Measure Words
in Mandarin Chinese
量词 (liàngcí)
In Mandarin Chinese, measure words (also called classifiers, 量词 liàngcí) are used between numbers (or demonstratives like “this” or “that”) and nouns.
Unlike in English, you cannot say “one book” directly in Chinese. You must say:
👉 一本书 (yì běn shū) – “one [measure word] book”
Think of measure words like saying:
“a piece of paper”
“a slice of bread”
In Chinese, this applies to almost every noun.
1. 100 Most Common Chinese Measure Words
| No |
Measure Word |
Pinyin | Used For | Example in Sentences |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 个 | gè | General (people, things) |
1.👩🦰 People (a person) 2. 🍎 Objects (a fruit, e.g. apple) |
| 2 | 块 | kuài | pieces of cloth, cake, soap, etc.; money and currency units (colloquial) |
1. 🍰 Pieces of cake, bread, or food 2. 🧼 Pieces of soap or solid items 3. 🧵 Pieces of cloth or fabric 4. 💰 Colloquial unit for money (like yuan) |
| 3 | 只 | zhī | birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, boats and small vessels, etc. |
1. 🐦 Bird (鸟 niǎo) 2. 🐱 Birds and certain animals 3. 🧤 One of a pair (e.g., gloves, shoes) 4. 🍴 Some utensils (e.g., chopsticks, spoons) 5. 🚤 Small boats |
| 4 | 本 | běn | books, parts of a serial, etc. |
1. 📖 Books (书 shū) 2. 📓 Notebooks (笔记本 bǐjìběn) 3. 📘 Magazines / serial publications (杂志 zázhì) |
| 5 | 辆 | liàng | vehicles |
1. 🚗 Car (汽车 qìchē) 2. 🚲 Bicycle (自行车 zìxíngchē) 3. 🚌 Bus (公交车 gōngjiāochē) |
| 6 | 瓶 | píng | quantity contained in a bottle, vase, jar or flask |
1. 🥤 Bottle of water (水 shuǐ) 2. 🍶 Bottle of soy sauce (酱油 jiàngyóu) 3. 🌸 Vase of flowers (花 huā) 4. 🔥 Flask of hot water (热水 rèshuǐ) |
| 7 | 杯 | bēi | certain containers of liquids: cup, glass |
1. ☕ A cup of tea (茶 chá) 2. 🥛 A cup of milk (牛奶 niúnǎi) 3. 🧃 A glass of juice (果汁 guǒzhī) |
| 8 | 双 | shuāng | pairs (of shoes, socks, chopsticks, etc.) |
1. 👟 Shoes (鞋子 xiézi) 2. 🧦 Socks (袜子 wàzi) 3. 🥢 Chopsticks (筷子 kuàizi) |
| 9 | 件 | jiàn | clothes, events, things, etc. |
1. 👕 Clothes (衣服 yīfu) 2. 🎉 Events (e.g., birthday party, meeting, celebration) 3. 📦 General Things / Items (e.g., luggage 行李 xíngli) |
| 10 | 张 | zhāng | flat objects and sheets (bed, desk, paper, etc.); certain body parts (face, mouth) |
1. 📄 Flat Objects – Paper (纸 zhǐ) 2. 🛏️ Flat Objects – Bed (床 chuáng) 3. 🪑 Flat Objects – Table (桌子 zhuōzi) 4. 😊 Body Parts – Face (脸 liǎn) 5. 👄 Body Parts – Mouth (嘴 zuǐ) |
| 11 | 碗 | wǎn | measurement of food and drink (bowl) |
1. 🍚 A bowl of rice (米饭 mǐfàn) 2. 🍜 A bowl of noodles (面条 miàntiáo) 3. 🍲 A bowl of soup (汤 tāng) |
| 12 | 种 | zhǒng | types, kinds, sorts |
1. 🌸 Types of flowers 2. 🍫 Types of food or flavors 3. 🐱 Types of animals 4. 🎵 Types of music or genres |
| 13 | 匹 | pǐ | horses, mules; bolts of cloth |
1.🐎 Horses or mules 2.🐴 Mules or donkeys 3.🧵 Bolts of cloth |
| 14 | 头 | tóu | certain domestic animals (cattles, mules, pigs, etc.); garlic |
1.🐄 Cattle (e.g., cow or ox) 2.🐐 Goats– 3.🐴 Mules or donkeys 4.🧄 Garlic (whole bulbs) |
| 15 | 条 | tiáo | long, narrow or thin objects (ribbon, river, road, trousers, etc.) |
