The most common Mandarin measure words, each with the nouns it pairs with. Front: measure word in simplified characters with pinyin in parentheses. Back: what it counts, with two example pairings.
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- 个 (gè)
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Most common measure word for countable objects. Example: 一个人 (one person), 三个苹果 (three apples)- 只 (zhī)
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For animals, especially birds and insects. Example: 一只鸟 (one bird), 两只蚊子 (two mosquitoes)- 件 (jiàn)
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For clothing items and matters. Example: 一件衣服 (one piece of clothing), 五件事 (five matters)- 条 (tiáo)
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For long thin objects and rivers. Example: 一条鱼 (one fish), 两条河 (two rivers)- 把 (bǎ)
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For things with handles and abstract items. Example: 一把椅子 (one chair), 三把钥匙 (three keys)- 张 (zhāng)
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For flat objects like paper and tables. Example: 一张纸 (one sheet of paper), 四张桌子 (four tables)- 本 (běn)
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For books and bound materials. Example: 一本书 (one book), 三本笔记本 (three notebooks)- 块 (kuài)
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For chunks and pieces of things. Example: 一块肥皂 (one bar of soap), 两块布 (two pieces of cloth)- 瓶 (píng)
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For bottles and their contents. Example: 一瓶水 (one bottle of water), 两瓶牛奶 (two bottles of milk)- 杯 (bēi)
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For cups and glasses of liquid. Example: 一杯茶 (one cup of tea), 两杯咖啡 (two cups of coffee)- 碗 (wǎn)
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For bowls of food or the bowls themselves. Example: 一碗米饭 (one bowl of rice), 三碗汤 (three bowls of soup)- 盘 (pán)
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For plates of food and groups. Example: 一盘菜 (one plate of vegetables), 两盘棋 (two games of chess)- 顶 (dǐng)
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For hats, umbrellas, and tents. Example: 一顶帽子 (one hat), 两顶帐篷 (two tents)- 双 (shuāng)
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For pairs of things, especially shoes and socks. Example: 一双鞋 (one pair of shoes), 三双袜子 (three pairs of socks)- 对 (duì)
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For pairs and couples. Example: 一对耳朵 (one pair of ears), 两对夫妻 (two couples)
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