Measure Words (Grammar Guide #2) | Learn Chinese Now

In this episode we look at measure words in Mandarin Chinese.
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[@Yeediatable]

I find it interesting that when a foreigner speaks in mandarin , the person pronounces the tones very noticeably but when a native speaks in mandarin, the tone is not that prominent...do other beginners feel that way too?

[@PatchyE]

+Yeediatable That's true because pronouncing the tones very noticeably is quite tiring and prevents you from speaking fast. Anchors in television or broadcast tend to pronounce tones very heavily though.

[@Yeediatable]

This tone thing is NOT cool..:\...but at least the grammar is simple..actually the tone thing is cool in one way..it makes languages from the far east sound very distinct and different than other languages...it's their individual beauty...it's hard to have the confidence to practice with a real person because of fear of being laughed at..I think I will create an alter ego with a heavy chinese accent and practice with him...creepy...yes..but whatever works...:\..

[@bh1520]

Yeediatable 我正在学习英语。我从小到大都是说华语。我觉得外国人学习华语的方法基本上都错了，根本不是这样子学的。

[@luanaa275]

I think it might have something to do with confidence. Foreigners, like me, feel the need to enunciate the tones, because they want to sound better. Natives feel more confident, because they are fluent, so it comes out naturally and they don't feel the need to enunciate as much. I don't know, this is just my point of view lol.

[@kiwimcmango]

AlMaslool Yes, I’m a non-native chinese speaker and barely pay attention to tones and have never really payed attention to them. Definitely beginning chinese speakers pay too much attention to tones which gets in the way of their progression. And people that are thinking about starting Chinese get scared by the tones because they think it makes it really complicated but really it’s not that scary.

[@lichaochinese4961]

measure word explained: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXzOqHarfrioZ9U

[@smartmandarinkatrinalee]

Thanks for the video, measure words has been one of the most important Chinese grammar. :)

[@codemyster323]

These grammar lessons are by far my favorite on your channel. Helping me so much. Please keep them coming!

[@KerryMarsh]

You two are marvelous educators and communicators. I really appreciate the help from you well-planned presentation. I'm a self-taught student of only three months learning and practicing just two hours a day on average, and I've used a combination of Fluenz (through 1 and 2 so far), Rosetta Stone (at Unit 1-4 now) and developing a notecard set on my iOS devices. I've seen many nice Mandarin resources on KZbin, but I just love you guys and look forward to finding more great lessons!

[@scottsanett]

I think we use "支” more often than “枝” when referring to an ordinary pen. "枝" is more likely to measure 毛筆。

[@ragemydream]

I love the chats Ben and Karen have after - so funny to listen to them.

[@eelilac]

Just discovered your channel and plowing through your videos. I love that you are using traditional characters as I am currently learning that at the moment. I hope you keep uploading the longer type videos. Thanks.

[@MihaiKrieger]

there are secret measure words hiddin at the end of the video in the "make off" conversation between Karen and Ben. Karen mentiones the thea measure word for light. 一盞燈 :) or 一面鏡子， 一捆

[@pascalxus]

These shows are awesome! Keep up the good work!

[@NightoExorcisto]

You two have excellent chemistry together, i really like you :) Keep doing what you're doing, it's great and perfect. Also, as a beginner, i would look for a video that states with what a starter should know about the chinese language and if there are sources for self-teaching methods. Thank you!

[@neildolinger6820]

I'm glad you explained that 條 / 条 tiáo is the measure word used for many animals. I always heard it used for dogs, and thought it was funny to be talking about "a strip of dog". Another useful measure word is 套 tào, used for sets of things.

[@fifi186]

LOVE the grammar guides! giving me an advantage at chinese school, so keep going! :)

[@johnorsomeone4609]

I have a hard time putting things in past tense- could you please explain when to use "le" and when to use "guo"? These videos are very helpful (and entertaining)- thank you!

[@NataliaAlmario]

These grammar videos are great! Please, contiue making them!!

[@VulcanTrekkie45]

In Turkish, they have only one counting word. They use 'tane' for everything. If you leave it off, it turns into an indefinite article.

