Measure Words Table
Measure words (量詞) are also known as classifiers and are used in between the quantity of an object and a noun:
NUMBER + MEASURE WORD + NOUN
e.g. 一隻貓
jat1 zek3 maau1
one/a cat
In the example above, 隻 (zek3) is the measure word.
Measure words are based on the characteristics of the noun, and there’s a wide variety of them that are used in Chinese. Measure words are also used in English and other European languages, but to a lesser extent. Examples include ‘one bottle of water’ and ‘one pair of shoes’, wherein ‘bottle’ and ‘pair’ are the measure words.
There are over a hundred measure words used in Chinese. This table summarises some common ones that I have used for the measure word flashcards. Listen to the audio for the flashcards here.
Measure | Jyutping | Usage | Example |
對 | deoi3 | A pair e.g. a couple, shoes, gloves | 一對鞋 jat1 deoi3 haai4 one pair of shoes |
朵 | do2 | Flowers, clouds | 一朵花 jat1 do2 faa1 one flower |
塊 | faai3 | Slice e.g. cake, pizza | 一塊蛋糕 jat1 faai3 daan2 gou1 one slice of cake |
架 | gaa3 | Vehicles e.g. car, taxi, bus, aeroplane | 一架車 jat1 gaa3 ce1 one car |
間 | gaan1 | Building or establishment e.g. house, restaurant, hotel, room | 一間屋 jat1 gaan1 nguk1 one house |
件 | gin6 | Item of clothing or gift e.g. shirt, coat | 一件衫 jat1 gin6 saam1 one piece of clothing |
個 | go3 | General e.g. people, apple, ball, head (please note that 一位 (jat1 wai2) is a more respectable measure word for people) | 一個蘋果 jat1 go3 ping4 gwo2 one apple |
粒 | lap1 | Small object e.g. sweets, diamonds, star | 一粒糖 jat1 lap1 tong4 one sweet |
棵 | po1 | Trees | 一棵樹 jat1 po1 syu6 one tree |
條 | tiu4 | Long flexible objects e.g. fish, snake, skirt, trousers, towel, string | 一條魚 jat1 tiu4 jyu4 one fish 一條裙 jat1 tiu4 kwan4 one skirt 一條褲 jat1 tiu4 fu3 one pair of trousers |
隻 | zek3 | An item that is part of a pair or a group; also used for animals e.g. a glove, a shoe, an eye, a watch | 一隻貓 jat1 zek3 maau1 one cat |
樽 | zeon1 | Bottle e.g. water, oil, wine, fizzy drink | 一樽水 jat1 zeon1 seoi2 one bottle of water |
支 | zi1 | Objects that are long and thin e.g. pen, needle | 一支筆 jat1 zi1 bat1 one pen |
張 | zoeng1 | Objects with a smooth flat surface e.g. paper, table | 一張紙 jat1 zoeng1 zi2 one piece of paper |
This second table has more measure words that I used for measure word flashcards part 2. Listen to the audio for the flashcards here.
Measure | Jyutping | Usage | Example |
把 | baa2 | Objects that are long and have a handle e.g. knife, scissors | 一把鉸剪 jat1 baa2 gaau2 zin2 one pair of scissors |
包 | baau1 | Bag | 一包薯片 jat1 baau1 syu4 pin3 one packet of crisps |
部 | bou6 | Vehicles (N.B. 架 gaa3 can also be used for vehicles), musical instruments, electronic devices e.g. phone, computer | 一部電腦 jat1 bou6 din6 nou5 one computer |
本 | bun2 | Books, magazines | 一本書 jat1 bun2 syu1 one book |
堆 | deoi1 | Pile e.g. clothes, rubbish | 一堆衫 jat1 deoi1 saam1 one pile of clothes |
滴 | dik6 | Drop e.g. blood, rain, water | 一滴水 jat1 dik6 seoi2 one drop of water |
幅 | fuk1 | Drawings, maps, paintings | 一幅地圖 jat1 fuk1 dei6 tou4 one map |
封 | fung1 | Letters | 一封信 jat1 fung1 seon3 one letter |
嚿 | gau6 | Lump e.g. rock, brick | 一嚿石頭 jat1 gau6 sek6 tau4 one lump of rock |
罐 | gun3 | Can | 一罐汽水 jat1 gun3 hei3 seoi2 one can of fizzy drink |
盒 | hap6 | Box e.g. chocolate, nails | 一盒釘 jat1 hap6 deng1 one box of nails |
片 | pin3 | Slice e.g. cheese, meat | 一片芝士 jat1 pin3 zi1 si6 one slice of cheese |
艘 | sau2 | Large vessels e.g. ships | 一艘船 jat1 sau2 syun4 one ship |
碗 | wun2 | Bowl | 一碗飯 jat1 wun2 faan6 one bowl of rice |
座 | zo6 | Objects that are large or grand e.g. buildings (such as skyscrapers) mountains, statues | 一座山 jat1 zo6 saan1 one mountain |