#measure words

[whisperglyph]

Gotta catch 'em all !

[marilearnsmandarin]

A classmate shared this on our whatsapp group.

The teacher's comment:

"As everyone knows, cats are liquid"

[linghxr]

20 measure words (量词) I wish I learned sooner

I've started reading more in Chinese, so I've picked up some new (to me) measure words in the process. I feel like it's easy to become complacent and not learn new measure words. But actually, I've grown to appreciate their specificity and expressiveness.

Here are 20 measure words I wish I had learned sooner. I've also included examples, all of which I've actually encountered IRL.

(1) 架 jià - classifier for planes, large vehicles, radios etc 一架飞机 yí jià fēijī - an airplane

(2) 扇 shàn - classifier for doors, windows etc 一扇门 yí shàn mén - a door 一扇窗 yí shàn chuāng - a window

(3) 丝 | 絲 sī - classifier for a thread (of cloud, smoke etc), a bit, an iota, a hint (of sth) etc 一丝希望 yì sī xīwàng - a shred or glimmer of hope

(4) 枚 méi - classifier for coins, rings, badges, pearls, sporting medals, rockets, satellites etc 一枚弹壳 yì méi dànké - a shell casing 一枚金牌 yì méi jīnpái - a gold medal

(5) 粒 lì - classifier for small round things (peas, bullets, peanuts, pills, grains etc) 一粒沙 yí lì shā - a grain of sand 一粒米 yí lì mǐ - a grain of rice

(6) 阵 | 陣 zhèn - classifier for events or states of short duration 一阵掌声 yí zhèn zhǎngshēng - a burst of applause 一阵风 yí zhèn fēng - a burst of wind 一阵雨 yí zhèn yǔ - a burst of rain

(7) 幅 fú - classifier for textiles or pictures 一幅画 yì fú huà - a painting

(8) 通 tōng - classifier for letters, telegrams, phone calls etc 一通电话 yì tōng diànhuà - a phone call

(9) 副 fù - classifier for pairs, sets of things & facial expressions 一副开心的样子 yí fù kāixīn de yàngzi - a happy look or expression 一副眼镜 yí fù yǎnjìng - a pair of glasses

(10) 艘 sōu - classifier for ships (Taiwan pr. sāo) 一艘船 yì sōu chuán - a boat

(11) 股 gǔ - classifier for smoke, smells etc (thread, puff, whiff) / classifier for sudden forceful actions 一股劲儿 yì gǔ jìnr - a burst of energy 一股臭味 yì gǔ chòuwèi - a whiff of a bad odor

(12) 名 míng - classifier for people 一名演员 yì míng yǎnyuán - an actor 一名歌手 yì míng gēshǒu - a singer

(13) 盏 | 盞 zhǎn - classifier for lamps 一盏灯 yì zhǎn dēng - a lamp

(14) 缕 | 縷 lǚ - classifier for wisps (of smoke, mist or vapor), strands, locks (of hair) 一缕头发 yì lǚ tóufa - a strand of hair

(15) 根 gēn - classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings 一根烟 yì gēn yān - a cigarette 一根葱 yì gēn cōng - a scallion

(16) 对 | 對 duì - classifier for a couple or a pair 一对夫妻 yí duì fūqī - a pair of husband and wife 一对夫妇 yí duì fūfù - a pair of husband and wife

(17) 份 fèn - classifier for gifts, newspaper, magazine, papers, reports, contracts etc 一份报告 yí fèn bàogào - a report 一份工作 yí fèn gōngzuò - a job

(18) 级 | 級 jí - classifier for steps, levels 一级台阶 yì jí táijiē - a step or stair

(19) 道 dào - classifier for long thin things (rivers, cracks etc), barriers (walls, doors etc), questions (in an exam etc) 一道墙 yí dào qiáng - a wall 一道门 yí dào mén - a door 一道题 yí dào tí - a question or exercise 一道河 yí dào hé - a river 一道缝隙 yí dào fèngxì - a crack

(20) 支 zhī - classifier for army divisions and for songs or compositions 一支队伍 yì zhī duìwǔ - a team 一支乐曲 yì zhī yuèqǔ - a musical composition

Definitions are adapted from MDBG.

