(gè) - general measure word for people and things in Mandarin
gèTraditional: 個
Translation
general measure word for people and things
Word origin
The general measure word 个 (ge). The full form 個 is a phono-semantic compound with the 亻 'person' radical and 固 phonetic; 个 is the common simplified graphic.
- Origin
- phono-semantic compound
- Root
- 个 (simplified); full form 個 = 亻(person radical) + 固 (phonetic)
Stroke order
个
Examples
。
I have three younger brothers.
。
Please give me a bag.
。
That person is my teacher.
。
There are two cups on the table.
苹。
I ate three apples.
Appears in 10 words
Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 个.
Used in
Stories
(9)Grammar articles
(32)Mandarin Adjectives as Stative Verbs: Why 'I Am Cold' Is 我冷, Not 我是冷
Mandarin Advanced Grammar (C1-C2 / HSK 6+): Chengyu, Classical Remnants, and Register
Approximation and Rounding in Mandarin: 左右, 大概, 差不多, 几 and 来 for About, Around and Roughly
Mandarin Aspect Markers: 了, 在/正在, 过 - the System That Replaces Tense
The Mandarin 把 (bǎ) Construction: Fronting the Object to Say What You Did To It
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Mandarin Classifiers (Measure Words): 个, 本, 张, 只, 条, and the Rule That Every Counted Noun Needs One
Mandarin Comparatives: 比, 比较, 最, 跟…一样 and How to Say 'More', 'Most', 'Same As'
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
The Mandarin Copula 是 (shì): To Be, and When to Leave It Out
Asking How + Adjective in Mandarin with 多: 多高, 多远, 多长, 多大
Figurative Directional Complements in Mandarin: 起来, 下去 and 出来 Beyond Up, Down and Out
The Double 了 Sentence in Mandarin: 我学了三年中文了 and the Continuing-Action Pattern
Duration Complements in Mandarin (时量补语): How to Say How Long an Action Lasts
The Mandarin Durative 着 (zhe): Marking a State That Continues (门开着, 拿着书, 笑着说)
Mandarin Existential and Presentative Sentences: 有, 出现, 发生 and Why New Things Go After the Verb
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
Mandarin Location and Existence: 在 for Where, 有 for There Is, and the 上/下/里/外 Position Words
Mandarin Modal Verbs: 会, 想, 要, 应该, 可以, 能 and the Future-Intent Words 打算, 准备
Mandarin Negation: 不 (bù) vs 没 (méi), and Why 不有 Does Not Exist
Mandarin Numbers, Time, Dates, and Currency: From 1 to 1,000,000, the 二/两 Split, and Time-Before-Verb
Possession with 有 (yǒu): To Have, and Why It Is Never 不有
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Mandarin Question Formation: 吗, V-Not-V, 还是, and the In-Situ Wh-Word System
Mandarin Relative Clauses with 的 (de): How the Modifier Goes Before the Noun
Mandarin Requests and Imperatives: 请, 别, 不要, the Softening Particles 吧/啊, and Verb Reduplication
Mandarin Resultative Complements: Fusing a Result onto the Verb (看见, 吃完, 找到)
The Mandarin 是…的 (shì...de) Construction: Highlighting When, Where, and How Something Happened
Topic-Comment Structure in Mandarin: Fronting 这本书我看过 and Why Word Order Bends
Mandarin Verb-Object Verbs: Why 'To Eat' Is 吃饭 and How It Splits Apart
Mandarin Word Order: SVO, Topic-Comment, and the 把 Construction That Reorders Everything
Yes-No Questions in Mandarin: 吗 (ma), Echo Answers, and the Bounce-Back 呢 (ne)
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