Measure Words (Classifiers) in Chinese

Overview

Measure words (量词, liàngcí), also called classifiers, are a mandatory grammatical feature in Chinese. Whenever you count nouns or use demonstratives with nouns, a measure word must appear between the number/demonstrative and the noun. You cannot say 三书 (three books) -- it must be 三本书 (three + classifier-for-books + book).

At the CEFR A1 level, the general-purpose measure word 个 (gè) is your most important tool. While there are hundreds of specific classifiers, 个 can be used for people and many common objects. Learning the top 10-15 classifiers will cover most daily situations.

Measure words categorize nouns by physical properties (shape, size) or conventional association. Flat things use 张, books use 本, long thin things use 条, and so on. This system is somewhat analogous to English expressions like "a sheet of paper" or "a cup of coffee," but it is required for every noun, not just some.

How It Works

Basic pattern: Number/Demonstrative + MW + Noun

Pattern	Example	Meaning
Number + MW + Noun	三本书	three books
这/那 + MW + Noun	这杯茶	this cup of tea
几 + MW + Noun	几个人？	how many people?

Common measure words

MW	Pinyin	Used for	Examples
个	gè	general (people, objects)	一个人, 三个苹果
本	běn	books, bound volumes	两本书, 这本词典
张	zhāng	flat things	一张纸, 两张桌子
杯	bēi	cups/glasses of	一杯水, 三杯咖啡
只	zhī	small animals	一只猫, 两只鸟
条	tiáo	long thin things	一条路, 一条鱼
件	jiàn	clothing, matters	一件衣服, 一件事
把	bǎ	things with handles	一把椅子, 一把刀
块	kuài	chunks, money (yuan)	一块蛋糕, 十块钱
瓶	píng	bottles of	一瓶水, 两瓶啤酒
辆	liàng	vehicles	一辆车, 两辆自行车
位	wèi	people (polite)	一位老师, 三位客人

Examples in Context

Chinese	Pinyin	English	Note
一个人	yí gè rén	one person	个 general MW
三个苹果	sān gè píngguǒ	three apples	个 for round fruit
两本书	liǎng běn shū	two books	本 for books
一张纸	yì zhāng zhǐ	a sheet of paper	张 for flat things
这杯咖啡	zhè bēi kāfēi	this cup of coffee	杯 for drinks
那只猫	nà zhī māo	that cat	只 for small animals
一条路	yì tiáo lù	a road	条 for long things
两件衣服	liǎng jiàn yīfú	two pieces of clothing	件 for clothing
五块钱	wǔ kuài qián	five yuan	块 for money
一位老师	yí wèi lǎoshī	a teacher (polite)	位 polite for people

Common Mistakes

Omitting the measure word

• Wrong: 三书 (three book)
• Right: 三本书 (three books)
• Why: Measure words are mandatory between numbers/demonstratives and nouns in Chinese. You can never skip them.

Using the wrong measure word for common items

• Wrong: 一个书 (a book with general MW)
• Right: 一本书 (a book with correct MW)
• Why: While 个 works as a fallback, using the proper measure word sounds more natural and educated. For very common nouns, the specific MW is expected.

Forgetting MW with demonstratives

• Wrong: 这书 (this book)
• Right: 这本书 (this book)
• Why: Demonstratives 这 and 那 also require a measure word before the noun.

Practice Tips

• Start by using 个 as your default measure word. It is understood and acceptable for most nouns in casual speech. Gradually add specific classifiers as you learn them.
• Learn measure words together with their associated nouns. When you memorize a new noun, always learn its classifier at the same time.
• Group nouns by their classifier to build associations: all the "本" things (books, magazines, dictionaries), all the "张" things (paper, tables, tickets, photos).

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Numbers 1-100 -- you need numbers to count with measure words