Measure words · Bands 1 to 3
The measure words you actually need
All 58 of them, what each one means, and up to 6 nouns from the word list that are counted with it.
In Mandarin a number rarely touches its noun. A counting word goes in between, and which one you use is a property of the noun, not of the number. That is why measure words are worth learning next to the nouns they count.
HSK 3.0 tags 58 words in Bands 1 to 3 as measure words, and 33 of them are named by a noun somewhere in the word list. The tables below start from the measure word and show those nouns.
个gè
Of the 920 words on this site that carry a measure word note, 368 accept this one, which makes it the safest guess when the right word will not come. It has limits: flat things, long things, pairs, books, and vehicles each have a word of their own, and a speaker will reach for that one instead.
Reading the tags
Many of these words do another job first. A tag that starts with also marks a part of speech the word takes only some of the time, so a word you first met as a verb or a noun can turn up here as well.
Band 123 measure words
| Measure word | What it means | Words it counts |
|---|---|---|
| 本běn | measure word for books; root | 书shūbook本子běnzinotebook笔记bǐjìnotes; to take notes词典cídiǎndictionary地图dìtúmap护照hùzhàopassport |
| 点diǎn | o'clock; a dot or spot; a little | 要求yāoqiúto request; requirement意见yìjiànopinion; suggestion |
| 对duì | right; correct; towards, at; a pair | 耳朵ěrduoear筷子kuàizichopsticks袜子wàzisocks翅膀chìbǎngwing夫妇fūfùa couple耳环ěrhuánearring |
| 分fēn | minute; cent; to divide | Examples live on the word page. |
| 分钟fēnzhōng | minute | Examples live on the word page. |
| 个gè | the general measure word; used with most nouns | 白天báitiāndaytime杯子bēizicup; glass边biānside; edge弟弟dìdiyounger brother东西dōngxithing; stuff哥哥gēgeolder brother |
| 号hào | number; measure word for dates and sizes | Examples live on the word page. |
| 回huí | to return; time; occasion | 事shìmatter; thing |
| 家jiā | home; family; measure word for businesses | 超市chāoshìsupermarket电影院diànyǐngyuàncinema; movie theater饭店fàndiànrestaurant; hotel公司gōngsīcompany; firm商店shāngdiànstore; shop书店shūdiànbookstore |
| 件jiàn | measure word for things, events and clothes | 东西dōngxithing; stuff事shìmatter; thing衣服yīfuclothes事情shìqingmatter; affair; thing衬衫chènshānshirt; blouse大衣dàyīovercoat |
| 口kǒu | mouth; measure word for people and mouthfuls | 锅guōpot猪zhūpig剑jiàndouble-edged sword井jǐngwell缸gāngjar棺材guāncaicoffin |
| 块kuài | measure word for lumps and pieces; yuan (colloquial) | 面包miànbāobread手表shǒubiǎowristwatch冰bīngice蛋糕dàngāocake黑板hēibǎnblackboard糖tángsugar; candy |
| 年nián | year | Examples live on the word page. |
| 日rì | day; sun | Examples live on the word page. |
| 岁suì | measure word for years of age; years old | Examples live on the word page. |
| 天tiān | day; sky | Examples live on the word page. |
| 下xià | down; to go down; measure word for brief actions | Examples live on the word page. |
| 些xiē | measure word: some, a few | Examples live on the word page. |
| 一下yíxià | (after a verb) a bit, for a moment; all at once | Examples live on the word page. |
| 一点儿yìdiǎnr | a little; a bit | Examples live on the word page. |
| 一些yìxiē | some; a few | Examples live on the word page. |
| 元yuán | yuan; Chinese currency unit | Examples live on the word page. |
| 只zhī | classifier for animals and one of a pair | 杯子bēizicup; glass狗gǒudog饺子jiǎozidumpling包bāoto wrap; bag; measure word for packs篮球lánqiúbasketball鸟niǎobird |
Band 214 measure words
