Measure Words

Following on from the last lesson, today we are going to talk about measure words, which are a special grammar part of Chinese language.

Let’s answer the following questions:

• 1^st question: What are measure words?

An example in English: you can’t say “two paper”, but “two pieces of paper”, so “piece” here is a measure word. But the difference is that in English there is only a small number of nouns needed for measure words, but in Chinese every noun needs a measure word.

• 2^nd question: When do we use measure words?

A literal meaning of measure words, you use measure words when you are counting or pointing:

Examples: one person—yī ge rén

3 pizzas – sān ge pī sā

2 pieces of pizza – liǎng kuài pī sā (note: before all the counting word, “2” will be “liǎng” not “èr”)

This person –zhè ge rén

That person –nà ge rén

• 3^rd question: Which counting word do we use?

By the shape, quality, or characteristic of the things, they will have different counting words.

Here are some common counting words for different things:

Bēi Cup or glass	Yī bēi kā fei Yī bēi hóng chá Yī bēi bīng shuǐ	A cup of coffe A cup of black tea A glass of cold water
Píng bottle	Yī píng bīng pí jiǔ Yī píng hóng pú tāo jiǔ	A bottle of cold beer A bottle of red wine
Kuài Cube, part or piece	Yī kuài tang Yī kuài pī zā Yī kuài dàn gāo	A cube of sugar A piece of pizza A piece of cake
Tīng Can	Yī tīng kě lè Yī tīng pí jiǔ	A can of cola A can of beer
Tiáo Things with long in shape	Yī tiáo kù zi Yī tiáo pí dài Yī tiáo xiàng liàn	A pair of pants A belt A neck-lace
Jiàn for clothes, item	Yī jiàn yī fu Yī jiàn T xuè Yī jiàn wài tào	A piece of clothing A T-shirt A coat
Shuāng Pair	Yī shuāng xié zi Yī shuāng kuài zi	A pair of shoes A pair of chopsticks
Zhāng Flat things like a sheet	Yī zhāng míng piàn Yī zhāng zhǐ Yī zhāng zhào piān	A namecard A piece of paper A photo
Běn Things with pages	Yī běn shū Yī běn zá zhì	A book A magazine
Zhī Small animals	Yī zhī gǒu Yī zhī māo Yī zhī niǎo	A dog A cat A bird
Ge For things has no specific measure word, which actually the most common measure word	Yī ge rén Yī ge hàn bǎo bao	A person A hamburger

• 4^th question: Any tips for learning measure words?

As a beginner learner, measure words are a challenging thing, my suggestion is: if you can remember the different measure words, it will be great! But if you can’t, don’t worry, you can just use “ge” for most of the things, it may not be correct, but people will still be able to understand you; better than you don’t use any word between the number and the noun that people may not even able to understand your meaning.

And when you read or listen, if there is a word between the number and the nouns that you don’t understand, it probably is a measure word, so it won’t affect you to understand the rest of the sentence.