Mandarin · Chapter 20 · Lesson 17 · Measure words
Measure words: the menagerie
只 for most animals, 头 for the big ones in a field, 条 for the ones that bend. If you can tell a pig from a bird, you can pick its measure word.
Measure-word drill
Match the noun to its measure word
Three round shapes, mixed: pick a noun's measure word, pick a measure word's job, and pick the word that does a job. Tap the right chip - no typing, ever. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
Why measure words exist, the core dozen, and the nouns people actually argue about - the classifiers article has the whole picture.
Read the classifiers articleThe measure words
个gègeneral measure word for people and things
件jiàn(measure word for items, matters, clothing)
位wèipolite measure word for people, place, position, seat
份fènportion, copy (measure word)
家jiāhome, family, household
只zhīonly, just; (measure word for animals)
张zhāng(measure word for flat objects), to open, to spread, a surname- 条tiáo(measure word for long thin things), strip, item
- 杯bēicup, glass; a cup of, a glass of
把bǎto take, handle; disposal marker
本běnmeasure word for books; originally, this
头tóuhead; first; measure word for cattle