, what’s my next post going to be about?
Comment date: Dec 18, 2006
jonathan
said:
Thanks, that’s a useful list to have.
I’m slightly confused about the measure word for sentences. In your example, it appears to mean a sentence rather than a counting word for them.
Best, J
Comment date: Dec 18, 2006
Albert
said:
jonathan,
Yes, fair enough. That should probably be categorized as a word that IS it’s own measures word (like “tian” = “day”).
But, I still thought it worth pointing out because it comes right after the number word and doesn’t need an extra “ge” or anything before you can count it. So in that sense it is a measure word But you’re absolutely right, it means sentence.
Comment date: Dec 19, 2006
Mitch Davis
said:
> Hey, while you’re at it, what’s my next post going to be about?
It’s going to be about situations where you’ve been caught out by homonyms.
Jonathan wrote:
> I’m slightly confused about the measure word for sentences. In your example, it appears to mean a sentence rather than a counting word for them.
I think with “子” it’s a sentence, and without, the MW for sentences. See chapter 29 of the New Practical Chinese Reader:
http://www.afork.com/hanyu/t29.html
(In particular, 29.2.5)
Comment date: Dec 19, 2006
Erica
said:
Hey, not bad, brother. I’d also like to add that I believe 座 is also used for cities. Interesting.
Comment date: Jan 13, 2007
Emma
said:
This is really handy. Thanks for sharing
Comment date: Jan 23, 2007
Elyce
said:
Thank you so much for putting this list up! I have an asignment due tomorrow and I completely forgot the measure word for film
Comment date: Mar 7, 2007
Eva
said:
I know it’s a while ago - but just for the record, i’ve heard 座 used for buildings as well. 他盖了座房子 is a direct quotation from my chinese “3 little pigs”-book.. And my kindergarten-kids have used it as well.
Otherwise thanks a lot for the list - it’s handy
Comment date: Nov 19, 2007
Albert
said:
Eva,
Does that mean “He built a house”? If so, I find it strange that right before the measure word there isn’t a number or a “zhe,” or “na” or “ji.” Can you explain the grammar of that sentence?
Comment date: Nov 20, 2007
Mandarin
said:
I saw this on a vehicle the other day:
200匹
There are pretty frequent cases like this where a noun can be excluded because the measure word and the context makes it obvious.
(200 “horse”power in this case, I believe)
Comment date: Jan 6, 2008
Michael
said:
This is a great post and a great website. I recently learned the measure word for, of all things, a single french fry, which I had never heard before.
一根暑条 (yi gen shu tiao)
also for antennae, and matches (?)…. The guy was Cantonese and for 2 hours I thought he was mis-pronouncing “个” before someone clarified it for me.
Now this really had/has me fascinated as 条 (tiao) is already a measure word. So why give something that has been named using one measure word a different measure word?
Can anyone think of any other examples of this?
Comment date: Feb 1, 2008
Huan9
said:
What are the measure words for the following things?
door
window
flower vase (I know 瓶 is already a measure word for drinks that come in a bottle. So what is the mw for 花瓶？)
The lists of measure words and their nouns are instructive, but the opposite would be even more useful. Does anyone know of a website where you can look up measure words by the noun?
Comment date: May 2, 2008
Helen
said:
shàn > doors , windows
yí shàn mén 一扇门 = one door
liǎng shàn chuāng 两扇窗 = two windows
jǐgè huāpíng 几个花瓶 = several flower vases
Comment date: May 2, 2008
Helen
said:
chuáng 床 > quilt, bedding
tā yǒu liǎng chuáng bèizi，dàn tā zhǐ gài yì chuáng.他有两床被子，但他只盖一床。=He has two covers, but he usually uses one.
Comment date: May 26, 2008
Bruce
said:
Albert Nov 20 2007
How you going?
我吃了个面包， 又喝了瓶啤酒。 看了个电影。 出门碰见个同学。
I ate a bread, drank a beer, watched a movie and ran into a classmate.
Actually the number is ‘one’. For most of the time, the number 1 before the measure word can be omitted.
And if you want to omit most of the measure words, it is not impossible. In fact in my area, measure words are not used so frequently. We use different number words.
As one is already omitted, we start from two.
TWO: lia 3
THREE: sa 1
FOUR: se 4
FIVE: N/A
SIX: liu’o 4
SEVEN: N/A
EIGHT: N/A
NINE: jiu’o 2
TEN： she 2
Comment date: Jul 24, 2008
Albert
said:
Bruce,
Very interesting indeed. So lia3 俩 is just one of a whole family of contracted (number + ge 个) words? A few questions:
1) where exactly are you in China (if you don’t mind saying)?
2) are there hanzi characters for those?
3) do you think people in other parts of China understand all of those?
Comment date: Jul 31, 2008
Elia Diodati
said:
There’s definitely huge regional variation!
Random notes from my personal use and experience:
In Taiwan, people tend to use bu4 部 for vehicles.
I’ve also heard 部 being used (although I use chang3 场 more often) for movies or performances, e.g. 一部电影, 一场歌剧.
dong4 栋 for buildings, esp. with Cantonese speakers: 一栋高楼
dui4 对 for pairs, esp. for couples, 一对夫妇
dun4 顿 for meals, e.g. 一顿饭
feng1 封 for mail/letters, e.g. 一封信
fu2 幅 for art, e.g. 一幅画
fu4 副 for a set, e.g. spectacles 一副眼镜, deck of cards 一副扑克牌
In Singapore, ge4 个(個) is used for just about everything, even though everyone knows it’s not always “correct” usage.
gu3 股 for burst of smell or emotion, e.g. 一股勇气，一股花香
jia4 架 for planes, e.g. 一架飞机
jie2 节 means period; it doesn’t necessarily mean a one-hour period, as long as it’s regular and the length is known, e.g. on a school timetable.
ju2 局 for one round in a game, eg. 一局麻将
ke1 颗 is also used for round objects like pearls or fruit or stars.
A friend of mine from Kunming uses men2 门 for classes/course, while another friend of mine from Fujian uses tang2 堂.
pian1 篇 for essays/articles一篇文章
sou1 艘 for boats, e.g. 一艘船
zhan3 盏 - I only use it for lamps as in “一盏灯”.
zhi1 枝 - interchangable with 支, as far as I can tell.
Comment date: Aug 4, 2008
Elia Diodati
said:
Also
ze3 则 an item (of news), as in 一则新闻
Comment date: Aug 4, 2008