115 Chinese Measure Words: A Beginner’s Practical Guide

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To get good at Mandarin Chinese, you need to know how to use measure words right. In Chinese, these are called ‘liàng cí’. They’re crucial for counting nouns correctly. Unlike in English, where you can be pretty flexible with quantifiers, in Mandarin, each noun often pairs with a specific measure word that fits its physical shape or role in society.

115 Chinese Measure Words for Beginners

Chinese Measure Words for Beginners

Measure Word Pinyin Example Use (English) Example Use (Chinese)
个 gè one person 一个人 (yī gè rén)
本 běn one book 一本书 (yī běn shū)
张 zhāng one piece of paper 一张纸 (yī zhāng zhǐ)
只 zhī one animal 一只狗 (yī zhī gǒu)
条 tiáo one fish 一条鱼 (yī tiáo yú)
件 jiàn one piece of clothing 一件衣服 (yī jiàn yī fú)
杯 bēi one cup of tea 一杯茶 (yī bēi chá)
瓶 píng one bottle of water 一瓶水 (yī píng shuǐ)
双 shuāng one pair of shoes 一双鞋 (yī shuāng xié)
辆 liàng one car 一辆车 (yī liàng chē)
匹 pǐ one horse 一匹马 (yī pǐ mǎ)
头 tóu one head of cattle 一头牛 (yī tóu niú)
根 gēn one stick 一根木头 (yī gēn mù tóu)
片 piàn one slice 一片面包 (yī piàn miàn bāo)
块 kuài one piece 一块蛋糕 (yī kuài dàn gāo)
次 cì one time 一次 (yī cì)
遍 biàn one time (action) 一遍 (yī biàn)
场 chǎng one event 一场比赛 (yī chǎng bǐ sài)
顿 dùn one meal 一顿饭 (yī dùn fàn)
盘 pán one plate 一盘菜 (yī pán cài)
片 piàn one tablet 一片药 (yī piàn yào)
枚 méi one coin 一枚硬币 (yī méi yìng bì)
套 tào one set 一套书 (yī tào shū)
本 běn one volume (book) 一本书 (yī běn shū)
间 jiān one room 一间房 (yī jiān fáng)
座 zuò one building 一座楼 (yī zuò lóu)
家 jiā one family/business 一家公司 (yī jiā gōng sī)
面 miàn one mirror 一面镜子 (yī miàn jìng zi)
首 shǒu one song 一首歌 (yī shǒu gē)
首 shǒu one poem 一首诗 (yī shǒu shī)
台 tái one machine 一台电脑 (yī tái diàn nǎo)
部 bù one movie 一部电影 (yī bù diàn yǐng)
首 shǒu one poem/song 一首歌 (yī shǒu gē)
张 zhāng one table 一张桌子 (yī zhāng zhuō zi)
封 fēng one letter 一封信 (yī fēng xìn)
架 jià one plane 一架飞机 (yī jià fēi jī)
座 zuò one mountain 一座山 (yī zuò shān)
条 tiáo one road 一条路 (yī tiáo lù)
条 tiáo one strip 一条鱼 (yī tiáo yú)
条 tiáo one towel 一条毛巾 (yī tiáo máo jīn)
粒 lì one grain 一粒米 (yī lì mǐ)
片 piàn one slice 一片面包 (yī piàn miàn bāo)
串 chuàn one string (of beads) 一串珠子 (yī chuàn zhū zi)
节 jié one section 一节课 (yī jié kè)
页 yè one page 一页纸 (yī yè zhǐ)
部 bù one part 一部小说 (yī bù xiǎo shuō)
棵 kē one tree 一棵树 (yī kē shù)
篇 piān one article 一篇文章 (yī piān wén zhāng)
段 duàn one section 一段话 (yī duàn huà)
杯 bēi one glass 一杯水 (yī bēi shuǐ)
面 miàn one side 一面墙 (yī miàn qiáng)
座 zuò one bridge 一座桥 (yī zuò qiáo)
台 tái one television 一台电视 (yī tái diàn shì)
