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
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
對	deoi3	A pair e.g. a couple, shoes, gloves	一對鞋 jat1 deoi3 haai4 one pair of shoes
滴	dik6	Drop e.g. blood, rain, water	一滴水 jat1 dik6 seoi2 one drop of water
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 daan6 gou1 one slice of cake
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
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 uk1 one house
嚿	gau6	Lump e.g. rock, brick	一嚿石頭 jat1 gau6 sek6 tau4 one lump of rock
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
罐	gun3	Cans	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
粒	lap1	Small object e.g. sweets, diamonds, star	一粒糖 jat1 lap1 tong2 one sweet
片	pin3	Slice e.g. cheese, meat	一片芝士 jat1 pin3 zi1 si6 one slice of cheese
棵	po1	Trees	一棵樹 jat1 po1 syu6 one tree
艘	sau2	Large vessels e.g. ships	一艘船 jat1 sau2 syun4 one ship
條	tiu4	Long flexible objects e.g. fish, snake, skirt, trousers, towel, string	一條魚 jat1 tiu4 jyu2 one fish 一條裙 jat1 tiu4 kwan4 one skirt 一條褲 jat1 tiu4 fu3 one pair of trousers
碗	wun2	Bowl	一碗飯 jat1 wun2 faan6 one bowl of rice
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
座	zo6	Objects that are large or grand e.g. buildings (such as skyscrapers) mountains, statues	一座山 jat1 zo6 saan1 one mountain
張	zoeng1	Objects with a smooth flat surface e.g. paper, table	一張紙 jat1 zoeng1 zi2 one piece of paper 一張檯 jat1 zoeng1 toi2 one table