Measure words
A measure word sits between a number and a noun. Chinese needs one for almost every noun — 一个人, 两本书.
| Measure words | Pinyin | Meaning | lblExample | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 个 | gè | general, for people & most objects | 一个人 yí ge rén | |
| 本 | běn | for books & bound items | 一本书 yì běn shū | |
| 张 | zhāng | for flat objects (paper, tables) | 一张纸 yì zhāng zhǐ | |
| 杯 | bēi | cup of (drink) | 一杯水 yì bēi shuǐ | |
| 碗 | wǎn | bowl of (rice, noodles) | 一碗饭 yì wǎn fàn | |
| 双 | shuāng | pair of (shoes, chopsticks) | 一双鞋 yì shuāng xié | |
| 件 | jiàn | for clothes & items | 一件衣服 yí jiàn yīfu | |
| 条 | tiáo | for long flexible things (fish, rivers) | 一条鱼 yì tiáo yú | |
| 只 | zhī | for (small) animals | 一只猫 yì zhī māo | |
| 头 | tóu | for large animals | 一头牛 yì tóu niú | |
| 辆 | liàng | for vehicles | 一辆车 yí liàng chē | |
| 家 | jiā | for businesses & families | 一家店 yì jiā diàn | |
| 间 | jiān | for rooms | 一间房 yì jiān fáng | |
| 座 | zuò | for buildings & mountains | 一座山 yí zuò shān | |
| 把 | bǎ | for chairs, umbrellas, knives | 一把伞 yì bǎ sǎn | |
| 支 | zhī | for pens & long thin objects | 一支笔 yì zhī bǐ | |
| 瓶 | píng | bottle of | 一瓶水 yì píng shuǐ | |
| 块 | kuài | piece of / (informal) yuan | 一块钱 yí kuài qián | |
| 次 | cì | times (occurrences) | 一次 yí cì | |
| 遍 | biàn | times (read/do completely) | 看一遍 kàn yí biàn |
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