Difference between revisions of "Measure words for counting"

Latest revision as of 08:54, 21 April 2021

Level

A2 / HSK2
Level

A2
Level

HSK2
Similar to
- Age with "sui" (A1)
- Measure word "ge" (A1)
- Approximating with sequential numbers (A2)
- Measure words in quantity questions (A2)
- Measure words with "this" and "that" (A2)
- Ordinal numbers with "di" (A2)
- Measure words for verbs (B1)
Similar to
- Age with "sui" (HSK1)
- Measure word "ge" (HSK1)
- Measure words in quantity questions (HSK1)
- Measure words for verbs (HSK2)
- Measure words with "this" and "that" (HSK2)
- Ordinal numbers with "di" (HSK2)
- Approximating with sequential numbers (HSK3)
Used for

Expressing quantity
Keywords

个

Chinese uses measure words, a type of word called classifiers in linguistics which are common in East Asian languages. Measure words have a number of important uses, but one of the first ways you'll need to use them is for counting. Chinese learners should master them, starting with the measure word 个 (gè).

Structure

Whenever you talk about the quantity of something in Chinese, you need a measure word.

Number + Measure Word + Noun

English does actually have measure words, it's just that most nouns usually don't need them. In English, most nouns are count nouns - they specify one instance of something. "An apple," for example. Some nouns are mass nouns and refer to something without specifying how much of it there is. Examples are "furniture," "paper," "water," etc. You can't say "a furniture"; you need a measure word: "a piece of furniture," "two sheets of paper," "three glasses of water," and so on.

In Chinese, all nouns are mass nouns so they all need measure words. Just as in English, different nouns are associated with different measure words (e.g. it wouldn't make sense to talk about "a glass of furniture" unless something went horribly wrong in the factory).

Examples

一个人 yī gè réna person
两只猫 liǎng zhī māotwo cats
三条鱼 sān tiáo yúthree fish
四杯牛奶 sì bēi niúnǎifour glasses of milk
五瓶水 wǔ píng shuǐfive bottles of water
六块巧克力 liù kuài qiǎokèlìsix pieces of chocolate
七盒茶叶 qī hé cháyèseven boxes of tea leaves
八台电脑 bā tái diànnǎoeight computers
九支玫瑰 jiǔ zhī méiguīnine roses
十个美女 shí gè měinǚten beautiful women

Also remember that there isn't a one-to-one relationship between nouns and measure words. One measure word can be used with several different nouns:

一条狗 yī tiáo gǒua dog
一条河 yī tiáo héa river
一条路 yī tiáo lùa road
一条龙 yī tiáo lónga dragon
一条鱼 yī tiáo yúa fish
一条短信 yī tiáo duǎnxìna text (message)

And one noun can take different measure words in different situations:

一块 巧克力 yī kuài qiǎokèlì a piece of chocolate
一盒巧克力 yī hé qiǎokèlì a box of chocolate
一颗 巧克力 yī kē qiǎokèlì a small piece of chocolate