Band 321 measure words
| Measure word | What it means | Words it counts |
|---|---|---|
| 把bǎ | measure word for things with handles; object marker | 椅子yǐzichair花huāto spend money or time花huāflower筷子kuàizichopsticks伞sǎnumbrella勺子sháozispoon; ladle |
| 半天bàntiān | half a day; quite a while | Examples live on the word page. |
| 遍biàn | measure word for times an action is done | Examples live on the word page. |
| 层céng | measure word for layers and floors | 楼lóubuilding; floor皮肤pífūskin油漆yóuqīoil paints |
| 段duàn | measure word for sections and paragraphs | 历史lìshǐhistory音乐yīnyuèmusic文章wénzhāngarticle时刻shíkètime诗歌shīgēpoem |
| 封fēng | measure word for letters; to seal | 信xìnletter; mail回信huíxìnto write back; a reply letter |
| 公斤gōngjīn | kilogram | Examples live on the word page. |
| 角jiǎo | measure word for money: jiao (one tenth of a yuan); angle; corner | Examples live on the word page. |
| 节jié | measure word for lessons and segments; festival | 火车huǒchētrain课kèlesson; class课程kèchéngcourse; curriculum车厢chēxiāngcarriage电池diànchíbattery |
| 斤jīn | measure word for weight: jin (500 grams) | Examples live on the word page. |
| 句jù | measure word for sentences and remarks | 成语chéngyǔidiom |
| 刻kè | a quarter of an hour; to carve | Examples live on the word page. |
| 辆liàng | measure word for vehicles | 车chēcar; vehicle公交车gōngjiāochēbus汽车qìchēcar; automobile自行车zìxíngchēbicycle; bike救护车jiùhùchēambulance摩托车mótuōchēmotorbike |
| 毛máo | measure word for money: mao (one tenth of a yuan); hair; wool | Examples live on the word page. |
| 米mǐ | measure word for length: meter; rice | Examples live on the word page. |
| 起qǐ | to rise; to get up; measure word for cases | 车祸chēhuòtraffic accident事故shìgùaccident案件ànjiàncase |
| 声shēng | sound or voice; measure word for cries | Examples live on the word page. |
| 双shuāng | measure word for pairs; both | 手shǒuhand眼睛yǎnjingeye脚jiǎofoot; leg筷子kuàizichopsticks鞋xiéshoe胳膊gēboarm |
| 页yè | measure word for pages | 文章wénzhāngarticle |
| 张zhāng | measure word for flat things; to open | 椅子yǐzichair桌子zhuōzitable; desk机票jīpiàoplane ticket票piàoticket报纸bàozhǐnewspaper菜单càidānmenu |
| 种zhǒng | measure word for kinds and types; seed | 药yàomedicine; drug文化wénhuàculture语言yǔyánlanguage保护bǎohùto protect方式fāngshìway; manner; method技术jìshùtechnology; skill |
Common questions
What is a measure word in Mandarin?
A number does not attach straight to a noun in Mandarin. A small counting word sits between the two, and which one you use is a property of the noun, not of the number. English does this for a few nouns, as in two slices of bread. Mandarin does it for all of them.
How many measure words are in HSK 3.0 Bands 1 to 3?
58 words in Bands 1 to 3 carry the measure word part of speech: 23 in Band 1, 14 in Band 2, and 21 in Band 3. Several of them do another job first and count things only some of the time.
Can you use the same measure word for everything?
The general one goes a long way: 368 of the 920 words on this site that carry a measure word note accept it, and speakers reach for it when the right word will not come. It still sounds off with flat things, long things, pairs, and vehicles, which each have their own word.
How do you know which measure word a noun takes?
Look the noun up. Every word page shows a Counted with line when the word has one, so the answer travels with the noun rather than with the number. The tables here run the other way, from the measure word to the nouns it counts.
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