Chinese Measure Words

[Ottavia-Mandarin_Simplified_HS]

Italian (my native language), just like it happens for English, uses general counting words like “one”, “two”, “three” etc.

This is why, when I started to learn Chinese, one of the most difficult things for me was Chinese measure words, which accompany numerals when counting or quantifying objects. I always forgot to use them!

Now I’m definitely more familiar with them, but I still struggle remembering all the different types (I’m a HUGE fan of 个!).

However, since I moved to Taipei, I started to use 位 way more, especially when I go to a restaurant and the waiter asks me how many we are… a small step

We also have a guide with the most commonly used Chinese Measure Words that I find really useful: Chinese Measure Words 🤔 71 Frequently Used (With Free PDF, Video and Quiz)

Does your native language use classifiers?

[Max]

@Ottavia-Mandarin_Simplified_HS

I’m a HUGE fan of 个

Every beginners saviour! So useful

[John-Mandarin_Simplified_HSK_1]

我有一个哥哥。
Love dropping that ‘ge’ sound three times, with a different intonation on each!

[Marine]

@Ottavia-Mandarin_Simplified_HS

I’m a HUGE fan of 个

The best measure word!

Easy ones for me are 杯 for glasses/cups，瓶 for bottles and 本 for books, because we use it frequently.

However measure words like 条 or 张 are a bit more difficult because can be used in multiple different instances

[Hannah]

I love that this has turned into a 个 appreciation post

Since I’m here, here’s my favourite Chinese measure word meme:

[Marine]

Just leaving this here:

[Max]

I’ve really come to appreciate just how amazing 个 is.

Currently studying Korean to see they have measure words too but it’s far more unforgiving. No 个 equivalent so you have to learn each and every one!

Miss you 个

[Marine]

Want to have a look at the Vietnamese measure words?

Vietnamese Measure Words || Using Counters in Vietnamese

[Hannah]

I had no idea Vietnamese used measure words too! It looks like similar logic is applied though (like long and thin objects/animals/paper) so maybe it wouldn’t feel as painful as learning them for the first time in Chinese

[Marine]

I guess the scary part is just the fact that there are so many! Good thing is, we don’t have to learn them all at once

[Ottavia-Mandarin_Simplified_HS]

Ahaha I had no idea Korean what THAT unforgiving

Good luck or 화이팅!

[Hannah]

For anyone that wants a comprehensive list of most commonly used Chinese Measure Words I’d definitely recommend downloading this PDF to print off or keep as a study resource

https://ltl-school.info/wp-content/uploads/chinese-measure-words.pdf

Here’s a sneak peek of page 1:

[Ha_Nguyen]

Haha, yes, Vietnamese follows the same logic as Chinese, but Chinese has way more measure words than Vietnamese, so I still get headaches from all the Chinese measure words!