Tools · § 07 — Measure Words

Measure Words

Search a noun — get the classifier that native speakers actually use. 20 common classifiers seeded, with example sentences and the nouns they pair with.

20 量词. Real examples. No memorisation theatre.

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běn

used for books, magazines, notebooks

Used with

书 (book), 杂志 (magazine), 本子 (notebook)

一本书one book
三本杂志three magazines

gè

general measure word (most common)

Used with

人 (person), 朋友 (friend), 学生 (student)

一个人one person
三个朋友three friends

zhī

used for animals (cats, dogs, birds)

Used with

猫 (cat), 狗 (dog), 鸟 (bird), 鸡 (chicken)

一只猫one cat
两只鸟two birds

tiáo

used for long thin things / fish / rivers

Used with

鱼 (fish), 河 (river), 路 (road), 裤子 (pants)

一条鱼one fish
一条河one river

zhāng

used for flat things: paper, tickets, tables

Used with

纸 (paper), 票 (ticket), 桌子 (table), 照片 (photo)

一张纸one piece of paper
两张票two tickets

bēi

used for cups of liquid

Used with

水 (water), 茶 (tea), 咖啡 (coffee)

一杯水one cup of water
两杯咖啡two cups of coffee

píng

used for bottled liquids

Used with

酒 (wine), 牛奶 (milk), 果汁 (juice)

一瓶酒one bottle of wine

kuài

basic unit of RMB (informal)

Used with

钱 (money)

十块钱ten yuan
五块five yuan

liàng

used for vehicles

Used with

车 (car), 自行车 (bicycle), 公共汽车 (bus)

一辆车one car
两辆自行车two bicycles

bǎ

used for items with handles

Used with

伞 (umbrella), 刀 (knife), 椅子 (chair)

一把伞one umbrella

kē

used for plants / trees

Used with

树 (tree), 草 (grass), 花 (flower)

一棵树one tree

duǒ

used for flowers and cloud-like things

Used with

花 (flower), 云 (cloud)

一朵花one flower

shuāng

used for pairs

Used with

鞋 (shoes), 袜子 (socks), 筷子 (chopsticks)

一双鞋one pair of shoes

qún

used for groups of people/animals

Used with

人 (people), 羊 (sheep), 鸟 (birds)

一群人a crowd of people

jiā

used for businesses / households

Used with

公司 (company), 商店 (shop), 饭店 (restaurant)

一家公司one company

wèi

polite measure word for people

Used with

老师 (teacher), 客人 (guest), 医生 (doctor)

一位老师one teacher (polite)

jiàn

used for clothing / matters

Used with

衣服 (clothes), 衬衫 (shirt), 事 (matter)

一件衣服one piece of clothing

piàn

used for slices / flat surfaces

Used with

面包 (bread), 叶子 (leaf)

一片面包one slice of bread

zhǒng

used for kinds / types

Used with

动物 (animal), 颜色 (color)

一种水果one kind of fruit

zhī

used for slender rigid items: pens, cigarettes; also songs

Used with

笔 (pen), 烟 (cigarette), 枪 (gun), 歌 (song)

一支笔one pen
一支歌one song

gēn

used for long thin flexible things

Used with

头发 (hair), 香蕉 (banana), 绳子 (rope), 筷子 (chopstick)

一根头发one strand of hair
两根香蕉two bananas

kē

used for small round objects: stars, teeth, pearls, hearts

Used with

星星 (star), 牙 (tooth), 珠子 (pearl), 心 (heart)

一颗星星one star
一颗心one heart

lì

used for tiny grains: rice, seeds, sand, pills

Used with

米 (rice), 种子 (seed), 沙子 (sand), 药 (medicine)

一粒米one grain of rice
两粒药two pills

dǐng

used for hats and crown-like things

Used with

帽子 (hat), 轿子 (sedan chair)

一顶帽子one hat

fú

used for scrolls, paintings, couplets, textiles

Used with

画 (painting), 对联 (couplet), 布 (cloth)

一幅画one painting

shǒu

used for songs and poems

Used with

歌 (song), 诗 (poem), 曲子 (tune)

一首歌one song
一首诗one poem

fēng

used for letters and sealed documents

Used with

信 (letter), 邮件 (mail)

一封信one letter

zé

used for news items, ads, fables (written language)

Used with

新闻 (news), 广告 (ad), 寓言 (fable)

一则新闻one piece of news

piān

used for articles, essays, papers

Used with

文章 (article), 论文 (essay), 日记 (diary)

一篇文章one article

jù

used for sentences and utterances

Used with

话 (words), 句子 (sentence)

一句话one sentence

duàn

used for segments, passages, periods of time

Used with

话 (words), 时间 (time), 路 (road), 音乐 (music)

一段话a passage
一段时间a period of time

céng

used for floors and layers

Used with

楼 (floor), 意思 (meaning), 灰 (dust)

一层楼one floor
三层蛋糕three layers of cake

zuò

used for large immobile things: mountains, bridges, buildings, statues

Used with

山 (mountain), 桥 (bridge), 大楼 (building), 城市 (city), 雕像 (statue)

一座山one mountain
一座桥one bridge

dòng

used for buildings

Used with

房子 (house), 楼 (building), 别墅 (villa)

一栋房子one building

jiān

used for rooms

Used with

卧室 (bedroom), 教室 (classroom), 房 (room)

一间卧室one bedroom

shàn

used for doors, windows, screens, fans

Used with

门 (door), 窗 (window), 屏风 (screen)

一扇门one door
两扇窗two windows

tái

used for machines, appliances, stage performances

Used with

电脑 (computer), 电视 (TV), 机器 (machine), 戏 (show)

一台电脑one computer
一台戏one stage show

bù

used for phones, machines, vehicles, films, books

Used with

手机 (phone), 电影 (movie), 小说 (novel), 机器 (machine)

一部手机one phone
一部电影one film

méi

used for badges, medals, stamps, coins (formal)

Used with

邮票 (stamp), 奖章 (medal), 硬币 (coin), 戒指 (ring)

一枚邮票one stamp
一枚奖章one medal

tàng

used for round trips and visits

Used with

北京 (Beijing), 街 (street)

去一趟北京make a trip to Beijing
跑一趟银行make a trip to the bank

cì

used for occurrences and times

Used with

机会 (chance), 比赛 (match), 考试 (exam), 旅行 (trip)

三次机会three chances
我去过两次I have been there twice

biàn

used for full cycles, e.g. reading start to finish

Used with

书 (book), 电影 (movie), 课文 (text)

读一遍read it once through
再看一遍watch it one more time

dùn

used for meals (and scoldings)

Used with

饭 (meal), 早饭 (breakfast)

一顿饭one meal
骂了一顿gave him a scolding

wǎn

used for bowlfuls

Used with

饭 (rice), 汤 (soup), 面 (noodles)

一碗饭one bowl of rice

pán

used for platefuls and games (chess)

Used with

菜 (dish), 棋 (chess game), 水果 (fruit)

一盘菜one dish
一盘棋one game of chess

hé

used for small boxes

Used with

巧克力 (chocolate), 烟 (cigarettes), 火柴 (matches)

一盒巧克力one box of chocolates

dài

used for bags and sackfuls

Used with

米 (rice), 面 (flour), 土豆 (potatoes)

一袋米one bag of rice

xiāng

used for large boxes and cases

Used with

书 (books), 苹果 (apples), 饮料 (drinks)

一箱苹果one case of apples

bāo

used for packets and small bags

Used with

烟 (cigarettes), 纸 (tissues), 饼干 (cookies)

一包纸one pack of tissues

How classifiers work

Every noun in Chinese takes a classifier when counted.

个 (gè) is the universal default and works in most cases, but using the specific classifier sounds more natural. Chinese has hundreds of classifiers — they encode shape, animacy, packaging, and cultural convention.

Master the top 20 first: 个 (general), 本 (books), 条 (long things), 张 (flat things), 只 (animals), 杯 (cups), 瓶 (bottles), 块 (small money), 辆 (vehicles), 把 (handle-having things). The rest of the catalogue sorts itself out from there.

Coming soon · Social Meaning Coach

Literal meaning is only half the story. When your boss says 「这个事情你再想想」 — is it advice, or an order?

Free during early access · No card required

Adjacent tools

Pinyin Converter

Convert Chinese text to pinyin — tone marks or numeric tones.

Character Decomposer

Break a character into semantic + phonetic components.

Sentence Analyzer

Tokens · grammar · HSK level · difficulty, in one shot.

Grammar Checker

Surface mistakes with clear explanations.

Reading Level

Estimate HSK level of any text + rewrite to a target.

HSK Level Test

A placement test covering HSK 1–2.