Classifiers or measure words (liàngcí) are used in Chinese with nouns when specifying number. They have similarities to English expressions like a pack of cards, a piece of paper, and a bottle of beer. While such words are often optional in English - you can say "a beer" or "a bottle/glass of beer", in Chinese you have to use the classifier, e.g. 一杯/瓶啤酒 (yībēi/píng píji), whether you're talking about one or many things.
Measure words may be used for specific objects, shapes, people, animals, vehicles, events, groups, collections of objects or people, time, weight or money.
The most common classifier is 个 [個] (gè), which originally meant bamboo stalks. It became used as a classifier for things with vertical, individual or upright qualities, and eventually became a general classifier for common nouns. It is the only classifier used in Dungan. In other varieties of Chinese, such as Shanghainese and Shanxi and Shandong dialects of Mandarin only one classifier is used.
The table below shows the some of the classifiers used in Mandarin and Cantonese. Traditional characters are shown in [brackets].
| Classifier 量词 [量詞] |
Mandarin 普通话 [普通話] |
Cantonese 广东话 [廣東話] |
Meaning and use 意义和用法 [意義和用法] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 把 | bǎ | ba2 | "handful" - used for long, flat objects and things with handles, such as knives 刀 (dāo), scissors 剪刀 (jiǎndāo), swords 剑 [劍] (jiàn), keys 钥匙 [鑰匙] (yàoshi) and also chairs 椅子 (yǐzi) |
| 班 | bān | baan1 | "team, class, squad" - used for groups of people, 人 (rén), classes of pupils, 学生 [學生] (xuésheng), and scheduled services,e.g. trains and buses |
| 笔 [筆] | bǐ | bat1 | "pen, pencil, brush" - used for large quantities of money, 钱 [錢] (qián), and funds 资金 [資金] (zījīn) |
| 本 | běn | bun2 | "volume" - used for books, 书 [書] (shū), and other printed material |
| 部 | bù | bou6 | "unit, part, section" - used for novels, 小说 [小說] (xiǎoshuō), films, 电影 [電影] (diànyǐng), and TV dramas. Also used for machines and vehicles in Cantonese. |
| 册 [冊] | cè | chaak3 | "copy - used for volumes of books |
| 层 [層] | céng | chang4 | "storey, layer" - used for storeys in buildings |
| 场 [場] | chǎng | cheung4 | "field, place" - used for public spectacles, games, 比赛 [比賽] (bǐsài), dramas, 戏 [戲] (xì), films, 电影 [電影] (diànyǐng), etc. |
| 朵 | duǒ | do2/deu2 | "flower, earlobe" - used for flowers, 花 (huā), clouds 云 [雲] (yún) |
| 份 | fèn | fan6 | used for portions, copies, bundles, batches and servings of food |
| 家 | jiā | ga1 | "home, family" - used for gatherings of people (families, 人家 (rénjiā), companies, 公司 (gōngsī), etc.), establishments (shops, 商店 (shāngdiàn), restaurants, 酒店 (jiǔdiàn), hotels, 饭店 [飯店] (fàndiàn)) |
| 间 [間] | jiān | gaan1 | "room" - rooms, 房间 [房間] (fángjiān), kitchens, 厨房 [廚房] (chúfáng) and offices, 办公室 [辦公室] (bàngōngshì), and for stores and companies in Cantonese |
| 件 | jiàn | gin6 | "matter" - used for matters, clothing, etc. |
| 句 | jú | geui3 | "sentence" - used for sentences, etc |
| 棵 | kē | po1 | used for trees, 树 [樹] (shù), cabbages, plants, etc. |
| 口 | kǒu | hau2 | "mouth" - used for things with mouths: people, 人 (rén), domestic animals, 家畜 (jiāchù), wells, 井 (jǐng), etc. |
| 块 [塊] | kuài | faai3 | "chunk, limp, piece" - used for pieces/slices of cake, 蛋糕 (dàngāo), pieces of cloth, 布 (bù), soap, 肥皂 (féizào), etc, and slang wod from currency |
