Learn Measure Word for Mandarin Beginners

In Chinese, the nouns, unlike English ones, make no distinction in form between singular and plural.

Another important feature of the common noun in Chinese is that when it is used with a numeral, the numeral has to have a measure word between it and the noun, so the structure is numberal + measure word + noun.

e.g.

Numberal	​Measure Word	Noun
​一 yí	​个 gè	​苹果 píng guǒ
两 liǎng	个 gè	苹果píng guǒ
一 yí	个gè	孩子 háizi
两 liǎng	个gè	孩子 háizi

苹果 píng guǒ apple/apples

孩子 háizi child/children

一 an/one

两 two

The most common measure word is - 个 gè

个 gè (usually unstressed as ge in actual speech) is by far the most common measure word and it can occur with a wide range of nouns.

Let's see some examples of 个gè :

一个名字 两个包子 三个学生 一百个国家

yí gè míng zì liǎng gè bāo zǐ sān gè xué shēng yī bǎi gè guó jiā

（a name） ( 2 baozi ） （ 3 students） (100 countries)

Measure word is not only used after a numberal, but also after a question word.

e.g. 几个（ jǐ gè ） few 多少个（ duō shǎo gè ） how many

Commonly used measure words are less than twenty

Common Measure Words Summary

Measure Word Classification Examples

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1. 包 bāo packet 烟 yān -cigarettes

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2. 杯 bēi cup, glass 茶chá- tea,咖啡kā fēi -coffee,

水shuǐ -water

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3. 本 běn volume 书 shū- book，杂志zá zhì - magazine

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4. 部 bù 电影diàn yǐng -movie， 手机shǒu jī - mobile phone

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5. 个gè used if you have forgotten 人rén - person 和其他 and a

the correct one! lot of other things

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6. 家 jiā 公司 gōng sī -company,

商店 shāng diàn- shop,

医院 yī yuàn-hospital

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7. 件 jiàn piece, article 衣服 yī fu - clothes,

箱包 xiāng bāo, luggage,

事情shì qíng-matter (affair)

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8. 棵 kē 树 shù - tree

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9. 块kuài piece, lump 香皂 xiāng zào- soap,

蛋糕 dàn gāo- cake, 地 dì- land

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10. 辆 liàng 车 chē - car,

自行车 zì xíng chē- bicycle

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11. 盘 pán plate 菜 cài- dish, 汤 tāng- soup, 炒面 chǎo miàn -fried noodles

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12. 瓶píng bottle 可乐 kě lè - coke, 啤酒,pí jiǔ- beer, 红酒hóng jiǔ- wine, 水 shuǐ -water

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13. 首shǒu piece 歌 gē -song, 诗 shī -poem

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14. 束 shù bunch, bouquet 花huā - flowers

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15. 双 shuāng pair 眼睛yǎn jīng-eyes,

筷子kuài zi -chopsticks， 鞋 xié -shoes

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16. 套 tào set 家具 jiā jù- suite of furnitures,

连衣裙 liányīqún - set of dress

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17. 条 tiáo long and narrow thing 毛巾máo jīn- towel, 鱼 yú - fish,

街jiē - street, 河hé - river, 裤子 kù zǐ - trousers

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18. 罐/听 tīng guàn can 可乐kě lè -coke, 啤酒pí jiǔ- beer, 罐头食品 guàn tóu shípǐn- canned food

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19. 碗wǎn bowl 大米 dà mǐ- rice,汤,tāng -soup,

粥 zhōu- porridge

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20. 位 wèi person (polite) 老师 lǎo shī- teacher,女士nǚ shì - lady, 男士nán shì -gentleman

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21. 张 zhāng flat object 地图 dì tú-map, 纸zhǐ -paper,

卡片kǎ piàn - card, 床chuáng -bed, 桌子 zhuō zǐ- table,

磁盘 cípán -disk

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22. 支 zhī long and small thing 笔 bǐ -pen,烟yān- cigarrette

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23. 种 zhǒng type, kind 事情 shì qing - a lot of things

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24. 座zuò large, solid thing 山shān-mountain, 桥 qiáo-bridge,

大厦 dà shà- building

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Note:

1. The structure of a quantified noun phrase is: numeral + measure word + noun.

e.g.

一不人yí gè rén(a person)、两本书liǎng běn shū (two books)

2. The numeral“2" before a measure word is 两liǎng instead of 二èr

e.g.

2 books

两本书liǎng běn shū not 二个书 èr gè shū

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