One of the main distinguishing features of the Chinese language is the importance and variety of measure words. Measure words can be found in English as well, for example when we say a strand of hair or a head of cattle, but for the most part they are needed only to specify a collection of things, such as a flock of sheep, or an uncountable quantity, such as a gust of wind. But in Chinese, even single, countable objects require measure words, so that you cannot simply say "a flower", "two people" or "five houses".
In other Southeast Asian languages, such as Thai or Vietnamese, measure words play an equally important role. In these languages, names of simple objects are typically words with one or two syllables, and so there are many homophone word pairs (pronounced the same but having different meanings). The measure word serves as a kind of context, that helps us to identify the meaning of the word that follows.
Chinese measure words often contain valuable information, they categorize a noun according to its function, shape or some other property. In some cases, more than one measure word may be used for the same noun, and our choice depends on which characteristic we wish to emphasize. With this in mind, "measure word" may not be the best label; we could also call them "specifiers".
It's difficult to count exactly how many there are -- partly because most measure words also serve as other parts of speech. Chinese often uses simple object or action names to count other objects with similar properties. This construct can be observed in English as well, as in a slice of bread or a handful of salt.
The Measure Word Dictionary, published by China Daily in Taiwan, contains over 420 measure words, and mentions that there are over 500 currently in use. On this page I collected 115 frequently used measure words, not sorted phonetically or by stroke count, but grouped into sixteen categories. There are seven that appear in two categories each, one, 場 (chang3), which appears in three, and one, 條 (tiao2), which appears in four. Of course there are other conceivable groupings, the point is that the categories can help us to locate a particular measure word. The first column of each row contains the traditional character, followed by the simplified form, if different. Next comes the romanization (using Pinyin with tone number), then the closest English equivalent, and finally one or more examples.
| 個,个 | ge | person, thing | 一個人 (yi1 ge ren2) "a person" 五個小孩 (wu3 ge xiao3 hai2) "five children" The left side of the character is the symbol for person, but this measure word is used not only for people, but any other thing that doesn't have a more appropriate measure word (or it does but we cannot remember it). 一個東西 (yi1 ge dong1 xi1) "a thing" 舉個例子 (jü3 ge li4 zi) "give an example" 解決個問題 (jie3 jüe2 ge wen4 ti2) "resolve a problem" |
| 位 | wei4 | person | More respectful than
個, and used only for people. 一位女生 (yi1 wei4 nü3 sheng1) "a woman" 一位男生 (yi1 wei4 nan2 sheng1) "a man" 三位老師 (san1 wei4 lao3 shi1) "three teachers" |
| 名 | ming2 | person, professional | 名
means "name".
Typically used when
naming a person's occupation. 一名醫生 (yi1 ming2 yi1 sheng1) "a doctor" 三名律師 (san1 ming2 lü4 shi1) "three lawyers" When used as a measure word,名 can always be substituted with 位. |
| 口 | kou3 | dependent | 口
means "mouth".
