Measure word "ge"
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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 (ge) is the only correct measure word.
Contents
General Structure
Structure
The general structure for 个 (ge)--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 (ge).
Examples
- 一 个 球 one ball
- 两 个 人 (If you're wondering why it's 两 and not 二，see our article on "Er" and "liang")two people
- 三 个 苹果 three apples
- 四 个 三明治 four sandwiches
- 五 个 星期 five weeks
- 六 个 杯子 six cups/glasses
- 七 个 女朋友seven girlfriends
- 八 十 个 小孩 eighty children
- 一 百 个 美 女 one hundred beautiful girls
- 十 个 男人， 七 个 傻， 八 个 坏 ten men, seven are fools, and eight are bad
Omitting the number
Structure
Verb + 个 + Noun
If the number is one (1), you can omit it and use 个 (ge) by itself. This is equivalent to a or an in English, for example in "a person" or "an idiot."
Examples
- 他 是 个 好人 。He is a good person.
- 那 不 是 个 苹果 。That is not an apple.
- 他 是 个 法国 人 。He is a French person.
- 这 是 个 手机。This is a cell phone.
- 我 爸爸 是 个 老板。My dad is a boss.
- 你 是 个 好 老师 。You are a good teacher.
- 我 有 个 儿子 。I have a son.
- 给 我 个 面包 。Give me a bun.
- 我 想 吃 个 橙子 。I'd like to eat an orange.
- 老师 ， 我 有 个 问题 。Teacher, I have a question.
See also
- Counting money
- Measure words in quantity questions
- Measure words for counting
- Measure words to differentiate
Sources and further reading
Books
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 21-2) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 45-6) →buy
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (p. 21) →buy
Websites
- Chinese classifier (Wikipedia)