Sources and further reading

Websites

Wikipedia: Classifiers
Wikipedia: Mass noun

Books

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Grammar Box}}
-The Chinese use of measure words, linguistically called [http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classifier_(linguistics) classifiers], are very common in East Asian languages. Chinese learners should master them.
+Chinese uses [[measure word]]s, a type of word called [http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classifier_(linguistics) classifiers] in linguistics which are common in East Asian languages. Measure words have a number of important uses, but one of the first ways you'll need to use them is for counting. Chinese learners should master them, starting with the measure word 个 (gè).
-=== Structure ===
+== Structure ==
-Whenever you talk about the quantity of something in Chinese, you need a measure word (Measure Word).
+Whenever you talk about the quantity of something in Chinese, you need a [[measure word]].
 <div class="jiegou">
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 </div>
-English does actually have measure words, it's just that most nouns usually don't need them. In English, most nouns are ''count nouns'' - they specify one instance of something. "An apple," for example. Some nouns are ''mass nouns'' and refer to something without specifying how much of it there is. Examples are "furniture," "people," "chocolate" etc. You can't say "a furniture"; you need a measure word: "a ''piece'' of furniture," "two ''groups'' of people," "three ''bars'' of chocolate" and so on.
+English does actually have measure words, it's just that most nouns usually don't need them. In English, most nouns are ''count nouns'' - they specify one instance of something. "An apple," for example. Some nouns are ''mass nouns'' and refer to something without specifying how much of it there is. Examples are "furniture," "paper," "water," etc. You can't say "a furniture"; you need a measure word: "a ''piece'' of furniture," "two ''sheets'' of paper," "three ''glasses'' of water," and so on.
-In Chinese, ''all'' nouns are ''mass nouns'' so they all need measure words. Just as in English, different nouns are associated with different measure words (e.g. it wouldn't make sense to talk about "a bar of furniture" unless something went horribly wrong in the factory).
+In Chinese, ''all'' nouns are ''mass nouns'' so they all need measure words. Just as in English, different nouns are associated with different measure words (e.g. it wouldn't make sense to talk about "a glass of furniture" unless something went horribly wrong in the factory).
-=== Examples ===
+== Examples ==
 <div class="liju">
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 * 两 <em>只</em> 猫 <span class="pinyin">liǎng <em>zhī</em> māo</span><span class="trans">two cats</span>
 * 三 <em>条</em> 鱼 <span class="pinyin">sān <em>tiáo</em> yú</span><span class="trans">three fish</span>
-* 四 <em>杯</em> 啤酒 <span class="pinyin">sì <em>bēi</em> píjiǔ</span><span class="trans">four glasses of beer</span>
+* 四 <em>杯</em> 牛奶 <span class="pinyin">sì <em>bēi</em> niúnǎi</span><span class="trans">four glasses of milk</span>
 * 五 <em>瓶</em> 水 <span class="pinyin">wǔ <em>píng</em> shuǐ</span><span class="trans">five bottles of water</span>
 * 六 <em>块</em> 巧克力 <span class="pinyin">liù <em>kuài</em> qiǎokèlì</span><span class="trans">six pieces of chocolate</span>
@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 * 一 <em>条</em> 龙 <span class="pinyin">yī <em>tiáo</em> lóng</span><span class="trans">a dragon</span>
 * 一 <em>条</em> 鱼 <span class="pinyin">yī <em>tiáo</em> yú</span><span class="trans">a fish</span>
-* 一 <em>条</em> 短信 <span class="pinyin">yī <em>tiáo</em> duǎnxìn</span><span class="trans">a short message</span>
+* 一 <em>条</em> 短信 <span class="pinyin">yī <em>tiáo</em> duǎnxìn</span><span class="trans">a text (message)</span>
 </div>
@@ Line 51: / Line 51: @@
 * 一 <em>块</em> <strong>巧克力</strong> <span class="pinyin">yī <em>kuài</em> <strong>qiǎokèlì</strong> </span><span class="trans">a piece of chocolate</span>
-* 一 <em>盒</em><strong>巧克力</strong> <span class="pinyin">yī <em>hé</em><strong>qiǎokèlì</strong> </span><span class="trans">a box of chocolate</span>
+* 一 <em>盒</em><strong>巧克力</strong> <span class="pinyin">yī <em>hé</em> <strong>qiǎokèlì</strong> </span><span class="trans">a box of chocolate</span>
 * 一 <em>颗</em> <strong>巧克力</strong> <span class="pinyin">yī <em>kē</em> <strong>qiǎokèlì</strong> </span><span class="trans">a small piece of chocolate</span>
 </div>
-==See also==
+== See Also ==
 *[[Measure words for verbs]]
 *[[Measure words to differentiate]]
@@ Line 69: / Line 69: @@
 === Books ===
-* [[Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar]] (p. 33) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933330899/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=1933330899 →buy]
+{{Source|Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar|33}}
-* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 232-3) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385 →buy]
+{{Source|Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)|232-3}}
-* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)]] (pp. 104-5) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561910401/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=7561910401 →buy]
+{{Source|New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)|104-5}}
-* [[New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)]] (p. 122) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/7561926235/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=7561926235 →buy]
+{{Source|New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)|122}}
 [[Category:A2 grammar points]]
+{{HSK|HSK2}}{{2021-HSK|HSK2}}
 [[Category:Measure words]]
 {{Basic Grammar|个|A2|Number + Measure Word + Noun|一 <em>个</em> 人。一 <em>杯</em> 水。|grammar point|ASG64BTE}}