| 辆 [輛] | liàng | leung2 | used for vehicles, 车 [車] (chē) |
| 門 [门] | mén | mun4 | "door" - used for courses, 课程 [課程] (kèchéng), specialities, 专业 [專業] (zhuānyè), languages, 语言 [語言] (yǔyán), etc. |
| 面 | miàn | min6 | "surface" - used for flat and smooth objects: mirrors, 镜子 [鏡子] (jìngzi), flags 旗子 (qízi), drums, 鼓 (gǔ), etc. |
| 排 | pái | paai4 | "row" - used for objects grouped in rows; chairs 座位 (zuòwèi), etc. |
| 匹 | pǐ | pat1 | "mate, one of a pair" - used for hourse, 马 [馬] (mǎ) |
| 片 | piàn | pin3 | "slice" - used for flat objects, cards, slices of bread, 面包 [麵包] (miànbāo) |
| 首 | shǒu | sau2 | "head, chief" - used for poems, 诗 [詩] (shī), songs, 歌 (gē), etc. |
| 双 [雙] | shuāng | seung1 | "pair" - used for pair of objects which naturally come in pairs, chopsticks, 筷子 (kuàizi), shoes, 鞋 (xié), etc.) |
| 套 | tào | tou3 | "set" - used for sets and collections, e.g. books 书 [書], clothes, 衣裳 (yīshang), etc. |
| 位 | wèi | wai2 | used for people (honorific) |
| 张 [張] | zhāng | jeung1 | "sheet" - used for flat objects: paper 纸 [紙] (zhǐ), tables 桌子 (zhuōzi), faces 脸 [臉] (liǎn), paintings 图画 [圖畫] (túhuà), tickets 票 (piào), bedsheets 床单 [床單] (chuángdān), etc |
| 只 [隻] | zhī | jek3 | one of a pair, e.g. hands, 手 [shǒu], legs, 脚 [腳] (jiǎo); animals, 动物 [動物] (dòngwù), birds, 鸟 [鳥] (niǎo), cats 猫 [貓] (māo), etc. |
| 支 | zhī | ji1 | used for fairly long, stick-like objects: pens, 笔 [筆] (bǐ), candles, 蜡烛 [蠟燭] (làzhú), chopsticks, 筷子 (kuàizi), rifles, 枪 [槍] (qiāng), etc. |
| 种 [種] | zhǒng | jung2 | type, kind sort, species. e.g. languages 语言 [語言] (yǔyán), trees 树 [樹] (shù), etc. |
| 座 | zuò | jo6 | "seat, base, stand" - used for buildings, 大楼 [大樓] (dàlóu), cities, 城市 (chéngshì), bridges, 桥 [橋] (qiáo), mountains, 山 (shān) and other immovable objects |
Information about Chinese classifiers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_classifier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_classifiers
http://laowaichinese.net/top-10-measure-words-to-know.htm
http://laowaichinese.net/which-measure-words-do-they-really-use.htm
Written Chinese: Oracle Bone Script, Simplified characters, Bopomofo, Types of characters, Structure of written Chinese, Evolution of characters, How the Chinese script works, Xiao'erjing, General Chinese
Spoken Chinese: Mandarin, Dungan, Wu, Shanghainese, Wenzhounese, Yue, Cantonese, Weitou, Min, Jian'ou, Taiwanese, Teochew, Fuzhounese, Puxian, Hakka, Xiang, Gan, How many people speak Chinese?
Other Chinese pages: Chinese numbers (數碼) | Chinese classifiers (量詞) | Electronic dictionaries | Chinese links | Books: Chinese characters and calligraphy | Cantonese | Mandarin, Shanghainese, Hokkien and Taiwanese
Akkadian Cuneiform, Ancient Egyptian (Demotic), Ancient Egyptian (Hieratic), Ancient Egyptian (Hieroglyphs), Chinese, Chữ-nôm, Cuneiform, Japanese, Jurchen, Khitan, Linear B, Luwian, Mayan, Naxi, Sawndip (Old Zhuang), Sui, Sumerian Cuneiform, Tangut (Hsihsia)
Page last modified: 30.10.23
[top]
You can support this site by Buying Me A Coffee, and if you like what you see on this page, you can use the buttons below to share it with people you know.
If you like this site and find it useful, you can support it by making a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or by contributing in other ways. Omniglot is how I make my living.
Note: all links on this site to Amazon.com
[top]