See similar posts: "Bare" measure words (classifiers without demonstratives and numerals)

[biglittleluobo]

中文 weights & measures

大家好！

Fellow Chinese learners are almost certainly familiar with "measure words", which indicate units of items. Their prevalence can introduce some frustration for students, but other languages are also chock full of them! While the 个 character is a catch-all that can be used universally, many other more specific options exist, like cup and box:

杯 (bēi) - cup; 一杯水 (one cup of water)

盒 (hé) - box; 两盒巧克力 (two boxes of chocolate)

But that's for another post.

Today I'd like to talk about weights and where to find them! For example, did you know that the most common Chinese measure for weights (斤, half-kilogram or 500g) is very close to the most common imperial unit of weight "pound" (lb, 453.6g)? Gotta love humans :)

Here's some weight words spanning 6 orders of magnitude:

克 (kè) - 1 gram

Grams are unsurprisingly most commonly used for small and/or light things! When we purchased loose leaf tea in Hangzhou, we mostly ordered using units of 克, though we did order a few in scales of 两.

两 (liǎng) - 50 grams

In my experience, units of 两 were most common for noodles! The 米粉 that we commonly ate for breakfast (pic below) in Sichuan come in sets of 两, referring to the weight of noodles in your bowl order.

斤 (jīn) - 500 grams (half kilogram)

Half-kilogram units (斤), sometimes translated as "catty" in English, are extremely common for purchasing things like produce. For example, you might see a sign like 苹果 5元/斤. Weights of people are also commonly given in 斤, though may sometimes be reported in 公斤 as well.

公斤 (gōngjīn) - 1000 grams (1 kilogram)

Full kilograms can be used anywhere that they would be in your native sense of scale. I didn't see too much of it while in the southern regions of China, but I hear for example that the northern parts of the country, where trips to the grocery store are minimized, prefer to purchase produce in units of 公斤.

吨 (dūn) - 1 metric ton (1000 kilograms)

Gonna be honest, I didn't see the word 吨 at all, but it's included here for completeness. Plus it's super easy to remember! So might as well add it to your repertoire of weights :)

Weights in real life:

You can feel free to mix-and-match units as needed. Like I mentioned above, we purchased a few different types of loose-leaf tea at different scales. At the smallest scale, we ordered some teas in units of 两 aka 五十克, and some at the 250g scale as 五两 aka 一半斤, and the owners gifted us a few 克 of tea for our purchases.

Finally, as promised, here's what 二两米粉 looks like!

🤤🤤🤤

(I miss it .... ;_;)

I hope this post helps calibrate you at scales of weights in Chinese! Fortunately, there are many fewer words for this than measure words ;)

See you next time! 下次见！

[chineselanguageblog]

10 Chinese measure words

When just beginning to study Chinese, many people get intimidated by the massive amount of measure words used in the language. Don’t let the measure words freak you out, though, especially if you’re a native English speaker – we use tons of measure words in English! Just see for yourself: one glass of water, two pairs of pants, three bars of chocolate, four bottles of beer, five groups of students. Here are 10 must know Chinese measure words to get you going.

1. 个 – gè

When you’re a total Chinese noob, this measure word will save your life. It can basically be used for everything, and Chinese people will forgive your sorry 老外 ass for only knowing one all-encompassing measure word. It should be used for people and/or non-specific items, but you can basically use it all the time. Here are a few examples:

Three foreigners (三个老外 – sān gè lǎo wài)

That beautiful girl (那个美女 – nà gè měi nǚ)

Ten students (十个学生 – shí gè xué shēng)

2. 只 – zhī

If 个 is the go-to measure word for people, then 只 is used for animals. Strangely enough, it’s also used for arms, hands, legs, and feet – body parts that come in pairs. Here’s this common measure word in action:

This dog (这只狗 – zhè zhī gǒu)

Two hands (两只手 – liǎng zhī shǒu)

Five cats (五只猫 – wǔ zhī māo)

3. 条 – tiáo

The best way to remember how to use this important measure word is that it is often connected with long, narrow, or skinny objects – fish, roads, pants, rivers, and so on. Check these examples:

Ten fish (十条鱼 – shí tiáo yú)

This river (这条河 – zhè tiáo hé)

Two pairs of pants (两条裤子 – liǎng tiáo kù zi)

You’re probably wondering if there’s a Chinese measure word that is the equivalent of “pair” in English, and why it’s not used for pants. Well, I can’t answer the second question, but there is in fact a word for “pair.”

