{"id":6546,"date":"2015-12-17T03:33:13","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T03:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=6546"},"modified":"2024-05-15T09:12:37","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T09:12:37","slug":"4-common-chinese-measure-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/4-common-chinese-measure-words.html","title":{"rendered":"4 Common Chinese Measure Words – \u4e2a\/\u53ea\/\u652f\/\u5934"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Many people have trouble understanding which \u201cmeasure word\u201d they should use in different situations. If you don\u2019t know what a measure word is \u2013 it\u2019s a word that is used in Chinese to specify a certain quantity of a given noun. We also have measure words in English, such as the words in the example below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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A Slice<\/strong> of Pizza<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
A Cup<\/strong> of Coffee<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
Two Pairs<\/strong> of Shoes<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The use of measure words in Chinese has a few key differences, though. First, Chinese has many more words that act as or require measure words. Second, there is no additional linking particle word like there is in English (\u201cof\u201d). What I\u2019ve experienced is that, early on, it was really hard to remember all of the measure words and the proper times to use them. So, instead of taking the time to sit down and learn them all, I fell into the bad habit of using \u4e2a(g\u00e8) every time I needed a measure word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t recommend that you use<\/strong>\u4e2a<\/strong>(g<\/strong>\u00e8<\/strong>) as a universal measure word for two big reasons<\/strong>: 1) It makes you sound like a baby, and people will think you sound uneducated or unnecessarily cutesy. 2) If you take the time to learn the measure words,it will exercise your memory muscles and help you mentally organize your vocabulary into measure word categories. In the long run, this will allow you to retain a larger vocabulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
To prevent you from making the same mistake I did, let\u2019s start with a rundown of some of the most common measure words:<\/p>\n\n\n
\u4e2a – G\u00e8<\/h2>\n\n\n
As mentioned earlier, \u4e2a(g\u00e8) can be used as a universal measure word. This means that you can use it as a substitute if you cannot remember the proper measure word for the noun you are trying to quantify. Additionally, there are some words for which\u4e2a(g\u00e8) is the only correct measure word, for instance, \u4e2a(g\u00e8) is always used when counting people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The typical structure to use with\u4e2a(g\u00e8), and most measure words, is \u201cNumber + <\/u><\/strong>\u4e2a<\/u><\/strong> + Noun<\/u><\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u4e09\u4e2a<\/strong>\u6708 – S\u0101n g\u00e8 yu\u00e8 – Three Months \u00a0, <\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
\u516d\u4e2a<\/strong>\u661f\u671f \u00a0– \u00a0Li\u00f9 g\u00e8 x\u012bngq\u00ed \u00a0– Six Weeks, <\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
\u4e24\u4e2a<\/strong>\u7537\u4eba – Li\u01ceng g\u00e8 n\u00e1nr\u00e9n – Two Men <\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\u4e2a(g\u00e8) can also be used with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
person \u4eba(r\u00e9n), elder brother \u54e5\u54e5(G\u0113ge), student \u5b66\u751f(Xu\u00e9sh\u0113ng), relative \u4eb2\u621a (Q\u012bnqi), way of thinking \u60f3\u6cd5(Xi\u01cengf\u01ce), suggestion \u5efa\u8bae(Ji\u00e0ny\u00ec), question \u95ee\u9898(W\u00e8nt\u00ed), nation \u56fd\u5bb6(Gu\u00f3ji\u0101)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the noun you are referring to is singular, you can omit the number . This would be the same as \u201ca\u201d or \u201can\u201d in English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u4ed6\u662f\u4e2a<\/strong>\u597d\u5b66\u751f – T\u0101 sh\u00ecg\u00e8 h\u00e0o xu\u00e9sh\u0113ng – He is a Good Student<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
\u53ea – Zh\u012b<\/h2>\n\n\n
Just like\u4e2a(g\u00e8) is a universal measure word for people, \u53ea(zh\u012b) is a universal measure word for animals. It can also refers to items the normally come in a pair (hands, or eyes for example.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u8fd9\u53ea<\/strong>\u72d7 \u2013 zh\u00e8 zh\u012b g\u01d2u – This dog<\/li>\n\n\n\n
\u4e24\u53ea<\/strong>\u624b \u2013 li\u01ceng zh\u012b sh\u01d2u – Two hands <\/em> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
\u4e94\u53ea<\/strong>\u732b \u2013 w\u01d4 zh\u012b m\u0101o – Five cats <\/em> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\u53ea(zh\u012b) can also be used with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
hand \u624b(sh\u01d2u) , finger \u624b\u6307(sh\u01d2uzh\u01d0) , foot \u811a(ji\u01ceo), shoe \u978b(xi\u00e9), chicken \u9e21(j\u012b), cat \u732b(m\u0101o), dog \u72d7(g\u01d2u), bug\u866b(ch\u00f3ng)<\/p>\n\n\n
\u652f – zh\u012b<\/h2>\n\n\n
This measure word is normally is used with long, stick-like objects: things like rifles, roses, pencils, or branches. In fact, the word \u201c\u652f (zh\u012b)\u201d literally means branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u4e24\u652f<\/strong>\u94c5\u7b14 – Li\u01ceng zh\u012b qi\u0101nb\u01d0 – Two Pencils<\/em> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
\u4e24\u652f<\/strong>\u6b65\u67aa – Li\u01ceng zh\u012b b\u00f9qi\u0101ng – Two Rifles<\/em> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
\u4e00\u652f<\/strong>\u7b77\u5b50 \u2013 Y\u00ec zh\u012b ku\u00e0izi– One chopstick<\/em> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\u652f (zh\u012b) can also be used with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This measure word refers to a head of something, typically referring to cattle or livestock, as well as some types of vegetables. In English, we sometimes use this similarly: Ex. 1 Head of lettuce, 9 Heads of Cattle<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u4e00\u5934<\/strong>\u9a74 – y\u00ec t\u00f3u l\u01d8 – a donkey<\/em> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
\u4e24\u5934<\/strong>\u725b – li\u01ceng t\u00f3u ni\u00fa – two head of cattle<\/em> <\/li>\n\n\n\n
\u4e00\u5934<\/strong>\u5934\u53d1 – Y\u012bt\u00f3u t\u00f3uf\u01ce – a head of hair<\/em> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\u5934(t\u00f3u) can also be used with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, one article won’t give you ALL of the measure words in the language. But, I hope this stimulates your appetite to learn more measure words and continue your effort to speak a more “native” Mandarin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One pro-tip that I would recommend is: when you are speaking with language partners or teachers, instead of asking if something is \u201ccorrect,\u201d instead ask them if you sound ‘natural’ when using measure words – people will feel more comfortable to help correct your speech when you phrase the question in this way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you have a measure word that you would like to see an article about? Comment below!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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