As a measureword, it is rarely used in speech. 六口家眷 (liu4 kou3 jia1 jüan4) "six dependents" |
| 具 | ju4 | corpse | 具
here describes something concrete
or stiff. 一具屍體 (yi1 jü2 shi1 ti3) "a corpse" |
| 戶 | hu4 | household | 十戶家庭 (shi2 hu4 jia1 ting2) "ten households" |
| 隻,只 | zhi1 | animal | 一隻鳥 (yi1 zhi1 niao3)"a
bird" 一隻狗 (yi1 zhi1 gou3) "a dog" 一頭象 (yi1 tou2 xiang4) "an elephant" |
| 頭,头 | tou2 | large farm animal | 一頭牛 (yi1 tou2 niu2) "a
cow" 一頭豬 (yi1 tou2 zhu1) "a pig" 頭 means "head". |
| 匹 | pi3 | horse |
一匹馬 (yi1 pi3 ma3) "a horse" |
| 條,条 | tiao2 | fish, snakes |
一條魚 (yi1 tiao2 yü2) "a fish" 一條蛇 (yi1 tiao2 she2) "a snake" In contrast to the above measure words, 條 refers to the shape of the animal. See size and shape specifiers. |
| 棵 | ke1 | tree | 一棵樹 (yi1 ke1 shu4)
"a tree" The character's left side is the symbol of a tree. |
| 株 | zhu1 | tree, plant, flower still in the ground | 一株樹 (yi1 zhu1 shu4)
"a tree" 一株花 (yi1 zhu1 hua1) "a flower" |
| 朵 | duo3 | flower bulb or stem | 一朵玫瑰 (yi1 duo3 mei2 gui1) "a stem of rose" |
| 把 | ba3 | handful | 一把花
(yi1
ba3 hua1) "a
bunch of flowers" 一 把鑰匙 (yi1 ba3 yao4 shi2) "a bunch/ring of keys" 一把椅子 (yi1 ba3 yi3 zi) "a chair (with a back-rest)" The left side of the character is the symbol for hand. |
| 支 | zhi1 | long (and straight) | 一支筆 (yi1 zhi1 bi3) "a
pen" 一支蠟燭 (yi1 la4 zhu2) "a candle" 枝 means "branch'". The character's left side is the symbol of a tree. |
| 條,条 | tiao2 | long (and winding) |
一條路 (yi1 tiao2 lu4) "a street" 一條河 (yi1 tiao2 he2) "a river" 一條法律 (yi1 tiao2 fa3 lü4) "a law" 一條命 (yi1 tiao2 ming4) "a life" |
| 根 | gen1 | long (and thin) |
一根頭髮 (yi1
gen1 tou2 fa3) "a
strand of hair" 一根火柴 (yi1 gen1 huo3 chai2) "a match" 一根吸管 (yi1 gen1 xi1 guan3) "a (drinking) straw" 根 means "root'". The character's left side is the symbol of a tree. |
| 張,张 | zhang1 | flat |
一張票 (yi1 zhang1 piao4) "a ticket" 一張桌 (yi1 zhang1 zhuo1) "a table" 二十四張照片 (er4 shi2 si4 zhang1 zhao4 pian4) "twenty-four photographs" |
| 團,团 | tuan2 | pile | 一團亂 (yi1 tuan2 luan4) "a mess (lit. a pile of junk)" |
| 堆 | dui1 | big pile | 一堆瓦礫 (yi1 dui1 wa3 li4) "a pile of rubble" |
| 顆 | ke1 | small, compact | 一顆珠 (yi1
kei1
zhu1) "a perl" 一顆黃豆 (yi1 ke1 huang2 dou4) "a soybean" 一顆牙 (yi1 ke1 ya2) "a tooth" 一顆蘋果 (yi1 ke1 ping2 guo3) "an apple" 一顆蘋硬碟 (yi1 ke1 ying4 die2) "a hard disk" The character's left side is the symbol for fruit. |
| 粒 | li4 | tiny | 一粒藥 (yi1 li4 yao4) "a
pill" 一粒米 (yi1 li4 mi3) "a kernel of rice" The character's left side is the symbol for rice. |
| 扇 | shan4 | leaf, something that turns on a hinge | 一扇門 (yi1 shan4 men2)
"a door" 一扇窗 (yi1 shan4 chuang1) "a window" 扇 means "fan". |