1.🏞️ River 2.🛣️ Road or street 3.👖 Trousers or pants 4.🐍 Snake (long and thin animal) |
| 16 | 位 | wèi | people (courteous) |
1. 👨🏫 Teacher 2.👩⚕️ Doctor 3.👨💼 Customer or guest 4.👵 Elder or respected person |
| 17 | 项 | xiàng | itemized things (clauses, tasks, research projects, etc.) |
1.📋 Task or duty 2.📄 Clause or rule 3.🔬 Research project 4.🏅 Competition entry or category |
| 18 | 名 | míng | people |
1.🎓 Student 2.🧑🏫 Teacher 3.🧑⚕️ Doctor 4.🕵️ Reporter / professional |
| 19 | 些 | xiē | a small amount or small number (greater than one) |
1. 🍪 Snacks or food items 2.📚 Books or items 3.👥 People or friends 4.🕒 Time-related / waiting |
| 20 | 家 | jiā | families or business establishments |
1.🏠 Family or household 2.🏢 Company or enterprise |
| 21 | 点(儿) | diǎn(‘er) | a little; a bit; some |
1.🍚 Food 2.💧 Water or drink 3.🕰️ Time 4.😠 Emotion or attitude |
| 22 | 场 | cháng | recreational, sports or other activities |
1.🎬 Movie or performance 2.🏀 Sports game or match 3.🎭 Theater play or show 4.🌧️ Natural event (e.g., rainstorm) |
| 23 | 句 | jù | sentences |
1.💬 Sentence 2.📖 From a book or quote 3.🙏 Polite phrase or thanks |
| 24 | 段 | duàn | stories, periods of time, lengths of thread, etc. (a section, segment or part) | 1.📖 a story or passage 老师念了一段文章。 Lǎoshī niàn le yí duàn wénzhāng. The teacher read a passage. |
| 25 | 分 | fèn | a measure word meaning “part” or “point”; used for scores, fractions, minutes, and small units |
1. 🔢 Score / Nilai (points) 他考试得了九十分。 2. 🍰 Fraction (bagian/pecahan) 我吃了这个蛋糕的三分之一。 3. ⏱️ Minutes (dalam bentuk fēnzhōng) 请等我五分钟。 4. 📏 Small unit of measurement 这块布长一分米。 |
| 26 | 处 | chù | places, occurrences or activities in different places; items of damage (spot, point) |
1. 📍 Place (tempat/lokasi) 这个城市有三处名胜。 2. 🔢 Occurrence (kejadian) 这里发生了两处火灾。 3. 🧑🏫 Different locations (berbagai tempat) 公司在国外有五处分部。 4. ⚠️ Damage (titik kerusakan) 这座桥有几处裂缝。 5. 🏞️ Spot / point (titik tertentu) 请检查这三处问题。 |
| 27 | 片 | piàn | slices, tablets, tracts of land, areas of water; CDs, movies, DVDs; scenes, feelings, atmospheres, etc. |
1. 🍞 Slice (irisan) 我吃了一片面包。 2. 💊 Tablet (obat) 医生让我每天吃一片药。 3. 🌊 Area of water / land 这里有一片湖。 4. 💿 Movie / CD / DVD 我们昨晚看了一片电影。 5. 🎭 Scene / atmosphere / feeling 房间里一片安静。 🔑 Pola penting: 👉 一片 + noun / adjective (untuk suasana) |
| 28 | 套 | tào | books, furniture, rooms, methods, remarks (a set, suit or suite) |
1. 📚 Books (satu set buku) 我买了一套中文教材。 2. 🛋️ Furniture (satu set perabot) 他们买了一套新家具。 3. 🏠 Rooms / house (satu unit rumah/apartemen) 我租了一套房子。 4. 📖 Methods (satu set metode) 老师用了一套新的教学方法。 5. 🗣️ Remarks (ungkapan / satu rangkaian kata) 他说了一套客气的话。 🔑 Pola penting: 👉 一套 + noun |
| 29 | 座 | zuò | mountains, buildings and other immovable objects | |
| 30 | 部 | bù | works of literature, films, machines, etc. | |
| 31 | 则 | zé | written items | |
| 32 | 层 | céng | layers, stratums (a storey, a floor) | |
| 33 | 样 | yàng | kind, type | |
| 34 | 群 | qún | people or animals (a group, herd, flock or pack) | |
| 35 | 届 | jiè | events, meetings, elections, sporting fixtures, years (of graduation) | |
