Measure word
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- Also known as: 量词 (liàngcí).
This is a very basic summary of measure words. If you want to go more in depth, look at the measure words for counting page.
Contents
Notes
- Measure words can be reduplicated to act as a sentence element. This has the meaning of 'every'.
- Used after numerals or demonstrative pronouns.
- If the number is just one, it can be omitted; just the measure word is OK.
- 半 before measure word means "half of". 半 after measure word means "... and a half"
- 多 and measure words
- 多 in between numeral and measure word e.g. 十多个 means more than the number given but less than the next whole number. Like 'odd' in English e.g. "thirty-odd".
- 多 after the measure word simply means more than the number given
- Most measure words are single characters, but not all (need list of two-character measure words)
Subcategories
Noun measure words
List
- 个
- 一个面包
- 两个会议
- 三个人
- 四个苹果
- 五个办法
- 六个词
- 只
- 一只小狗
- 两只鸡
- 三只鞋子
- 四只船
- 块
- 一块肉
- 两块蛋糕
- 三块钱
- 四块香皂
- 台
- 一台电视
- 两台电脑
- 条
- 一条鱼
- 两条腿
- 三条路
- 辆
- 一辆公交车
- 两辆地铁
- 三辆自行车
- 根
- 一根香肠
- 两根香蕉
- 头
- 一头猪
- 两头牛
Examples
- 我 有 一 只 小 狗。I have one small dog.
- 我 给 了 小 狗 一 个 半 面包。I gave the small dog one and a half pieces of bread.
- 小狗 吃 了 半 根 香肠。The small dog ate half of a sausage.
- 冰箱 里 只 有 两 块 奶酪。There are only two pieces of cheese in the refrigerator.
- 我 很 饿，吃 了 很 大 一 条 鱼。I'm hungry. I could eat a whole fish.
- 我 看 到 一 辆 红色 的 法拉利。I saw a red Ferrari.
Verb measure words
List
- 遍
- 次
- 趟
- 场
Examples
- 请 你 再 说 一 遍。Please say it one more time.
- 我 到 上海 两 次 了。 I've come to Shanghai two times.
- 一 个 晚上 去 了 三 趟 厕所。I went to the bathroom three times in one evening.
- 今天 有 两 场 比赛。There are two games today.
Monetary measure words
List
- 块
- 元
- 角
- 毛
- 分
Examples
- 每天 给 孩子 一 块 钱。Give the children one kuai every day.
- 你 应该 再 给 我 两 元 。 You should give me two yuan again.
- 我 给 你 10元，你 应该 找 我 5 角 。I gave you ten yuan, you should give me 5 five jiao in change.
Sources and further reading
Books
- A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (pp. 73-95) →buy
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 18) →buy
- Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册) (pp. 198-208) →buy
- Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 28-85) →buy
- Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 43-8) →buy
- Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼) (pp. 1-30) →buy
Websites
- Wikipedia: Chinese classifier
- 3000 Hànzì: Chinese Measure Words (Classifiers)
- dhcca.org: 量词 (一)
- Chinesegrammar.info - blog for Chinese grammar: The difference between 半 (bàn), 一半 (yí bàn) and 一个半 (yí ge bàn) in Chinese grammar
