Concept of Measure words in Mandarin!!

At some juncture of your Mandarin learning journey you will be unveiled to the concept of measure words (M.Ws); these are used to indicate the quantity or number of a noun. They are typically placed between the numeral and the noun.

The typical structure is : Num.+ M.W + Noun.

E.g: In English : 6 apples.

In Mandarin: 6 + M.W + apple.

The M.W concept is bit difficult to correlate with English; since in English we barely use M.Ws. For e.g: a cup of coffee ( "cup" is M.W) OR a piece of information ("piece" is a M.W) but in Mandarin M.Ws are indispensable & each noun has corresponding M.W. 

Look at the table below:

Yes, even "this" & "that" followed by noun will have corresponding M.W

As a beginner it may be a bit overwhelming to get use to this system for M.Ws ; however don't let this blow your mind. This blogpost will definitely come handy to understand the concept of M.Ws in Mandarin language. 😀

By the way before we start let me inform you that M.Ws are also known as classifiers or count words.

Let's get started !!

Generally a physical form or shape or container of a Noun/object decides its corresponding M.W. A single M.W can be used for a group of Nouns/object. For e.g: bēi (杯) is a M.W for anything which comes in the form of glass/cup ( a glass of water, a cup of coffee & so on...). Another example is : Jiàn (件) as M.W means " piece" (a piece of cloth, a piece of information......) BUT definitely not a piece of cake ;-)

And sometimes we can also have 2 different M.Ws for same Noun. For e.g: M.W for person can be "个" (gè) OR "位" (wèi) depending on the context.

There is no exact number of measure words in Mandarin as new ones are constantly being created and old ones may fall out of use over time. However, it is estimated that there are at least few hundred measure words in Mandarin. So, Can we cover all M.Ws in this blog?? Answer is definitely "No". I will be listing 10 very common M.Ws used in everyday scenarios with few examples.

1. "个" (gè):

Very high chances that "个" (gè)" will be the first M.W which would be taught to you in your Mandarin class:-) It is very generic M.W; & if you forget or don't know the respective M.W for particular noun you can always replace it with "个" (gè)"; native speakers will understand it & they may correct you as well 🙂

个(gè) is always used when counting people.

For example:

• 三个人 (Sān gè rén) - 3 persons

• 一个学生  (yí gè xuéshēng) - 1 student

• 五个朋友 (wǔ gè péngyǒu) - 5 friends

It can also be used for some items, counting months, weeks etc..

For example:

• 四个月 (Sì gè yuè) - 4 months 

• 六个苹果 (liù gè píngguǒ) - 6 apples

• 这个 (zhè ge) - this one 

• 那个 (nà gè) - that one

2. 双 (Shuāng):

双 (Shuāng) means pairs; so this M.W is used for things which come in pairs.

For example:

• 一双 鞋子 (yì shuāng xiézi) - a pair of shoes

• 三双 手套 (sān shuāng shǒu tào) - 3 pairs of gloves

• 两双筷子 (liǎng shuāng kuài zi) - 2 pairs of chopsticks

3. 张 Zhāng:

张(zhāng) is used for flat things like bed, table, papers, tickets, cards etc...

For example:

• 一张 交通卡 (yì zhāng jiāotōng kǎ) - 1 transportation card

• 三张床 (sān zhāng chuáng) - 3 beds

• 五张白纸 (wǔ zhāng bái zhǐ) - 5 white sheets of paper.

4. 本 Běn:

本(Běn) is M.W for books & other book like objects such as magazine, notebooks etc.

For example:

• 四本书 (sì běn shū) - 4 books

• 那本书 (nà běn shū ) - that book

• 一本杂志 (yì  běn zázhì) - 1 magazine

5. 瓶 Píng:

While bēi (杯) is a M.W for anything which comes in the form of glass/cup. 瓶 (píng) is M.W for things which come in the form of bottle.

For example:

• 两瓶啤酒 (liǎng píng píjiǔ) - 2 bottles of beer

• 一瓶水 (yì píng shuǐ) - 1 bottle of water 

• 五瓶果汁 (wǔ píng guǒzhī) - 5 bottles of juice

6.条 (tiáo):

条 (tiáo) is M.W for things which are long, narrow & flexible such as pants, tie, belt, rope and even for roads, river, fish etc... ( You may be wondering REALLY???; & answer is YES🙂)

For example:

• 一条裤子 (yì tiáo kùzi) - one pant

• 三条领带 (sān tiáo lǐngdài) - 3 ties

• 五条河 (wǔ tiáo hé) - 5 rivers.

7. 台 (tái)

台 (tái) is a M.W for machines, electronics & equipments.

For example:

• 三台电脑 (Sān tái diànnǎo) - 3 computers

• 五台打印机 ( wǔ dǎ yìn jī)  - 5 printers

• 两台机器 (liǎng jī qì) -  2 machines

8.把 (bǎ)

把 (bǎ) is a M.W for things with handle.

For example:

• 一把手枪 (yì bǎ shǒu qiāng) - a pistol

• 一把椅子 (yì bǎ yǐzi)  - 1 chair

• 两把雨伞 (liǎng bǎ yǔsǎn) - 2 Umbrellas 

9. 家 (Jiā)

家 (Jiā) literally meaning "home" and is used as M.W for shops, schools, restaurants, offices, business establishments etc.....

For example:

• 一家公司 (yì  jiā gōngsī) - a company 

• 那个饭店 (nà gè fàndiàn)  - that restaurant 

• 这个银行 (zhè ge yínháng) - this bank

10. 只 (Zhǐ)

只 (Zhǐ) is a M.W for small animals & birds  (YES, only for small animals; for big animals there is different M.W:-)

For example:

• 三只猫 (Sān zhǐ māo) - 3 cats

• 六只鸟  (liù zhǐ niǎo) - 6 birds 

• 一只狗 (yì zhǐ gǒu) - one dog 

Zhǐ is also a M.W for some things which are in pairs ( to count one of a pair) & also for some body parts which are in pair.

For example:

• 两只脚 (liǎng zhǐ jiǎo) - 2 feet 

• 一只眼睛 (yì zhǐ yǎnjīng)  - 1 eye

• 一只鞋   (yì zhǐ xié) - 1 shoe

There are many more measure words in Chinese language, and choosing the right one can take some practice. However, it's a good idea to learn the most common measure words & start using them to get used to the concept of measure words in this language. Gradually you can learn more & build up on your vocabulary of M.Ws.

And finally, if you can't remember the appropriate M.W for a particular noun; you can always use "ge" which is very generic & universal M.W 😁

That's all for this post !!

Bye bye (再见 Zàijiàn) till my next post 😀