| 36 | 支 | zhī | long, thin, inflexible objects (pens, guns); rods; army divisions; songs or compositions | |
| 37 | 批 | pī | batches, lots, groups | |
| 38 | 篇 | piān | paper, book leaves, written items, articles, etc. (sheet, leaf, piece) | |
| 39 | 番 | fān | actions, deeds; occurances (of an event, action or speech utterance); situations (kind, sort) | |
| 40 | 股 | gǔ | smells, smoke, etc. (puff, whiff); sudden, forceful actions; long winding things (ropes, rivers); bands of people | |
| 41 | 首 | shǒu | songs and poems | |
| 42 | 声 | shēng | sounds | |
| 43 | 颗 | kē | roundish objects (small spheres, pearls, corn grains, teeth, hearts, satellites, etc.) | |
| 44 | 组 | zǔ | sets, series, groups of people, batteries | |
| 45 | 盏 | zhǎn | lamps | |
| 46 | 口 | kǒu | things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells, etc.) | |
| 47 | 把 | bǎ | objects with handles; small objects (a handful); certain abstract concepts | |
| 48 | 间 | jiān | rooms; sections of rooms | |
| 49 | 笔 | bǐ | sums of money, financial accounts, debts, deals, etc. | |
| 50 | 所 | suǒ | houses, small buildings, institutions, etc. (schools, hospitals, etc.) | |
| 51 | 对 | duì | pair, couple | |
| 52 | 根 | gēn | long, thin objects (cigarettes, guitar strings, etc.) | |
| 53 | 幅 | fú | textiles or pictures | |
| 54 | 出 | chū | dramas, plays, operas, etc. | |
| 55 | 道 | dào | long, narrow objects; doors, walls; orders, questions; courses in a meal, stages in a procedure, etc. | |
| 56 | 拨 | bō | people (group; batch) | |
| 57 | 队 | duì | files, lines or rows | |
| 58 | 堆 | duī | heaps or piles; crowds | |
| 59 | 阵 | zhèn | events or states of short duration | |
| 60 | 面 | miàn | flat things or surfaces (drums, mirrors, flags); the number of times people meet each other | |
| 61 | 台 | tái | machinery, apparatus, instruments, etc.; a complete stage performance | |
| 62 | 局 | jú | games (match, set, round, etc.) | |
| 63 | 棵 | kē | plants | |
| 64 | 盒 | hé | small box, case | |
| 65 | 户 | hù | households or families | |
| 66 | 栋 | dòng | houses or buildings | |
| 67 | 节 | jié | segments (lessons, train wagons, biblical verses, etc.) | |
| 68 | 封 | fēng | sealed objects (letters or other things in envelopes) | |
| 69 | 班 | bān | a group of people; a trip by bus, boat, etc. | |
| 70 | 盘 | pán | food (dish, helping); coils of wire; games of chess | |
| 71 | 副 | fù | pairs, sets of things and facial expressions | |
| 72 | 趟 | tàng | times, round trips or rows | |
| 73 | 款 | kuǎn | versions or models (of a product) | |
| 74 | 团 | tuán | lumps or soft masses (wad of paper, ball of wool, cloud or smoke) | |
| 75 | 束 | shù | bunches, bundles, beams of light, etc. | |
| 76 | 门 | mén | subjects of study or fields of technical training | |
| 77 | 架 | jià | machines, airplanes and instrument which rest on a tripod or stand | |
| 78 | 顿 | dùn | meals, beatings, scoldings, etc. (time, bout, spell, meal) | |
| 79 | 堵 | dǔ | walls | |
| 80 | 壶 | hú | bottled liquid (kettle, pot, bottle, flask) | |
| 81 | 朵 | duǒ | flowers and clouds | |
| 82 | 排 | pái | lines, rows | |
| 83 | 份 | fèn | shares, parts or portions (of a whole); copies (of documents, newspapers, periodicals, etc.) | |
