Chinese Measure Words Made Simple: Start With 个 and Add the Useful Ten

In English we say "three people" and "two cups of tea" or "a sheet of paper". Chinese always puts a small counting word, called a measure word or classifier, between a number and a noun. It looks like a big list to memorise, but you can begin with one word and add the others gradually.

The pattern

The pattern is: number + measure word + noun.

• 三个人 sān ge rén: three people
• 一本书 yì běn shū: one book
• 两杯茶 liǎng bēi chá: two cups of tea

The same pattern applies after "this" and "that" and in questions: 这个 zhège (this one), 那个 nàge (that one), 几个人？ jǐ ge rén? (how many people?). You cannot say "three people" as "三人" in everyday speech; the measure word is part of the structure.

Start with 个

个 (gè, usually said as a light "ge") is the general measure word. It is used with people, many everyday objects and abstract nouns: 一个人 yí ge rén (a person), 一个苹果 yí ge píngguǒ (an apple), 一个问题 yí ge wèntí (a question). If you do not know the right measure word, 个 is usually understood. It may not sound perfect, but it will get you through almost any conversation.

The ten most useful measure words

• 个 gè: general use, people, many things. 两个朋友 liǎng ge péngyou (two friends).
• 位 wèi: polite word for people. 三位客人 sān wèi kèrén (three guests). Restaurants often ask 几位？ jǐ wèi? (how many of you?).
• 本 běn: books and bound things. 一本书 yì běn shū (a book).
• 张 zhāng: flat things such as paper, tickets, tables and beds. 两张票 liǎng zhāng piào (two tickets).
• 杯 bēi: cups and glasses. 一杯水 yì bēi shuǐ (a glass of water).
• 瓶 píng: bottles. 一瓶啤酒 yì píng píjiǔ (a bottle of beer).
• 只 zhī: small animals, and one of a pair. 一只猫 yì zhī māo (a cat).
• 条 tiáo: long, thin things: rivers, roads, fish, trousers, dogs. 一条鱼 yì tiáo yú (a fish).
• 件 jiàn: clothes for the upper body, and matters. 一件衣服 yí jiàn yīfu (a piece of clothing).
• 辆 liàng: vehicles. 一辆车 yí liàng chē (a car).

Two more show up often: 双 shuāng for pairs (一双鞋 yì shuāng xié, a pair of shoes) and 把 bǎ for things with a handle (一把伞 yì bǎ sǎn, an umbrella).

Two small things to watch

• "Two" is 两 before a measure word. You say 两个人 liǎng ge rén, not 二个人. The number 二 èr is used for counting and ordinals. See Chinese numbers, dates and money.
• 一 changes tone. It is yí before a fourth-tone measure word (一个 yí ge, 一件 yí jiàn, 一辆 yí liàng) and yì before first, second or third tones (一杯 yì bēi, 一条 yì tiáo, 一本 yì běn). Learn it as part of the phrase, as described in the tones guide.

Why does Chinese have measure words?

English does it too with some nouns: "a cup of", "a sheet of", "a pair of". Chinese makes every countable noun work this way, and the measure word often says something about the thing's shape or kind. That helps memory: 条 is a long thing, 张 is a flat thing, 只 is a small animal. A new noun often tells you its measure word, so learn them together.

How to learn them

1. Learn the measure word with the noun. Say 一杯茶 as one unit, not 茶 and 杯 separately.
2. Start with five. 个, 本, 杯, 张 and 只 cover a large share of beginner sentences.
3. Practise in sentences. The starter sentences are short and use the most common measure words, like 我家有一只狗 wǒ jiā yǒu yì zhī gǒu (my family has a dog).
4. Notice them in the topics. Browse food or animals and look at which measure word goes with each noun.

Do not be afraid of mistakes. If you say 一个猫 instead of 一只猫, people will understand you, and they will probably say the correct form in reply, which is free teaching.

A quick check

Try to say these aloud, then check the answers above: three tickets, a bottle of water, two dogs, a glass of tea, one book. They are 三张票 sān zhāng piào, 一瓶水 yì píng shuǐ, 两条狗 liǎng tiáo gǒu, 一杯茶 yì bēi chá and 一本书 yì běn shū. If you got three right, you are ready for the next batch of nouns.

Practise measure words in context with Fill the Blank, where you choose the missing word in a short sentence.