Sunday, January 3, 2021

Chinese Measure Words - 中文量詞


Measure Words are interesting in Chinese. The way measure words work in Mandarin Chinese might not seem strange to an English speaker.

Here are some examples:

a bar of chocolate
a party of friends
four pieces of news
five rolls of toilet paper
several drops of mud

量詞在中文中很有趣。 普通話中的量詞工作方式對於英語使用者來說似乎並不奇怪。

這裡有些例子:

一塊巧克力
朋友聚會
四則新聞
五卷廁紙
幾滴泥

More examples of Chinese measure words: 中文量詞的更多示例:

一个老人
yí gè lǎorén
an old man

两个孩子
liǎng gè háizi
two kids

三个学生
sān gè xuésheng
three students

两个字
liǎng gè zì
two characters

三个橙子
sān gè chéngzi
three oranges

五个会
wǔ gè huì
five meetings

一位老师
yí wèi lǎoshī
a teacher

两位同事
liǎng wèi tóngshì
two colleagues

三位客人
sān wèi kèrén
three guests

一只猫
yì zhī māo
a cat

两只兔子
liǎng zhī tùzi
two bunnies

三只虫子
sān zhī chóngzi
three bugs

四只鸟
sì zhī niǎo
four birds

一只手
yì zhī shǒu
a hand

一只脚
yì zhī jiǎo
a foot

两只眼睛
liǎng zhī yǎnjīng
two eyes

两只耳朵
liǎng zhī ěrduo
two ears

一头猪
yì tóu zhū
a pig

两头驴
liǎng tóu lǘ
two donkeys

三头牛
sān tóu niú
three cows

条 (tiáo) is really the measure word for things with a long, narrow shape - fish, snakes, ropes, ties, rivers, etc.

一条鱼
yì tiáo yú
a fish

两条蛇
liǎng tiáo shé
two snakes

三条领带
sān tiáo lǐngdài
three ties

一双鞋
yì shuāng xié
a pair of shoes

一双袜子
yì shuāng wàzi
a pair of socks

一双筷子
yì shuāng kuàizi
a pair of chopsticks

一双手
yì shuāng shǒu
a pair of hands

张 (zhāng) refers to flat things - paper, tickets, menus, tables, chairs, beds, etc.

一张纸
yì zhāng zhǐ
a piece of paper

两张票
liǎng zhāng piào
two tickets

三张桌子
sān zhāng zhuōzi
three tables

四张椅子
sì zhāng yǐzi
four chairs

本 (běn) refers to bound stuff such as books or magazines.

一本书
yì běn shū
a book

一本词典
yì běn cídiǎn
a dictionary

两本杂志
liǎng běn zázhì
two magazines

五本笔记本
wǔ běn bǐjìběn
five notebooks

把 (bǎ) literally means "handful." It is often used for objects that can be held and implements with handles.

一把刀
yì bǎ dāo
a knife

一把叉子
yì bǎ chāzi
a fork

一把剪刀
yì bǎ jiǎndāo
a pair of scissors

一把伞
yì bǎ sǎn
an umbrella

件 (jiàn) - used with things, matters, clothes (top half), gifts, furniture and luggage.

一件事
yí jiàn shì
a thing

一件汗衫
yí jiàn hànshān
a T-shirt

一件大衣
yí jiàn dàyī
a coat

一件礼物
yí jiàn lǐwù
a gift

一件行李
yí jiàn xíngli
a piece of luggage

辆 (liàng) is used for vehicles with wheels (but not trains). You can use it to talk about cars, buses, bikes, scooters and so on.

一辆汽车
yí liàng qìchē
a car

两辆大巴
liǎng liàng dàbā
two buses

三辆自行车
sān liàng zìxíngchē
three bicycles

家 (jiā) literally means "home" or "family." It can also be used as a measure word for business establishments such as companies, banks, shops, restaurants, etc.

一家公司
yì jiā gōngsī
a company

两家银行
liǎng jiā yínháng
two banks

三家超市
sān jiā chāoshì
three supermarkets

这家餐厅
zhè jiā cāntīng
this restaurant

一杯冰水
yì bēi bīng shuǐ
a glass of iced water

一杯绿茶
yì bēi lǜ chá
a cup of green tea

两杯咖啡
liǎng bēi kāfēi
two cups of coffee

三瓶可乐
sān píng kělè
three bottles of coke

份 (fèn) to talk about a portion or serving of food.

一份米饭
yí fèn mǐfàn
a serving of rice

一份快餐
yí fèn kuài cān
a serving of fast food

Counting money in Chinese: 元 (yuán) and 块 (kuài). They are essentially the same, it’s just that 块 (kuài) is more colloquial. It is kind of like 元 (yuán) is the Chinese "dollars" and 块 (kuài) is the Chinese "bucks."

五十元钱
wǔ shí yuán qián
50 RMB

一百块钱
yì bǎi kuài qián
100 RMB

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