| 包 | bao1 | a pack |
一包面紙 (yi1 bao1 mian4 zhi3) "a pack of tissues" |
| 卷 | jüan4 | a roll | 一捲衛生紙 (yi1 jian4 wei4 sheng1 zhi3) "a roll of toilet paper" |
| 封 | feng1 | an envelope | 一封信 (yi1 feng1 xin4) "a letter" |
| 桶 | tong3 | tube, bucket | 一桶油漆 (yi1 tong3 you2
qi1) "a bucket of paint" The character's top part is the symbol for bamboo. |
| 盒 | he2 | box | 一盒巧克力 (yi1 he2 qiao3 ke3 li4) "a box of chocolates" |
| 束 | shu4 | boquet | 一束花 (yi1 shu4 hua1) "a boquet of flowers" |
| 本 | ben3 | book | 一本書(yi1 ben3 shu1) "a
book" 一本雜誌 (yi1 ben3 za2 zhi4) "a magazine" |
| 份 | fen4 | newspaper | 一份報紙 (yi1 fen4 bao4
zhi3) "a newspaper" Newspapers cannot be counted using 本 (ben3), because they are not bound. 份 means simply "portion". See foods and drinks. |
| 件 | jian4 | article of clothing |
一件衣服 (yi1 jian4 yi1 fu2) "an article of clothing" 一件襯衫 (yi1 jian4 chen4 shan1) "a shirt" |
| 條,条 | tiao2 | a long article of clothing | 一條領帶 (yi1 tiao2 ling3 dai4) "a necktie" |
| 套 | tao4 | costume | 一套西裝 (yi1
tao4 xi1 zhuang4) "a
(Western) suit" 一套制服 (yi1 tao4 zhi4 fu2) "a uniform" |
| 頂,顶 | ding3 | hat | 一頂帽子 (yi1 ding3 mao4 zi) "a hat" |
| 件 | jian4 | incident |
一件事 (yi1 jian4 shi4) "an incident, a circumstance, a thing" |
| 節,节 | jie2 | event, episode | 一節課 (yi1 jie2 ke4) "a
(section of) class" 節 refers to one episode of a series of continuing events (a course, a TV series, etc.). |
| 門 | men2 | a class | 你在修幾門課 (ni3
zai4 xiu1 ji3 men2 ke4) "How many classes are you taking?" 門 means "door". |
| 次 | ci4 | time, occurence | 三次 (san1 ci4)
"three times" 第一次世界大戰 (di4 yi1 ci4 shi4 jie4 da4 zhan4) "First World War" |
| 場,场 | chang3 | large event | 一場大雨 (yi1
chang3 da4 yü3) "a heavy rain" 一場戰爭 (yi1 chang3 zhan4 zheng1) "a war" 一場打架 (yi1 chang3 da3 jia4) "a fight" 場 means "field". As a measure word, it refers to large open-space events, whose cause can be either natural or man-made. |
| 段 | duan4 | a period | 一段彺事 (yi1 duan4 wang2
shi4) "a past event" 一段情 (yi1 duan4 qing2) "a love" |
| 陣,阵 | zhen4 | sudden, passing event | 一陣雨 (yi1 zhen4 yü3) "a
quick rainshower" 一陣風 (yi1 zhen4 feng1) "a gust of wind" |
| 刻 | ke4 | a moment | 一刻瘋狂 (yi1 ke4 feng1 kuang2) "a moment of madness" |
| 番 | fan1 | a long period of time, or an activity that requires significant effort | 一番好氣象 (yi1 fan1 hao3 qi4 xiang4) "a
stretch of good weather" 下一番功夫 (xia4 yi1 fan1 gong1 fu1) "expend a lot of effort" |
| 席 | xi2 | banquet | 一席宴會 (yi1 xi2 yan4 hui4) "a banquet" |
| 趟 | tang4 | a trip | 一趟旅行 (yi1 tang4 lü3
xing2) "a tour" 去一趟日本 (qü4 yi1 tang4 ri4 ben3) "take a trip to Japan" 白費一趟 (bai2 fei4 yi1 tang4) "a wasted trip" The character's left side is the symbol for walking. |
| 間,间 | jian1 | room, house |
一間房屋 (yi1 jian4 fang2 wu1) "a house" 一間客廳 (yi1 jian1 ke4 ting1) "a guestroom" 一間臥房 (yi1 jian1 wo4 fang2) "a bedroom" |
| 棟,栋 | dong4 | tall building | 一棟大樓 (yi1 dong4 da4 lou2) "a tall building" |
| 層,层 | ceng2 | floor | 五層大樓 (wu3 ceng2 da4 lou2) "a five story building", literally "five floors of building" |
| 堵 | du3 | wall | 一堵牆 (yi1 du3 qiang2)
"a wall" 一堵防火牆 (yi1 du3 fang2 huo3 qiang2) "a firewall" |
| 面 | mian4 | wall | 一面牆 (yi1 mian4
qiang2) "a wall" 面 means "face", and refers to one side or panel of a wall. |
| 所 | suo3 | multi-building complex | 一所醫院 (yi1 suo3 yi1
yuan4) "a hospital" 一所大學 (yi1 suo3 da4 xüe2) "a university" |
| 場,场 | chang3 | field, open public space | 一場公園 (yi1 chang3
gong1 yuan2) "a public park" 一場游泳池 ( yi1 chang3 you2 yong3 chi2) "a swimming pool" The character's left side is the symbol for earth. |
| 家 | jia1 | place of work | 一家公司 (yi1 jia1 gong1
si1) "a company" 一家銀行 (yi1 jia1 yin2 hang2) "a bank" 一家商店 (yi1 jia1 shang1 dian4) "a store" 家 means"home". The character shows the picture of a pig under a roof. |
| 座 | zuo4 | large structure | 一座橋 (yi1 zuo4 qiao2)
"a bridge" 一座水塔 (yi1 zuo4 shui3 ta3) "a water tower" 座 means "a seat". As a measure word, it refers to the named object's stable, stationary nature. In addition to man-made structures, it can refer to large, protruding geographical formations: 一座山 (yi1 zuo4 shan1) "a mountain" 一座島 (yi1 zuo4 dao3) "an island", while a flat island is simply 一個島 (yi1 ge dao3). |
| 部 | bu4 | small machine |
一部收音機 (yi1 bu4 shou1 yin1 ji1) "a radio" |
| 台 | tai2 | machine | 一台電視 (yi1 tai2 dian4 shi4) "a
television" 一台電腦 (yi1 tai2 dian4 nao3) "a computer" |
| 輛,辆 | liang4 | road vehicle | 一輛汽油 (yi1 liang4 qi4
che1) "a car" 一輛汽油 (yi1 liang4 qi4 che1) "a motorcycle" The character's left side is the symbol for car or cart. In all cases it can be substituted with 部. |
| 架 | jia4 | airplane | 一架飛機 (yi1 jia4 fei1 ji1) "an airplane" |
| 艘 | sao1, sou1 | ship | 一艘帆船 (yi1 sao1 fan1
chuan2) "a sailboat" 一艘遊艇 (yi1 sao1 you2 ting3) "a yacht" Ships can also be counted with 條 (tiao2). See size and shape specifiers. |
| 份 | fen4 | portion | 一份麵
(yi1 fen4 mian4 ) "an order of noodles" 一份漢堡 (yi1 fen4 han4 bao3 ) " a hamburger" |
| 片 | pian4 | piece | 一片餅乾 (yi1 pian4 bing3 gan1) "a piece of cookie" |
| 塊,块 | kuai4 | piece, slice | 一塊蛋糕 (yi1 kuai4 dan4 gao1) "a slice of cake" |
| 口 | kou3 | sip, mouthful | 口 means "mouth". 一口水 (yi1 kou3 shuei3) "a sip of water" 一口麵包 (yi1 kou3 mian4 bao1) "a byte of bread" |
| 道 | dao4 | dish | 一道名菜 (yi1 dao4 ming2 cai4) "a famous dish" |
| 頓 | dun4 | meal | 一頓早餐 (yi1 dun4 zao3 can1) "a breakfast" |
| 碗 | wan3 | bowl | 一碗飯 (yi1 wan3 fan4) "a bowl of (cooked) rice" |
| 盤 | pan2 | plate | 一盤水果 (yi1 pan2 ) "a plate of fruit" |
| 籠,笼 | long2 | bamboo drum |
一籠蒸餃 (yi1 long2 zheng1 jiao3) "an
order of steamed dumplings" The character's top part is the symbol for bamboo. |
| 滴 | di1 | drop | 一滴水 (yi1 di1 shui3) "a drop of water" |
| 杯 | bei1 | cup | 一杯茶 (yi1 bei1 cha2) "a cup of tea" |
| 瓶 | ping2 | bottle | 一瓶啤酒 (yi1 ping2 pi1 jiu3) "a bottle of beer" |
| 壺,壶 | hu2 | teapot | 一壺茶 (yi1 hu2 cha2) "a pot of tea" |
| 罐 | guan4 | can, jar | 一罐蜂蜜 (yi1 guan4 feng1 mi4) "a jar of honey" |
| 股 | gu3 | whiff, smell | 一股香味 (yi1 gu3 xiang1 wei4) "a pleasant aroma" |
| 字 | zi4 | character, syllable | 一字話 (yi1
zi4 hua4) "a
spoken character" A written character: 一個字 (yi1 ge zi4) |
| 詞 | ci2 | word, phrase | 一詞話 (yi1
ci2 hua4) "a
spoken word" Most Chinese words are made up of two syllables, while compound words, phrases and idioms are usually three or four syllables long. A written word: 一個詞 (yi1 ge ci2) |
| 句 | jü4 | sentence | 一句話 (yi1 jü4
hua4) "a spoken sentence" A written sentence: 一個句子 (yi1 ge jü4 zi) |
| 首 | shou3 | poem, song | 一首詩 (yi1 shou3 shi1)
"a poem" 一首歌 (yi1 shou3 ge1) "a song" |
| 場,场 | chang3 | speech | 一場演說 (yi1 chang3 yan3
shuo1) "a speech" 場 refers to a large public event. See events. |
| 通 | tong1 | phone call | 接到三通電話 (jie1 dao4 san1 tong1 dian4 hua4) "receive three phone calls" |
| 篇 | pian1 | written piece | 一篇文章 (yi1 pian1 wen2 zhang1) "a newspaper article" |
| 則,则 | ze2 | advertisement, news report, story | 一則廣告
(yi1 ze2 guang2 gao4) "an advertisement" 一則新聞 (yi1 ze2 xin1 wen2) "a piece of news" 一則故事 (yi1 ze2 gu4 shi4) "a story" |
| 齣,出 | chu1 | a play | 一齣戲 (yi1 chu1 xi4) "a
play, a drama" The character's left side is the symbol for tooth. |
| 部 | bu4 | a movie | 一部電影 (yi1 bu4 dian4 ying3) "a movie" |
| 床 | chuang2 | bedsheets | 一床棉被 (yi1 chuang2
mian2 bei4) "a cotton blanket" 床 means "bed". The character shows the symbol for wood under a roof. |
| 條,条 | tiao2 | towel, tablecloth | 一條桌布 (yi1 tiao2 zhuo1 bu4) "a tablecloth" |
| 盞,盏 | zhan3 | lámpa | 一盞台燈 (yi1 zhan3 tai2 deng1) "a standing lamp" |
| 幅 | fu2 | painting or drawing | 一幅畫 (yi1 fu2 hua4) "a
painting or drawing" The left side of 幅 is the symbol for cloth. |
| 幀,帧 | zheng4 | printed picture | 一盞照片 (yi1 zheng4 zhao4
pian4) "a photograph" The left side of 幀 is the symbol for cloth. Photos can also be counted using 張 (zhang1). See size and shape specifiers. |
| 雙,双 | shuang1 | pair of identical objects | 一雙眼睛 (yi1 shuang1 yan3 jing1) "pair
of eyes" 一雙鞋子 (yi1 shuang1 xie2 zi) "pair of shoes" |
| 副 | fu4 | pair of complementary objects | 一副碗筷 (yi1 fu4 wan3
kuai4) "bowl and
chopsticks" 一副刀叉 (yi1 fu4 dao1 cha1) "fork and knife" 一副眼鏡 (yi1 fu4 yan3 jing4) "a pair of glasses" |
| 對,对 | dui4 | man-woman pair | 一對夫妻 (yi1 dui4 fu1 qi1)
"a married couple", literally "one pair husband wife" 一對情人 (yi1 dui4 qing2 ren2) "pair of lovers" |
| 些 | xie1 | a few | 一些東西 (yi1 xie1 dong1 xi1) "a few things" |
| 種, | zhong3 | a kind | 一種動物 (yi1 zhong3 dong4 wu4) "a type of animal" |
| 群 | qün2 | group, flock | 一群人 (yi1 qün2 ren2)
"a group of people" 一群羊 (yi1 qün2 yang2) "a flock of sheep" The character's right side is the symbol for sheep . |
| 眾,乑 | zhong4 | a crowd | 一眾人 (yi1 zhong4 ren2) "a crowd of people" |
| 組,组 | zu3 | an organization | 一組用戶 (yi1 zu3 yong4 hu4) "consumers' organization" |
| 幫,帮 | bang1 | a band, gang | 一幫土匪 (yi1 bang1 tu3 fei3) "a band of thugs /colloquial/" |
| 班 | ban1 | a class | 一班學生 (yi1 ban4 xüe2 sheng1) "a class of students" |
| 排 | pai2 | a row, queue | 一排電桿 (yi1 pai2 dian4 gan3) "a row of electrical posts" |
| 隊,队 | dui4 | a team, battalion | 一隊軍人 (yi1 dui4 jün1 ren2) "a battalion of soldiers" |
|
列 |
lie4 | a chain, exhibited items | 一列火車 (yi1 lie4 huo3 che1) "a train", literally "a chain of cars" |
| 項,项 | xiang4 | item in a list, headline | 一項標題 (yi1 xiang4 biao1 ti2) "a headline" |
| 串 | chuan4 | skewer | 一串肉 (yi1 chuan4 rou4) "a skewer of meat" |
| 打 | da3 | dozen | 一打雞蛋 (yi1 da3 ji1 dan4) "a dozen eggs" |
| 疊,叠 | die2 | stack | 一疊箱 (yi1 die2 xiang1) "a stack of boxes/containers" |
Some of the words designating units of time are "their own" measure words. The rest are used in combination with the generic 個 (ge).
| 秒 | miao3 | second | 一秒鐘 (yi1 miao3 zhong1) "one second" |
| 分 | fen1 | minute | 一分鐘 (yi1 fen1 zhong1) "one minute" |
| 天 | tian1 | day | 一天 (yi1 tian1) "one day" |
| 日 | ri4 | day | 一日 (yi1 ri4) "one day /literary/" |
| 週,周 | zhou1 | week | 一週 (yi1 zhou1) "one week" /literary/" |
| 年 | nian2 | year | 一年 (yi1 nian2) "one year" |
| 代 | dai4 | era, generation | 上一代 (shang4 yi1 dai4) "the previous
generation" 下一代 (xia4 yi1 dai4) "the next generation" |
| 個,个 | ge | unit | 一個小時 (yi1 ge xiao3 shi2)
"one hour" 一個鐘頭 (yi1 ge zhong1 tou2) "one hour" 一個星期 (yi1 ge xing1 qi2) "one week" 一個禮拜 (yi1 ge li3 bai4) "one week" 一個月 (yi1 ge yüe4) "one month" 一個年代 (yi1 ge nian2 dai4) "one decade" 一個世紀 (yi1 ge shi4 ji4) "one century" |
Units of measure generally follow the grammatical structure of other measure words.
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2- 個 件 塊 口 度 份 3 - 場 4 - 條