[@irinazakharova815]

this channel is hilarious XD well done

[@GuilhermePerez]

There's a character for vehicles, right? liang4 輛

[@123thepokemonmaster]

the measuring word for book is like the japanese word for book "本" which means book 😂😂

[@kenny770322]

+GamesBase You are right. In fact, the core meaning of 本 is "origin". So, Japan is 日本. That actually means "where sun comes from".

[@PatchyE]

+Kenny Lin The radical meaning of 本 is the trunk of a tree. The meaning origin derives from it because all branches and leaves of a tree originate from the trunk.

[@kenny770322]

Patchy .E. right

[@Charity22]

Very informative, greatly appreciated!!

[@maddie492]

this had to be uploaded!!! xie xie nin! so helpful!

[@Bruceleeeroy]

Interesting. Japanese has a lot of different counter words too, and some of them are the same as in Chinese, such as 個 which can be used for pretty much anything, except not for people. Also 頭 is used for counting cattle in Japanese, and sounds almost the same (一頭 = ittou). Plus 一匹 (ippiki) is used for lots of animals.

[@b0r0g0ve]

So interesting! I see lot of differences in usage. In Taiwan I'm used to saying 個 in 輕聲 as a measure word, 4th tone for nouns like 個性 etc. Do people say 一個人 with 4th tone in mainland China? And also 一件褲子, not 條 and both 把 and 張 for chairs.

[@Cathytkerns]

片 and 塊 are also used a lot. ie, 一片樹葉, 一片雪花, 一片麵包, 一片肉, 一片魚, 一塊麵包, 一塊肉... depends on how thick of the piece.

[@winsomecai6765]

Hello there, your teaching style is amazing with lots of fun, clear explaination and lively examlpes. Look forward to watching more. Thanks and best wishes ^^

[@RealNRD]

Great work folks! More long format videos please! :)

[@Brandon-di2km]

Interesting. In Japanese, 本 is used as a counter for long, cylindrical objects, but the word by itself means book. Books are counted in 冊.

[@kenny770322]

+Brandon Lindström Right! You may use 冊in Chinese using country. But that it sounds very formal. The word usually use when we are writing some official documents.

[@samlo5234]

Always a pleasure to see Karen

[@ShearsOfAtropos]

do more of these please!

[@dreamxpaili]

love this video!

[@nueah]

You guys have great chemistry! So cute! Please make more vid

[@Daoshengstar]

Oh my gosh I always love your videos. keep up the great work. :D 你真棒!!!!!!

[@timromo2541]

shui zhu yu is my favorite si chuan dish. I almost opted for it yesterday I went for the frog instead shui zhu qingwa. It was delicious and very numbing.

[@user-tc2wb8fi1e]

awesome video this made my day!! thanks guys!

[@Broadbased]

Hi Ben and Peggy, please do another grammar video. Your grammar video's are very instructive and useful! :)

[@buaroembalomendelev8822]

谢谢你们。。。

[@Carvajalito31]

we need more videos like this one. wo hen xi huan!!

[@jordax47Hydrogen]

super awesomely epicly helpful

[@sal_strazzullo]

It's great to know that Chinese has this measure-words feature too like Japanese

[@spooderglass]

Ba3 is also a verb which means to grab so it makes sense that it's the measure word for things you can grab. (Umbrella, fang, chair, riffle...etc)

[@vatnidd]

It's marked as the 4 tone since it's the original pronunciation. It's pronounced the second since it's the tone changing rule. There's actually two tone changing rules in Mandarin, which is the tone change of 不 and 一 respectively.

[@emib.4946]

Thank you guys please more videos :)

[@aznandyroo]

郝毅博很可愛。我三年學了漢語。這件影片是一個很好的復習。影片前，我不知道把也是一個量詞。

[@jayramdahal3799]

thank you teacher

[@John5mith]

一 yi is often said as 4th tone, especially in spoken Chinese, sometimes even said as second tone, maybe because of what the next word's tone is, such as : yi(2) ge(4) 一個，yi(4) shuang(1) 一雙（a pair), yi(2) wei(4) 一位，yi(4) tiao(2)一條, so I think the rule is: yi pronounces 4th tone when the next word is first ,second and third tone, yi pronounces 2nd tone when the next word is 4th tone.

