The Most Common Chinese Measure Words

Measure words…

Did you know there were more than 100 of them in the Chinese language?

Every noun in Chinese has its own measure word. The most common one is 个 (gè), it can be used with a variety of objects or people.

个
gè
general measure word (m. w.) for people, objects, etc.

This week we’ve prepared 7 most common Chinese measure words.

01. Flat Objects

张
zhāng
m. w. for flat objects (tickets, photos, paper etc.) and surfaces (tables, beds etc.)

02. Bottles

瓶
píng
m. w. for bottles

03. Clothing Items

件
jiàn
m. w. for clothing items, events, documents

04. Buildings

家
jiā
m. w. for families, buildings (businesses, restaurants, hotels etc.)

05. Papers

份
fèn
m. w. for papers (newspapers, magazines, reposts, contracts, etc.)

06. Portions of Food

份
fèn
m. w. for papers (newspapers, magazines, reposts, contracts, etc.)

07. Long Objects

份条
tiáo
m. w. for long thin objects (roads, rivers, ribbons, trousers etc.)

To find out more interesting and useful Chinese vocabulary, check out one of our blog posts 5 Ways to Eat in Chinese: Takeouts, Dine-in and More