2 · Nouns, numbers and measure words
The everyday measure words
which classifier goes with which noun
About fifteen measure words cover daily life, and most of them sort nouns by shape or by kind.
Measure words are not chosen at random: many of them group nouns by what the thing looks like. 张 counts things with a flat surface — paper, tickets, photos, tables, beds. 条 counts long, narrow things — roads, rivers, trousers, skirts, and long animals such as fish. 本 counts anything bound: books, notebooks, dictionaries. 只 counts most small animals and one of a pair, such as a hand or a shoe.
Others sort by kind rather than shape. 件 counts clothes for the top half of the body, and also matters and events (一件事, a matter). 辆 counts vehicles, 台 machines, 家 shops, restaurants and companies, and 位 is the polite word for people. 双 counts pairs, 把 anything held by a handle — chairs, umbrellas, knives, keys.
Containers work exactly as in English: 一杯茶, a cup of tea, 一瓶水, a bottle of water, 一碗米饭, a bowl of rice. Nouns for substances — water, rice, paper — need such a unit and cannot take 个, just as English cannot say “a water”.
The shape logic is a help, not a law. A piece of news is 一条新闻, though news is not long and thin, and a matter is counted like a shirt. So learn each noun with its measure word, the way English learns “a bar of soap” and “a slice of cake”. 个 is widely accepted in speech for countable things, but the specific measure word sounds natural and 个 in its place sounds like a learner.
The form
| flat things: zhāng | 一张纸、两张票 |
| long things: tiáo | 一条河、一条裤子 |
| clothes and matters: jiàn | 一件衬衫、一件事 |
| animals: zhī | 一只猫、两只鸟 |
| vehicles and machines | 一辆车、一台电脑 |
| people, politely | 一位老师 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
张 is for things with a flat surface.
桌子上有一张照片。There's a photo on the table.
条 is for long, narrow things — and for long animals such as fish.
这条路很长。This road is very long.
件 counts clothes for the top half of the body, and matters and events.
我有一件事想问你。There's something I want to ask you.
位 is the polite measure word for people; 家 counts businesses.
这位是王老师。This is Teacher Wang.
A substance is counted with a container or a unit, as in English.
我要两瓶水。I'd like two bottles of water.
A closer look
One noun, two measure words
Many nouns can take more than one measure word, and the choice changes the picture. 一条鱼 is a whole fish; 一块鱼 is a piece of fish on a plate. 一只鞋 is one shoe; 一双鞋 is a pair. 一杯咖啡is a cup of coffee一瓶咖啡a bottle
The polite 位 and the plain 个 both count people, and the difference is respect. A waiter asks 几位, “how many of you?”, and a host introduces a guest with 这位. Using 位 for yourself would sound odd: you say 我们三个人, not 位.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the thing counted is an animal
small animals take 只, long ones such as fish and snakes take 条, and large farm animals have their own: 匹 for horses, 头 for cattle and pigs.
我钓到了一条大鱼。I caught a big fish.
Animals are sorted by size and shape like everything else; dogs can take either 只 or 条.
How to spot it
- 张
- 条
- 件
- 只
- 辆
- 位
- 家
Example sentences
我买了两张电影票。I bought two cinema tickets.
她买了一条新裙子。She bought a new skirt.
学校旁边有一家书店。There's a bookshop next to the school.
他家有两辆车。His family has two cars.
树上有三只鸟。There are three birds in the tree.
门口有一位先生找你。There's a gentleman at the door asking for you.
8 more example sentences
这件衬衫多少钱？How much is this shirt?
我要一碗米饭。I'd like a bowl of rice.
我家有一台旧电视。We have an old television at home.
他送给我一双手套。He gave me a pair of gloves.
门口有一把伞，是你的吗？There's an umbrella by the door — is it yours?
这条河叫什么名字？What is this river called?
我们公司来了两位新同事。Two new colleagues have joined our company.
那家超市晚上十点关门。That supermarket closes at ten at night.
Worth knowing (1)
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Kǒu for the people in a household
When you count the members of a family, the measure word is 口, “mouth” — the people one household feeds. It is used almost only in this question and its answer; everywhere else people are 个 or 位.
你家有几口人？How many people are there in your family?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
纸 is like English “paper”: a substance, not an item. English needs “a sheet of”, and Chinese needs 张. The general 个 cannot cut a single piece out of a substance.
Flat zhāng, long tiáo, clothes jiàn, animals zhī — and learn each noun with its own.
Your turn
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.