4. 双 – shuāng

As mentioned above, this is the Chinese equivalent of “pair” in English. Here are a few examples:

A pair of chopsticks (一双筷子 – yī shuāng kuài zi)

That pair of shoes (那双鞋 – nà shuāng xié)

Two pairs of gloves (两双手套 – liǎng shuāng shǒu tào)

5. 辆 – liàng

This measure word is used for vehicles with wheels, but not trains. You can use it to talk about cars, bikes, and the like, though. Let’s see it in action:

Three bicycles (三辆自行车 – sān liàng zì xíng chē)

Five cars (五辆车 – wǔ liàng chē)

This electric bikes (这辆电动车 – zhè liàng diàn dòng chē)

6. 张 – zhāng

It’s pretty easy remembering how to use this measure word, as it is attached to flat objects – tables, paper, tickets, etc. You’ll find that you use this one quite often if you live in China, as you’ll always be buying subway, bus, or train tickets.

One soft sleeper ticket (一张硬卧票 – yī zhāng yìng wò piào)

Three tables (三张桌子 – sān zhāng zhuō zi)

Five bus tickets (五张车票 – wǔ zhāng chē piào)

7. 本 – běn

While you use 张 for a single sheet of paper, you need to use a different measure word when talking about things like books, magazines, or notebooks. That’s where 本 comes in handy! Here are some examples:

This newspaper (这本报纸 – zhè běn bào zhǐ)

Ten books (十本书 – shí běn shū)

One magazine (一本杂志 – yī běn zá zhì)

8. 家 – jiā

This is a very versatile Chinese character – it can mean “home” or “family,” and it can also be used as a measure word. In this context, it is attached to gatherings of people, or establishments (shops, restaurants, etc.) Let’s see how it’s used:

This company (这家公司 – zhè jiā gōng sī)

Four restaurants (四家饭店 – sì jiā fàn diàn)

A bar (一家酒吧 – yī jiā jiǔ bā)

9. 瓶 – píng; 杯 – bēi

We’re going to put these two measure words together and relate them to the last example, as these are both very handy in a bar/restaurant. The first (瓶) means “bottle,” and the second (杯) means “glass.” This way you can distinguish between “a bottle of beer” and “a glass of wine.”

A bottle of beer (一瓶啤酒 – yī píng pí jiǔ)

A glass of red wine (一杯红酒 – yī bēi hóng jiǔ)

That bottle of water (那瓶水 – nà píng shuǐ)

10. 件 – jiàn

This measure word can be used in a few ways – with clothing, gifts, or matters/problems. Don’t ask me how all of those things are connected, because I couldn’t tell you!

This shirt (这件衬衫 – zhè jiàn chèn shān)

One matter/thing/problem (一件事 – yī jiàn shì)

Three gifts (三件礼物 – sān jiàn lǐ wù)

[zhongwen-lingblr]

量词 liàngcí Measure words

个 Ge Basic measure word

本 Běn Measure for books or files

碗 Wǎn Measure for bowls/cups

双 shuāng Measure for pairs of things

张 Zhāng Measure for flat objects

位 wèi Measure for people (honorific)

Notes

I’ve been told before that traditional Chinese does not use classifier words. Is this true? I don’t know. I tried googling it but I haven’t found anything to confirm or deny it. If anyone does know, please let me know :)

If you don’t know a measure word for a specific object (because I’m sure there’s hundreds lol) just use 个。

Times I would not depend on 个: 位。Don’t say 一个医生 because it’s disrespectful.... unless you mean to be rude. Then go right ahead

We’re sorry about not posting as often. As we navigate these strange times, we’ll try to provide more weekly content for your enjoyment.

-That Language Aesthetic in and ouT 🤟

[wikxuexihanyu]

Chinese measure words🍀

[digmandarin]

115 Frequently Used Chinese Measure Words List (with PDF)

One of the distinguishing features of the Chinese language is the importance and variety of measure words. I compiled the full list grouped by 16 categories.

Many Chinese learners, especially the beginners, often use “个” as their preferred measure word. It is indeed a general measure word, but not for everything. Here is a list for you to learn more about the use of the very commonly used Chinese measure words. Download the list for free: http://bit.ly/2LFLYjv