The ultimate guide to Chinese measure words

By Felipe / Last updated November 21, 2024

If you are learning Chinese, you have probably encountered measure words. They are one of those things that make Chinese special and confuse a lot of learners in the beginning. But don't worry, they are easier to internalize than tones or characters.

In this guide, we will break them down step by step and help you make sense of them. And at the end of this article, you'll find the most comprehensive list of Chinese measure words you can find anywhere. Let's go!

What are Chinese measure words?

Measure words (量词/量詞, liàng cí) are a unique part of Chinese grammar. They are used between numbers and nouns to “measure” or categorize the noun. For example:

• 一本书/一本書 (yì běn shū) — one book

• 两只猫 (liǎng zhī māo) — two cats

• 三杯茶 (sān bēi chá) — three cups of tea

Chinese measure words are very often closely related to the appearance of the thing they are used with. They help distinguish soft objects from hard objects, flat objects from round objects, animals from humans, single occasions from time durations, and so on.

English also uses measure words in certain cases, for example, you would say "three cups of tea" instead of "three tea." Other examples are "a slice of bread" or "a grain of salt". However, Chinese measure words are used much more often, and even with things that don't seem like they'd need very specific measuring.

Using the correct measure word is important for sounding natural in Chinese. Measure words make your sentences more precise and simply make you sound more native.

Most common Chinese measure words

Our full list of measure words contains over 250 entries, but don't worry, you don't need to memorize all of them. There are a few measure words that are used very frequently and cover most situations. Focusing on them is going to give you the most bang for your buck.

1. 个/個 (gè)

This is the most commonly used measure word in Chinese. If a word does not have a more specific measure word, you can use 个/個.

Examples:

• 一个人/一個人 (yí gè rén) — one person

• 两个小时/兩個小時 (liǎng gè xiǎoshí) — two hours

This is also your escape hatch when you don't know the correct measure word. Many native speakers use 个/個 even when there is a more specific measure word available. However, some measure words are so common that replacing them with 个/個 would sound unnatural.

2. 只/隻 (zhī)

This is often used for animals, but also for some utensils and when referring to one of a pair of body parts.

Examples:

• 一只手/一隻手 (liǎng zhī shǒu) - one hand

• 两只猫/兩隻貓 (liǎng zhī māo) - two cats (this is the only correct measure word for cats 😉)

Using 只/隻 instead of 个/個 for animals is a good first step to sound more natural when speaking Chinese.

3. 张/張 (zhāng)

Used for flat objects like paper, tickets, tables, or maps.

Examples:

• 一张纸/一張紙 (yì zhāng zhǐ) — one sheet of paper

• 两张票/兩張票 (liǎng zhāng piào) — two tickets

• 三张桌子/三張桌子 (sān zhāng zhuōzi) — three tables

4. 家 (jiā)

Used for buildings or places where people gather, such as homes or businesses.

Examples:

• 一家人/一家人 (yì jiā rén) — one family

• 两家公司/兩家公司 (liǎng jiā gōngsī) — two companies

• 三家饭馆/三家飯館 (sān jiā fànguǎn) — three restaurants

5. 杯 (bēi)

Used for cups or glasses of liquids.

Examples:

• 一杯水 (yì bēi shuǐ) — one cup of water

• 两杯咖啡 (liǎng bēi kāfēi) — two cups of coffee

• 三杯茶 (sān bēi chá) — three cups of tea

6. 台/臺 (tái)

Used for machines like TVs or computers.

Examples:

• 一台电视/一臺電視 (yì tái diànshì) — one TV

• 两台电脑/兩臺電腦 (liǎng tái diànnǎo) — two computers

• 三台洗衣机/三臺洗衣機 (sān tái xǐyījī) — three washing machines

7. 本 (běn)

Used for books.

Examples:

• 一本书/一本書 (yì běn shū) — one book

• 两本杂志/兩本雜誌 (liǎng běn zázhì) — two magazines

• 三本小说/三本小說 (sān běn xiǎoshuō) — three novels

8. 辆/輛 (liàng)

Used for vehicles.

Examples:

• 一辆车/一輛車 (yí liàng chē) — one car

• 两辆自行车/兩輛自行車 (liǎng liàng zìxíngchē) — two bicycles

• 三辆公交车/三輛公交車 (sān liàng gōngjiāochē) — three buses

9. 双/雙 (shuāng)

Used for pairs of items, especially things that naturally come in twos.

Examples:

• 一双鞋/一雙鞋 (yì shuāng xié) — one pair of shoes

• 两双筷子/兩雙筷子 (liǎng shuāng kuàizi) — two pairs of chopsticks

• 三双袜子/三雙襪子 (sān shuāng wàzi) — three pairs of socks

10. 碗 (wǎn)

Used for bowls of food or liquid.

Examples:

• 一碗米饭/一碗米飯 (yì wǎn mǐfàn) — one bowl of rice

• 两碗汤/兩碗湯 (liǎng wǎn tāng) — two bowls of soup

• 三碗面条/三碗麵條 (sān wǎn miàntiáo) — three bowls of noodles

11. Bonus: 朵 (duǒ)

This one is not as common as the previous measure words but it's my favorite one. It is used when talking about flower-shaped things. Can you think of anything flower-shaped besides flowers? Think about it for a second... Ready for the answer? ... Clouds!

Isn't Chinese a cool language, placing flowers 🌼 and clouds ☁️ into the same category of things?

Final Thoughts

Chinese measure words might seem confusing at first but they are just a matter of practice. The more you use them, the more natural they will feel. After a while, you will even be able to guess the measure word for things based on their shape or function.

The most common measure words covered above will already get you quite far. However, if you want to take your measure word game to the next level, check out the full list below. It's the ultimate cheat sheet for learning all the measure words you need!

Happy learning and see you next time 🙃

List of Chinese measure words

Here you go, the full list of 250+ measure words, most of them with examples.

If you want to learn more about the words, you can use our online dictionary to look them up.