Difference between revisions of "Measure word "ge""

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* 五 <em>个</em> 星期 <span class="trans">five weeks</span>
 
* 五 <em>个</em> 星期 <span class="trans">five weeks</span>
 
* 六 <em>个</em> 杯子 <span class="trans">six cups/glasses</span>
 
* 六 <em>个</em> 杯子 <span class="trans">six cups/glasses</span>
* 八十 <em>个</em> 诗人 <span class="trans">eighty poets</span>
+
* 八 十 <em>个</em> 小孩 <span class="trans">eighty children</span>
* 一百 <em>个</em> 美女 <span class="trans">one hundred beautiful girls</span>
+
* 一 百 <em>个</em> 美 女 <span class="trans">one hundred beautiful girls</span>
 
* 十 <em>个</em> 男人, 七 <em>个</em> 傻, 八 <em>个</em> 坏 <span class="trans">ten men, seven are fools, and eight are bad</span>
 
* 十 <em>个</em> 男人, 七 <em>个</em> 傻, 八 <em>个</em> 坏 <span class="trans">ten men, seven are fools, and eight are bad</span>
  

Revision as of 06:22, 26 December 2013

The measure word 个 (ge) is the most common measure word. It can be used in a pinch for any noun if you can't think of a more precise measure word. (Although you might not sound quite as smart, you'll still get your point across.) Also, for many nouns, 个 is the only 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

  • one ball
  • (If you're wondering why it's 两 and not 二,see our article on "Er" and "liang")two people
  • 苹果 three apples
  • 三明治 four sandwiches
  • 星期 five weeks
  • 杯子 six cups/glasses
  • 八 十 小孩 eighty children
  • 一 百 美 女 one hundred beautiful girls
  • 男人, 七 傻, 八 ten men, seven are fools, and eight are bad

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."

Examples

  • 他 是 好人 。He is a good person.
  • 那 不 是 苹果 。That is not an apple.
  • 他 是 法国 人 。He is a Frenchman.
  • 你 是 好 老师 。You are a good teacher.
  • 我 有 儿子 。I have a son.
  • 给 我 面包 。Give me a bun.
  • 我 想 吃 橙子 。I'd like to eat an orange.
  • 老师 , 我 有 问题 。Teacher, I have a question.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Websites