Measures and 个 Gè
When a noun and a number are used together in Chinese, a measure word must come before the noun.
Nouns in English, on the other hand, can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be used directly with numbers, whereas a measure phrase must follow uncountable nouns.
一个面包 yīgè miànbāo (a bread)
三个杯子 sān gè bēizi (three cups)
十个篮球 shí gè lánqiú (ten basketballs)
With practically all nouns, including abstract nouns, 个 Gè is the most widely used measure.
一个梦想 yīgè mèngxiǎng (a dream)
一个目标 yīgè mùbiāo (a goal)
一个人 yīgè rén (a person)
一个家庭 yīgè jiātíng (a family)
个 Gè must be omitted before monosyllables but present before disyllables when it comes to temporal nouns, some of which have monosyllabic and disyllabic alternatives. For example:
two year
correct：两年 liǎng nián, incorrect：两个年 liǎng gè nián
tree days
correct：三天 sān tiān, incorrect：三个天 sān gè tiān
one week
一周 yīzhōu or 一个星期 yīgè xīngqī
five nights
五晚 wǔ wǎn or 五个晚上 wǔ gè wǎnshàng
One exception is monosyllabic 月 yuè. Because if without measurement of 个 gè, “number + month” denotes months rather than time.
一月 yīyuè (January)
一个月 yīgè yuè (one month)
二月 èr yuè (February)
两个月 liǎng gè yuè (two months)
Other measure words
In addition to 个 gè, numerous more widely used measure words can be loosely categorized into the following groups.
(1) Shapes measure words
(a) 条 tiáo (long and flexible):
一条鱼 yītiáo yú (a fish)
一条裤子 yītiáo kùzi (a pair of pants)
一条河 yītiáo hé (a river)
一条绳子 yītiáo shéngzi (a rope)
(b) 支 zhī (long and slender):
一支铅笔 yī zhī qiānbǐ (a pencil)
一支口红 yī zhī kǒuhóng (a lipstick)
(c) 根 gēn (slender):
一根头发 yī gēn tóufǎ (a hair)
一根香蕉 yī gēn xiāngjiāo (a banana)
一根筷子 yī gēn kuàizi (a chopstick)
(d) 张 zhāng (flat):
一张照片 yī zhāng zhàopiàn (a photo)
一张床 yī zhāng chuáng (a bed)
一张纸 yī zhāng zhǐ (a paper)
(e) 颗 kē (small and round):
一颗钻石yī kē zuànshí (a diamond)
一颗珍珠yī kē zhēnzhū (a pearl)
一颗子弹yī kē zǐdàn (a bullet)
(f) 粒 lì (round and smaller than 颗 kē):
一粒花生 yī lì huāshēng (a peanut)
一粒米饭 yī lì mǐfàn (a grain of rice)
一粒沙子 yī lì shāzi (a grain of sand)
(2) Associated actions:
(a) 把 bǎ (to handle):
一把钥匙 yī bǎ yàoshi (a bunch of keys)
一把椅子 yī bǎ yǐzi (a chair)
一把剪刀 yī bǎ jiǎndāo (a pair of scissors)
一把斧子 yī bǎ fǔzi (an ax)
(b) 封 fēng (to seal):
一封信 yī fēng xìn (a letter)
(3) Particular sets:
(a) 本 běn (for books, etc.):
一本书 yī běn shū (a book)
一本杂志 yī běn zázhì (a magazine)
(b) 只 zhī (for animals, birds and insects):
一只猫 yī zhǐ māo (a cat)
一只狗 yī zhǐ gǒu (a dog)
一只兔子 yī zhǐ tùzǐ (a rabbit)
(c) 棵 kē (for certain plants):
一棵树 yī kē shù (a tree)
一棵草 yī kē cǎo (a grass)
(d) 辆 liàng (for vehicles):
一辆出租车 yī liàng chūzū chē (a taxi)
一辆公交车 yī liàng gōngjiāo chē (a bus)
一辆小汽车 yī liàng xiǎo qìchē (a car)
(e) 台 tái (for machines):
一台电脑 yī tái diànnǎo (a computer)
一台电视 yī tái diànshì (a television)
一台洗衣机 yī tái xǐyījī (a washing machine)
(f) 件 jiàn (for shirts, coats, etc.):
一件外套 yī jiàn wàitào (a jacket)
一件西装 yī jiàn xīzhuāng (a suit)
一件衣服 yī jiàn yīfú (a clothing)
(g) 间 jiān (for rooms, etc.):
一间房子 yī jiàn fángzi (a house)
一间卧室 yī jiàn wòshì (a bedroom)
一间办公室 yī jiàn bàngōngshì (an office)
(4) Containers:
一杯茶 yībēi chá (a cup of tea)
一桶水 yī tǒng shuǐ (a bucket of water)
一罐啤酒 yī guàn píjiǔ (a can of beer)
一碗饭 yī wǎn fàn (a bowl of rice)
一盘豆腐 yī pán dòufu (a plate of tofu)
一瓶可乐 yī píng kělè (a bottle of Coke)
(5) Standard measures:
一公斤苹果 yī gōngjīn píngguǒ (one kilo of apples)
一米线 yī mǐ xiàn (one meter of wire)
一磅蛋糕 yī bàng dàngāo (one pound of cake)
一公升水 yī gōngshēng shuǐ (a litre of water)
(6) Collections:
一打啤酒 yī dá píjiǔ (a dozen beers)
一群学生 yī qún xuéshēng (a group of students)
In Chinese, the words 对 duì, 双 shuāng, and 副 fù are commonly used to describe the concept of a pair.
一对耳环 yī duì ěrhuán (a pair of earrings)
一双筷子 yī shuāng kuàizi (a pair of chopsticks)
一副眼镜 yī fù yǎnjìng (a pair of glasses)
(7) Portion:
一块奶酪 yīkuài nǎilào (a piece of cheese)
一片面包 yīpiàn miànbāo (a slice of bread)
一滴牛奶 yīdī niúnǎi (a drop of milk)
Indefinitely small amounts or quantities (一些 yī xiē ‘some’，一点儿 yī diǎnr ‘a little’):
一些水果 yīxiē shuǐguǒ (some fruit)
一点儿蛋糕 yī diǎnr dàngāo (a bit of cake)
一些书 yī xiē shū (some books)
一点儿可乐 yī diǎnr kělè (a little coke)
Abstract nouns
Measuring words can be used with Chinese abstract nouns. For example,
一件事情 yījiàn shì qíng (a thing)
一个方法 yīge fāngfǎ (a method)
一种方式 yīzhǒng fāngshì (a way)
一些想法 yīxiē xiǎngfǎ (some ideas)
一个建议 yīge jiànyì (a suggestion)
一点儿印象 yī diǎnr yìnxiàng (a little impression)
Adjective
In some cases, the adjective rather than the noun may be the distinguishing feature.
我的公寓有100平方米大。Wǒde gōngyù yǒu 100 píngfāng mǐ dà. （My apartment is 100 square meters.）
这袋苹果有5公斤重。Zhè dài píngguǒ yǒu 5 gōngjīn zhòng. （This bag of apples weighs 5 kilograms.）
我需要三根两米长的线。Wǒ xūyào sāngēn liǎngmǐ cháng de xiàn. （I need three two-meter lengths of wire.）
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