Measure words,or classifiers, in Chinese are used before every noun. Most of Chinese measure words are not difficult to some aspects of the language. And the use of the measure words is often based on the noun’s shape, characteristic, container, or common use.
Many Chinese learners, especially the beginners, often use “个” as their preference. It is indeed a general measure word, but not for everything. Here is a list containing 100 measure words for you to learn more about the use of the very commonly used Chinese measure words.
| Classified Word | Pinyin | Used for | Example | Pinyin of Example | Meaning of Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 个 | gè | people or objects | 一个人 | yī gè rén | a person |
| 块 | kuài | pieces of cloth, cake, soap, etc.; money and currency units (colloquial) | 一块蛋糕 | yī kuài dàngāo | a piece of cake |
| 只 | zhī | birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, boats, etc. | 一只鸟 | yī zhī niǎo | a bird |
| 本 | běn | books, parts of a serial, etc. | 一本书 | yī běn shū | a book |
| 辆 | liàng | vehicles | 一辆车 | yī liàng chē | a car |
| 瓶 | píng | quantity contained in a bottle, vase, jar or flask | 一瓶啤酒 | yī píng píjiǔ | a bottle of beer |
| 杯 | bēi | certain containers of liquids: glass, cup | 一杯水 | yī bēi shuǐ | a glass of water |
| 双 | shuāng | pairs (of shoes, socks, chopsticks, etc.) | 一双袜子 | yī shuāng wàzi | a pair of socks |
| 件 | jiàn | clothes, events, things, etc. | 一件衣服 | yī jiàn yīfú | a piece of clothing |
| 张 | zhāng | flat objects and sheets (bed, desk, paper, etc.); certain body parts (face, mouth) | 一张纸 | yī zhāng zhǐ | a piece of paper |
| 碗 | wǎn | measurement of food and drink (bowl) | 一碗饭 | yī wǎn fàn | a bowl of rice |
| 种 | zhǒng | types, kinds, sorts | 一种动物 | yī zhǒng dòngwù | a type of animal |
| 匹 | pǐ | horses, mules; bolts of cloth | 一匹马 | yī pǐ mǎ | a horse |
| 头 | tóu | certain domestic animals (cattles, mules, pigs, etc.); garlic | 一头猪 | yī tóu zhū | a pig |
| 条 | tiáo | long, narrow or thin objects (ribbon, river, road, trousers, etc.) | 一条鱼 | yī tiáo yú | a fish |
| 位 | wèi | people (courteous) | 一位女士 | yī wèi nǚshì | a lady |
| 项 | xiàng | itemized things (clauses, tasks, research projects, etc.) | 一项项目 | yī xiàng xiàngmù | a project |
| 名 | míng | people | 一名学生 | yī míng xuéshēng | a student |
| 些 | xiē | a small amount or small number (greater than one) | 一些东西 | yī xiē dōngxī | some things |
| 家 | jiā | families or business establishments | 一家公司 | yī jiā gōngsī | a company |
| 点(儿) | diǎn('er) | a little; a bit; some | 一点 | 儿纸 | some paper |
| 场 | cháng | recreational, sports or other activities | 一场球赛 | yī chǎng qiúsài | a ball game; a match |
| 句 | jù | sentences | 一句话 | yī jù huà | a sentence |
| 段 | duàn | stories, periods of time, lengths of thread, etc. (a section, segment or part) | 一段时间 | yī duàn shíjiān | a period of time |
| 分 | fèn | spoken form of fractions and percentages; minutes; various units of measure | 三分之一 | sān fēn zhī yī | one-third |
| 处 | chù | places, occurrences or activities in different places; items of damage (spot, point) | 两处错误 | liǎng chù cuòwù | two mistakes |
| 片 | piàn | slices, tablets, tracts of land, areas of water; CDs, movies, DVDs; scenes, feelings, atmospheres, etc. | 一片土地 | yī piàn tǔdì | a stretch of land |
| 套 | tào | books, furniture, rooms, methods, remarks (a set, suit or suite) | 一套书 | yī tào shū | a set of books |
| 座 | zuò | mountains, buildings and other immovable objects | 一座山 | yī zuò shān | a mountain |
| 部 | bù | works of literature, films, machines, etc. | 一部电影 | yī bù diànyǐng | a film |
| 则 | zé | written items | 一则广告 | yī zé guǎnggào | an advertisement |
| 层 | céng | layers, stratums (a storey, a floor) | 一层灰尘 | yī céng huīchén | a layer of dust |
| 样 | yàng | kind, type | 两样点心 | liǎng yàng diǎnxīn | two types of pastries |
| 群 | qún | people or animals (a group, herd, flock or pack) | 一群人 | yī qún rén | a crowd of people |
| 届 | jiè | events, meetings, elections, sporting fixtures, years (of graduation) | 一届论坛 | yī jiè lùntán | a forum (for discussion) |
| 支 | zhī | long, thin, inflexible objects (pens, guns); rods; army divisions; songs or compositions | 一支笔 | yī zhī bǐ | a pen |
| 批 | pī | batches, lots, groups | 一批学生 | yī pī xuéshēng | a group of students |
| 篇 | piān | paper, book leaves, written items, articles, etc. (sheet, leaf, piece) | 一篇文章 | yī piān wénzhāng | an article |
| 番 | fān | actions, deeds; occurances (of an event, action or speech utterance); situations (kind, sort) | 一番功夫 | yī fān gōngfū | a lot of effort |
| 股 | gǔ | smells, smoke, etc. (puff, whiff); sudden, forceful actions; long winding things (ropes, rivers); bands of people | 一股香味 | yī gǔ xiāngwèi | a whiff of fragrance |
| 首 | shǒu | songs and poems | 一首歌 | yī shǒu gē | a song |
| 声 | shēng | sounds | 一声炮响 | yī shēng pào xiǎng | the sound of a canon |
| 颗 | kē | roundish objects (small spheres, pearls, corn grains, teeth, hearts, satellites, etc.) | 一颗星星 | yī kē xīngxīng | a star |
| 组 | zǔ | sets, series, groups of people, batteries | 一组学生 | yī zǔ xuéshēng | a group of students |
| 盏 | zhǎn | lamps | 一盏灯 | yī zhǎn dēng | a lamp |
| 口 | kǒu | things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells, etc.) | 一家三口人 | yī jiā sān kǒu rén | a family of three |
| 把 | bǎ | objects with handles; small objects (a handful); certain abstract concepts | 一把刀 | yī bǎ dāo | a knife |
| 间 | jiān | rooms; sections of rooms | 一间卧室 | yī jiàn wòshì | a bedroom |
| 笔 | bǐ | sums of money, financial accounts, debts, deals, etc. | 一笔钱 | yī bǐ qián | a sum of money |
| 所 | suǒ | houses, small buildings, institutions, etc. (schools, hospitals, etc.) | 一所学校 | yī suǒ xuéxiào | a school |
| 对 | duì | pair, couple | 一对夫妇 | yī duì fūfù | a married couple |
| 根 | gēn | long, thin objects (cigarettes, guitar strings, etc.) | 一根头发 | yī gēn tóufǎ | a strand of hair |
| 幅 | fú | textiles or pictures | 一幅画 | yī fú huà | a painting |
| 出 | chū | dramas, plays, operas, etc. | 一出戏 | yī chū xì | a play; an opera |
| 道 | dào | long, narrow objects; doors, walls; orders, questions; courses in a meal, stages in a procedure, etc. | 一道题 | yī dào tí | a question (on a test) |
| 拨 | bō | people (group; batch) | 一拨人 | yī bō rén | a group of people |
| 队 | duì | files, lines or rows | 一队战士 | yī duì zhànshì | a file of soldiers |
| 堆 | duī | heaps or piles; crowds | 一堆垃圾 | yī duī lājī | a pile of rubbish |
| 阵 | zhèn | events or states of short duration | 一阵掌声 | yī zhèn zhǎngshēng | a burst of applause |
| 面 | miàn | flat things or surfaces (drums, mirrors, flags); the number of times people meet each other | 一面镜子 | yī miàn jìngzi | a mirror |
| 台 | tái | machinery, apparatus, instruments, etc.; a complete stage performance | 一台电脑 | yī tái diànnǎo | a computer |
| 局 | jú | games (match, set, round, etc.) | 一局棋 | yī jú qí | a game of chess |
| 棵 | kē | plants | 一棵树 | yī kē shù | a tree |
| 盒 | hé | small box, case | 一盒糖果 | yī hé tángguǒ | a box of candy |
| 户 | hù | households or families | 一户人家 | yī hù rénjiā | a household |
| 栋 | dòng | houses or buildings | 一栋楼 | yī dòng lóu | a building |
| 节 | jié | segments (lessons, train wagons, biblical verses, etc.) | 一节课 | yī jié kè | a class (period) |
| 封 | fēng | sealed objects (letters or other things in envelopes) | 一封信 | yī fēng xìn | a letter |
| 班 | bān | a group of people; a trip by bus, boat, etc. | 下一班火车 | xià yī bān huǒchē | the next train |
| 盘 | pán | food (dish, helping); coils of wire; games of chess | 一盘菜 | yī pán cài | a plate of food |
| 副 | fù | pairs, sets of things and facial expressions | 一副笑脸 | yī fù xiàoliǎn | a smiling face |
| 趟 | tàng | times, round trips or rows | 这趟火车 | zhè tàng huǒchē | this train |
| 款 | kuǎn | versions or models (of a product) | 一款新鞋子 | yī kuǎn xīn xiézi | a new style of shoe |
| 团 | tuán | lumps or soft masses (wad of paper, ball of wool, cloud or smoke) | 一团面 | yī tuán miàn | a lump of dough |
| 束 | shù | bunches, bundles, beams of light, etc. | 一束花 | yī shù huā | a bunch of flowers |
| 门 | mén | subjects of study or fields of technical training | 一门外语 | yī mén wàiyǔ | a foreign language |
| 架 | jià | machines, airplanes and instrument which rest on a tripod or stand | 一架飞机 | yī jià fēijī | an airplane |
| 顿 | dùn | meals, beatings, scoldings, etc. (time, bout, spell, meal) | 一顿饭 | yī dùn fàn | a meal |
| 堵 | dǔ | walls | 一堵墙 | yī dǔ qiáng | a wall |
| 壶 | hú | bottled liquid (kettle, pot, bottle, flask) | 一壶茶 | yī hú chá | a pot of tea |
| 朵 | duǒ | flowers and clouds | 一朵花 | yī duǒ huā | a flower |
| 排 | pái | lines, rows | 一排椅子 | yī pái yǐzi | a row of chairs |
| 份 | fèn | shares, parts or portions (of a whole); copies (of documents, newspapers, periodicals, etc.) | 一份报纸 | yī fèn bàozhǐ | a newspaper |
| 具 | jù | devices, coffins or dead bodies | 一具尸体 | yī jù shītǐ | a corpse |
| 包 | bāo | packages, bundles or sacks | 一包大米 | yī bāo dàmǐ | a sack of rice |
| 罐 | guàn | jars, pots or tins | 一罐葡萄酱 | yī guàn pútáo jiàng | a jar of grape jam |
| 粒 | lì | grainlike things; small round things (peas, bullets, peanuts, pills, grains, etc.) | 一粒米 | yī lì mǐ | a grain of rice |
| 卷 | juàn | small rolled things (wad of paper money, movie reel, spool, etc.) | 一卷卫生纸 | yī juàn wèishēngzhǐ | a roll of toilet paper |
| 堂 | táng | classes, lectures, etc.; sets of furniture | 一堂课 | yī táng kè | a class |
| 起 | qǐ | occurrences or unpredictable events (case, instance); groups (batch, group) | 一起交通事故 | yī qǐ jiāotōng shìgù | a car accident |
| 枝 | zhī | flowers with stems intact; sticks, rods, pencils, etc. | 一枝梅花 | yī zhī méihuā | a spray of plum blossoms |
| 株 | zhū | plants and small trees; seedlings | 一株树苗 | yī zhū shùmiáo | a sapling |
| 轮 | lún | big round objects (disk, sun, moon); recurring events (round, turn) | 一轮会谈 | yī lún huìtán | a round of talks |
| 桌 | zhuō | tables of guests at a banquet; table; tableful | 两桌客人 | liǎng zhuō kèrén | two tables of guests |
| 桶 | tǒng | buckets, pails, cans, barrels, tubs, kegs | 一桶油 | yī tǒng yóu | a barrel of oil |
| 滴 | dī | drops | 一滴水 | yī dī shuǐ | a drop of water |
| 串 | chuàn | a string of things (string, bunch, cluster) | 一串珠子 | yī chuàn zhūzi | a string of beads |
| 列 | liè | a series or row of things | 一列火车 | yī liè huǒchē | a train |
| 箱 | xiāng | large boxes, cases, trunks | 一箱纸 | yī xiāng zhǐ | a box of paper |
| 扇 | shàn | doors and windows | 一扇门 | yī shàn mén | a door |
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