枚 méi one badge 一枚奖章 (yī méi jiǎng zhāng)
条 tiáo one dragon 一条龙 (yī tiáo lóng)
节 jié one segment 一节车厢 (yī jié chē xiāng)
颗 kē one pearl 一颗珍珠 (yī kē zhēn zhū)
枝 zhī one branch 一枝花 (yī zhī huā)
块 kuài one lump 一块糖 (yī kuài táng)
块 kuài one block 一块砖 (yī kuài zhuān)
根 gēn one root 一根绳子 (yī gēn shéng zi)
张 zhāng one ticket 一张票 (yī zhāng piào)
篇 piān one essay 一篇作文 (yī piān zuò wén)
瓶 píng one bottle 一瓶牛奶 (yī píng niú nǎi)
袋 dài one bag 一袋米 (yī dài mǐ)
杯 bēi one glass 一杯果汁 (yī bēi guǒ zhī)
车 chē one vehicle 一辆自行车 (yī liàng zì xíng chē)
段 duàn one passage 一段时间 (yī duàn shí jiān)
棵 kē one plant 一棵草 (yī kē cǎo)
户 hù one household 一户人家 (yī hù rén jiā)
块 kuài one piece 一块石头 (yī kuài shí tóu)
根 gēn one stick 一根冰棍 (yī gēn bīng gùn)
套 tào one suite 一套西装 (yī tào xī zhuāng)
张 zhāng one sheet 一张桌子 (yī zhāng zhuō zi)
盘 pán one dish 一盘饺子 (yī pán jiǎo zi)
节 jié one knot 一节竹 (yī jié zhú)
台 tái one platform 一台舞台 (yī tái wǔ tái)
道 dào one question 一道题 (yī dào tí)
句 jù one sentence 一句话 (yī jù huà)
棵 kē one shrub 一棵灌木 (yī kē guàn mù)
段 duàn one section 一段木头 (yī duàn mù tóu)
张 zhāng one sheet 一张图片 (yī zhāng tú piàn)
杯 bēi one cup 一杯咖啡 (yī bēi kā fēi)
张 zhāng one ticket 一张电影票 (yī zhāng diàn yǐng piào)
顶 dǐng one hat 一顶帽子 (yī dǐng mào zi)
根 gēn one stick 一根香肠 (yī gēn xiāng cháng)
盏 zhǎn one lamp 一盏灯 (yī zhǎn dēng)
台 tái one computer 一台笔记本 (yī tái bǐ jì běn)
幅 fú one picture 一幅画 (yī fú huà)
瓶 píng one jar 一瓶果酱 (yī píng guǒ jiàng)
份 fèn one portion 一份早餐 (yī fèn zǎo cān)
幅 fú one scroll 一幅字画 (yī fú zì huà)
层 céng one floor 一层楼 (yī céng lóu)
条 tiáo one blanket 一条毯子 (yī tiáo tǎn zi)
盘 pán one plate 一盘水果 (yī pán shuǐ guǒ)
斤 jīn one pound 一斤苹果 (yī jīn píng guǒ)
串 chuàn one bunch 一串葡萄 (yī chuàn pú táo)
盘 pán one plate 一盘水果 (yī pán shuǐ guǒ)
根 gēn one string 一根琴弦 (yī gēn qín xián)
枝 zhī one stick 一枝蜡烛 (yī zhī là zhú)
只 zhī one watch 一只手表 (yī zhī shǒu biǎo)
片 piàn one leaf 一片树叶 (yī piàn shù yè)
枚 méi one piece 一枚纽扣 (yī méi niǔ kòu)
粒 lì one grain 一粒沙 (yī lì shā)
根 gēn one root 一根牙签 (yī gēn yá qiān)
张 zhāng one ticket 一张票 (yī zhāng piào)
封 fēng one letter 一封邮件 (yī fēng yóu jiàn)

Conclusion

You must know how to measure words well to get good at Mandarin Chinese. The book ‘115 Chinese Measure Words: A Beginner’s Practical Guide’ gives you the essential tools you need. It helps you figure out how much or how much of something you’re talking about, which makes your speaking more evident. Knowing these words also enables you to fit in better in Mandarin-speaking places. It’s all about making your conversations flow better and sound more natural.

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