| 84 | 具 | jù | devices, coffins or dead bodies | |
| 85 | 包 | bāo | packages, bundles or sacks | |
| 86 | 罐 | guàn | jars, pots or tins | |
| 87 | 粒 | lì | grainlike things; small round things (peas, bullets, peanuts, pills, grains, etc.) | |
| 88 | 卷 | juàn | small rolled things (wad of paper money, movie reel, spool, etc.) | |
| 89 | 堂 | táng | classes, lectures, etc.; sets of furniture | |
| 90 | 起 | qǐ | occurrences or unpredictable events (case, instance); groups (batch, group) | |
| 91 | 枝 | zhī | flowers with stems intact; sticks, rods, pencils, etc. | |
| 92 | 株 | zhū | plants and small trees; seedlings | |
| 93 | 轮 | lún | big round objects (disk, sun, moon); recurring events (round, turn) | |
| 94 | 桌 | zhuō | tables of guests at a banquet; table; tableful | |
| 95 | 桶 | tǒng | buckets, pails, cans, barrels, tubs, kegs | |
| 96 | 滴 | dī | drops | |
| 97 | 串 | chuàn | a string of things (string, bunch, cluster) | |
| 98 | 列 | liè | a series or row of things | |
| 99 | 箱 | xiāng | large boxes, cases, trunks |
1. 📦 Large box 我买了一箱苹果。 2. 🧳 Trunk / suitcase 他带了两箱行李。 3. 📦 Goods in bulk 仓库里有三箱货物。 4. 🧴 Packed items 他们搬来了一箱饮料。 5. 📦 Specific reference 这箱书很重。 |
| 100 | 扇 | shàn | doors and windows |
1. 🚪 Door (pintu) 这间房有两扇门。 2. 🪟 Window (jendela) 教室里有三扇窗户。 |
Note: The information in column 2,3 and 4 is taken from: https://studycli.org/learn-chinese/chinese-measure-words/
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2. Special Case: Using 两 (liǎng) for “Two”
Use 两 (liǎng) instead of 二 (èr) when talking about two of something:
✅ 两本书 (liǎng běn shū) – two books
❌ 二本书 is incorrect.
3. Using Demonstratives + Measure Words
When using 这 (this) or 那 (that), you must also use a measure word:
这个人 (zhè gè rén) – this person
那本书 (nà běn shū) – that book
这些猫 (zhè xiē māo) – these cats
那些衣服 (nà xiē yīfu) – those clothes
4. Tips to Remember
You must always use a measure word between a number (or this/that) and a noun.
Different nouns use different measure words.
The most flexible and common one is 个 (gè) – it’s OK to start with this for most general use.
5. Dialogue for Practice
Practice the following dialogue between 小明 (Xiǎo Míng) and 小红 (Xiǎo Hóng).
小明 (Xiǎo Míng):
你平时喜欢读书吗?你有多少本书?
Nǐ píngshí xǐhuān dúshū ma? Nǐ yǒu duōshǎo běn shū?
Do you usually like reading? How many books do you have?
小红 (Xiǎo Hóng):
我挺喜欢读书的,我大概有五本小说和几本杂志。你呢?
Wǒ tǐng xǐhuān dúshū de, wǒ dàgài yǒu wǔ běn xiǎoshuō hé jǐ běn zázhì. Nǐ ne?
I quite enjoy reading. I have about five novels and a few magazines. How about you?
小明 (Xiǎo Míng):
我只有两本书,不过我有其他的兴趣,比如养宠物。我现在有三只猫。
Wǒ zhǐ yǒu liǎng běn shū, búguò wǒ yǒu qítā de xìngqù, bǐrú yǎng chǒngwù. Wǒ xiànzài yǒu sān zhī māo.
I only have two books, but I have other hobbies, like keeping pets. Right now, I have three cats.
小红 (Xiǎo Hóng):
真的吗?你养三只猫啊?太可爱了!我也有一只猫,它叫小白。
Zhēn de ma? Nǐ yǎng sān zhī māo a? Tài kě’ài le! Wǒ yě yǒu yì zhī māo, tā jiào Xiǎo Bái.
Really? You have three cats? That’s so cute! I also have a cat. Its name is Little White.
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