Difference between revisions of "Measure word "ge""

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<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
* 一 <em>个</em> 人
+
* 一 <em>个</em> 人<span class="trans">a person</span>
* 两 <em>个</em> 人
+
* 两 <em>个</em> 人<span class="trans">two people</span>
* 三 <em>个</em> 苹果
+
* 三 <em>个</em> 苹果<span class="trans">three apples</span>
* 一 <em>个</em> 三明治
+
* 一 <em>个</em> 三明治<span class="trans">a sandwich</span>
* 八十 <em>个</em> 诗人
+
* 八十 <em>个</em> 诗人<span class="trans">eighty poets</span>
  
 
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Revision as of 03:17, 28 January 2013

The measure word 个 (ge) is the most common measure word. It can be used for any noun if you can't think of a more precise measure word. Also, for many nouns, 个 is the correct measure word.

General structure

The general structure for 个 (and measure words in general) is:

Number + 个 + Noun

You can specify the quantity of any noun with this structure. Note that any time you want to state how many of a noun in Chinese, you probably need a measure word. First get used to doing it with 个.

Examples

  • a person
  • two people
  • 苹果three apples
  • 三明治a sandwich
  • 八十 诗人eighty poets

Omitting the number

If the number is one (1), you can omit it and use 个 by itself. This is equivalent to a or an in English, for example in "a person" or "an idiot."

Some examples of that:

  • 他 是 好人。
  • 那 不 是 苹果。
  • 我 是 英国人。

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites