Measure words

Exercises

Other terminology: 量词.

1. How many measure words are there?

There are four kinds of measure words.

1. Measure words which are only used in Chinese but not in English. (See Table One)

(mw for nouns) (mw for actions)

yì zhāng piào èn yí xià

一张票摁一下

ONE SHEET OF TICKET PRESS ONE XIA

A ticket. Press once

2. Nouns which indicate certain kinds of non-standard measurements (but not standard measurements). These measure words are used in a similar way in English. (See Table Two)

sān píng jiŭ

三瓶酒

THREE BOTTLES WINE

Three bottles of wine.

3. Some Chinese nouns have "built-in" measure words, in other words they don't need additional measure words. They can be used just as they are in English (number word + noun). Not many nouns can be used in this way.

qī tiān

七天

SEVEN DAYS

Seven days.

4. The words in this category are used for standard measurements. (See Table Three)

sān cùn

三寸

THREE INCHES

Three inches.

2. When do I need a measure word (category 1) in a sentence?

Measure words (category 1) are needed in the following situations.

When a quantity is involved, for instance, if you use a number in front of a noun.
When you want to specify a noun, in other words if you use 这 this, 那 that, 每 every.
When the question words 哪 which and 几 how many are used.

tā yŏu yìbĕn hányŭ shū nă ge lăoshī jiāo nĭmen kǒuyǔ

他有一本汉语书. 哪个老师教你们口语?

HE HAS A BEN CHINESE BOOK WHICH GE TEACHER TEACH YOU ORAL

He has a Chinese book Which teacher teaches you the spoken language?

3. Where should I place a measure word in a sentence?

The following sentence pattern shows how a measure word is used with the object of the sentence.

s. v. number/这/那/每/哪/几 +mw+ description of 的 noun

wŏ

我

yŏu

有

HAVE

sān bĕn

三本

3 BEN

jiāo wàiguórén xué hànyǔ yòngde shū

教外国人学汉语用的书.

TEACH FOREIGNER LEARN CHINESE USE DE BOOK

I have three books which can be used for teaching foreigners (to learn) Chinese.

4. Are there any other tips on the use of measure words?

The question word 多少 doesn't need a measure word, where as 几 needs one.

zhōngwénxì yŏu duōshao ge xuésheng

中文系有多少 (个) 学生?

CHINESE DEPT. HAS HOW MANY (GE) STUDENTS

How many students are there in the Chinese department?

If the quantity is one, the word “one” is often omitted in spoken Chinese, but the measure word remains,

tā xiě le yí ge zì tā zuò le yì xiē liànxí

他写了 (一) 个字他作了 (一) 些练习

HE WRITE LE (YI) GE ZI HE DO LE (YI) XIE EXERCISES.

He has written a word. He has done some exercises.

5. Should the word 多 (more, over) appear before or after a measure word?

多 can appear either before or after a measure word, but it is important to know that the word before 多 is a kind of measurement,

sān shí duō ge rén

三十多个人.

THREE TEN MORE GE PEOPLE

Over thirty people. (Usually it means that there are 30 - 40 people.)

As you can see, the word before 多 is 十. In this case, 多 means less than that measurement 十 (ten). Therefore, 三十多 means that three tens plus 多 which is less than ten (十), so the number appears to be between 30 - 40. Let's see another example.

sān ge duō píngguŏ

三个多苹果.

THREE GE MORE APPLE

Three apples and a bit.

Table One

Measure words used in Chinese but not in English.

1	Character	Pinyin	Used for	Examples
1	把	bă	small objects which can be held in the hand	knives, chairs, umbrellas, teapot 两把刀; 一把椅子; 一把伞, 一把茶壶
1	本	bĕn	book-like objects	magazines, novels 四本杂志; 三本小说
1	遍*	biàn	action measure (going through a completed process)	watch (a film), read (a text) 电影看了两遍; 课文念了三遍
1	部	bù	machinery, vehicles production of a play	cars, plays 六部轿车; 一部话剧
1	场	chăng	sth. which lasts for a short period	performances, rainfall 演了三场戏; 下了一场雨
1	层	céng	floor (Similar to 楼)	storey 三层楼
1	次*	cì	actions	to pay visits, to do sth 去了一次中国; 这件事作了两次
1	顶	dĭng	sth to put over one's head	hats, tents, umbrellas 一顶帽子; 五顶蚊帐
1	顿	dùn	actions which last for a short period	to eat a meal, to beat sb. up 吃了一顿饭; 把他打了一顿
1	朵	duō	flower-like objects	flowers, clouds, mushrooms 七朵花; 一朵云彩; 几朵木耳
1	份	fèn	portions	newspapers, jobs 一份报; 一份工作
1	封	fēng	sth. sealed in an envelope	letters, telegram 两封信; 一封电报
1	幅	fú	picture-like objects	paintings, banners 三幅画; 一幅对联; 八幅标语
1	个	ge	units of sth. (common measure word, for both abstract and physical objects)	people, schools, ideas... 五个人; 两个学校; 一个主意
1	根	gēn	sth. thin and flexible	hairs, threads, strings 两根头发; 一根线; 三根绳
1	户	hù	household	household 这个村子有五户人家
1	回*	huí	actions (similar to次visits but more colloq.)	actions 看了他两回
1	家	jiā	establishments	companies, restaurants, shops 一家公司; 四家饭馆; 八家商店
1	架	jià	machinery, vehicle	aeroplanes, pianos, computers 一架飞机; 十架钢琴
1	间	jiān	any kinds of room	bed-rooms, kitchens, class-rooms 一间卧室; 两间厨房; 三间教室
1	件	jiàn	top part of clothes, matters	shirts; coats; matters 两件衬衫; 一件大衣; 三件事
1	句	jù	sentences, lines of poems	sayings; idioms 三句成语; 一句诗; 两句话
1	课	kè	lessons of texts	lessons 两本书有五十课课文
1	棵	kē	trees, plants	pine-tree, roses 三棵松树; 一棵玫瑰
1	口	kŏu	population on a small scale (for a number under 100)	population of a family 一家三口人
1	辆	liàng	vehicles (on wheels)	cars, bikes 一辆汽车; 一辆脚踏车
1	名	míng	people (members of...)	party members, university teachers 一名党员; 两名大学教师
1	篇	piān	writings	essays 一篇文章; 两篇论文
1	片	piàn	sth. thin and in an irregular shape	leaves, fields, lakes, tablets (medicine) 三片叶子; 一片麦田; 四片药片
1	扇	shàn	sth. vertical with a flat surface	doors, windows 三扇门一扇窗
1	首	shŏu	verses	songs, poems 一首民歌; 两首中国诗歌
1	所	suŏ	small buildings and houses, institutions	universities, detached houses 一所大学一所房子
1	堂	táng	Classes, lectures	lessons 三堂课
1	趟*	tàng	action measure similar to 次	to pay a visit 去了三趟
1	条	tiáo	sth. narrow, long and twisty, lower part wearing	fish, dogs, rivers, trousers, skirts, boats 一条鱼; 三条狗; 两条裤子,裙子; 一条船
1	头	tóu	farm animals except horses and sheep	pigs, oxen 一头猪; 两头牛
1	位	wèi	people (used to show respect)	teachers, customers 三位老师一位顾客
1	下*	xià	measure of movements to hit, press	打两下; 摁一下
1	张	zhāng	objects made of paper, objects with a flat object	paper, tickets, beds, table, mouths 一张纸; 一张票; 一张桌子; 一张床
1	枝	zhī	twig-like objects	Pens 一枝钢笔
1	只	zhī	animals, one of a pair	chickens, shoe 三只鸡一只鞋
1	座	zuò	mountains, big buildings	hills, a block of flats 一座山, 一座公寓/大楼

Table Two

Nouns used for measurements. These words are used in a similar way in English.

2	Character	Pinyin	Used for	Examples
2	把	bă	hands full of...	rice grain, sand 一把米; 一把沙
2	包	bāo	packets of ...	sweets, cigarettes 一包糖; 一包烟
2	杯	bēi	cups, glasses of ...	tea, wine 一杯茶; 三杯酒
2	笔	bĭ	strokes of characters, sums of money	strokes, money 两笔; 一笔钱
2	部	bù	Productions, sets of written work	film/play, film, opera 一部电影一部著作三部歌剧
2	层	céng	layers of...	dust, cake 一层灰; 两层蛋糕
2	打	dá	dozens of...	pencils, eggs 一打铅笔; 两打鸡蛋
2	袋	dài	bags of...	sugar, flour, rice 一袋面粉两袋大米
2	对	duì	matched pairs of...	couples, vase 一对夫妇; 一对花瓶
2	盒	hé	small boxes of...	cigarettes, cakes 三盒烟; 一盒蛋糕
2	块	kuài	irregular shape pieces	cakes, watches 一块蛋糕; 两块表
2	排	pái	rows of…, lines of…	seats, tables, people 十几排椅子; 四排桌子; 一排人
2	瓶	píng	bottles of…	wine, water, oil 两瓶酒; 一瓶水; 三瓶油
2	束	shù	bunches of…	flowers 一束花
2	双	shuāng	pairs of…	shoes, gloves, chopsticks 六双鞋; 一双手套; 一双筷子
2	套	tào	sets of…	suites, stamps, rooms, furniture 西装; 邮票; 房间; 家具
2	碗	wăn	bowls of…	rice, noodles, soup 两碗饭; 一碗面; 一碗汤
2	种	zhŏng	kinds of…	things, books, people 一种东西; 一种书; 一种人

Table Three

Category 3 and 4: nouns with the “built-in” measure words and standard measurements.

3	Character	Pinyin	Used for		Examples
3	镑	bàng		Sterling	十英镑
3	磅	bàng		pound (weight)	重十磅
3	尺	chĭ		foot	六尺
3	寸	cùn		inch	五寸
3	点	diăn		o’ clock	七点十分
3	度	dù		degree	三十七度
3	分	fēn		minute (time reading)	五点十五分
3	分	fēn		cent (money)	六分钱
3	公斤	gōngjīn		kilogram	两公斤
3	角	jiăo		unit of 10 cents (money)	五角
3	刻	kè		quarter of hour (time reading)	八点三刻
3	块	kuài		unit of 100 cents (money: colloq.)	二十五块
3	两	liăng		measure for weight (1 = 50 gm.)	三两饭
3	秒	miăo		second (time reading)	八点十七分零二秒
3	毛	máo		unit of 10 cents (money: colloq.)	九毛八
3	米	mĭ		meter	长三米
3	年	nián		year	两年
3	岁	suì		year of age	三岁
3	天	tiān		day	七天
3	些* (一些)	xiē		some	一些
3	点* (一点)	diăn		some	一点
3	页	yè		page	五百多页
3	元	yuán		unit of 100 cents (money)	三元钱
3	站	zhàn		stop (for buses and trains)	六站

Exercises

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Click here to view the answers

Find suitable measure words for the following words.

1. 3 cars. 9. 2 copies of magazines. 17. 4 wheels.

2. 1 house. 10. 3 windows. 18. 1 ruler.

3. 2 vases. 11. 6 beds. 19. 2 desk lamps.

4. Many lakes. 12. 2 pairs of trousers. 20. 1 student.

5. How many countries? 13. 3 car number plates.

6. A few forms. 14. 1 note.

7. 3 kinds of newspapers. 15. 2 roofs.

8. 1 story. 16. 2 doors.

* Action measure

*Action measure

* Action measure

* Can't be used with any other numbers.