Mandarin Chinese Measure
Words
1
Measure words are familiar to English-speakers as the type of object
being discussed, as in a “loaf” of bread, or a “stick” of gum.
2 Mandarin Chinese also uses measure words for types of objects, but there are many other measure words that refer to the shape of the object or the type of container it comes in. Some measure words are arbitrary.
3
The main difference between English (and other Western languages) and
Mandarin Chinese is that Mandarin Chinese requires a measure word for every
noun. In English we can say, “three cars,” but in Mandarin Chinese, we need to
say “three (measure word) cars.”
4
There are more than a hundred Mandarin Chinese measure words, and the
only way to learn them is by memorizing them. Whenever you learn a new noun,
you should also learn its measure word.
Generic Measure Word
5
There is one “generic” measure word which can be used when the actual
measure word is not known. The measure word 個 (gè) is a measure word for people, but it is frequently used for many
types of things (such as apples, bread, and light bulbs) even when there are
other, more appropriate measure words for these objects.
Here are some of the most common measure words encountered by students
of Mandarin Chinese.
|
Class
|
Measure Word (pinyin)
|
Measure word (traditional
Chinese Characters)
|
Measure word (simplified
Chinese Characters)
|
|
People
|
gè or wèi
|
個 or 位
|
个 or 位
|
|
Books
|
běn
|
本
|
本
|
|
Vehicles
|
liàng
|
輛
|
辆
|
|
Portions
|
fèn
|
份
|
份
|
|
flat objects (tables, paper)
|
zhāng
|
張
|
张
|
|
Long round objects (pens, pencils)
|
zhī
|
支
|
支
|
|
Letters and Mail
|
fēng
|
封
|
封
|
|
Rooms
|
jiān
|
間
|
间
|
|
Clothing
|
Jiàn or tào
|
件 or 套
|
件 or 套
|
|
Written Sentences
|
jù
|
句
|
句
|
|
Trees
|
kē
|
棵
|
棵
|
|
Bottles
|
píng
|
瓶
|
瓶
|
|
periodicals
|
qī
|
期
|
期
|
|
Doors and windows
|
shàn
|
扇
|
扇
|
|
Buildings
|
dòng
|
棟
|
栋
|
|
Heavy objects (machines and
appliances)
|
tái
|
台
|
台
|