[@snstar2006]

If I remember correctly, 一 is pronounced in first tone when used as a number name, as in One, Two, Three... It is pronounced in 2th tone before 4th tone characters as in 一定、一刻, and 4th tone in other conditions, as in 一起、一同.

[@frarotu6750]

Heythere! Here I am 7 years later with a question to ask ahaha, so...can we use the measure word 本 also with exercise books, magazines, diaries and so on?

[@SuperMirock]

Exellent. I'm forgetting measuring words all time. Just 个杯只条 i can use automatically.

[@Phantom_madman]

is there a chinese version of the general measurement in japanese: hitotsu futatsu mitsu yotsu etc..

[@nuqleo]

muchas gracias

[@unoki99]

Learnchinesenow, could you make a gramar video abaou past tense and future tense?

[@b0r0g0ve]

Yes, it was on the video. What I mean is in Taiwan people say 一件褲子 and it's interesting for me to compare the differences.

[@nganphung981]

Hi guys, can you put the transcript in the description like you did with the Lao Wai 2.0 video. Thank you very much.

[@maelstrom57]

Part 3! Part 3!

[@LeisureMoment]

Is it possible to make your excellent video in traditional AND simplified Chinese character as well? As the whole China use Mandarin and simplified Chinese, it is a bit hard to learn Mandarin but in traditional Chinese characters. Thanks!

[@BuayaGuy]

Great video as always, but I'm wondering why yi (一) is being used as 4th tone. I don't remember a rule where first tone words change to fourth tone...any grammar points on that?

[@LonghornShootingSports]

Haha I love her, she's totes adorbs.

[@1Anime4you]

Chinese is very similar to Japanese in this way. Japanese also has a variety of different counters (as well as a general set, however, it can not be used for people) I like how pants are considered long objects in Chinese, but flat objects in Japanese.

[@AlyoshaSkvortsov]

If's is very benefit with me!!! Can you do it more :D

[@otabwill709]

Holllleh, it feels like it's been forever since you guys put out a new video. :)

[@nueah]

Thanks

[@brod2man]

Hi, sorry this isn't relevant to the current video but I was wondering how the tone marks should be placed on the following: 不見不散 Bu Jian Bu San Bùjiànbúsàn Is this correct or should the first Bu have a 4th(rising) tone and the 2nd "bu" have no tone?

[@John5mith]

people often change the first word's tone to avoid two repeated tones, or emphasize the first tone for better understanding,because so many different words have the same or similar sound and tone in Chinese. Maybe in ancient times, this situation was not that serious, but got worse in recent several centuries, the kinds of words' sound reduced, people have to make some words become longer(one character word to two character word) for better listening and understanding,avoiding same pronunciation

[@user-xo1jj5kq4e]

I think it is a little complicated for foreign beginners.You can always use "个" if you like. Although it is not perfect, it is understandable to all Chinese.

[@DavidsonLoops]

Yeah but sooner or later they will get better at Chinese and get to the point where using "个" for everything will no longer be justifiable.

[@kieranmurphy14]

Just wondering if you could put the list up please? :)

[@tomdavies7470]

More grammar please!

[@knap-dalf2215]

Would it be possible for you guys to do a sort of introductory lesson to reading and writing traditional chinese characters? :-)

[@user-ef8bg3vq9b]

i am a Chinese native Speaker ,maybe I can help you if you really want to learn mandarin well .and it's all free ,just wish for we can get along and become good friends.here is my Email :[e-mail]

[@JuhnLuk]

你們好! I'd be wicked happy if you guys did a tutorial on when to use 兩 vs 二. Like when someone is telling time, one would say 兩點鐘, and is telling a friend what floor is his apartment, he would probably say 第二楼... So, why can't the two be switched? And what's the rule for when to use each one respectively? (I always grew up knowing naturally when to use those. I moved out of China by the age of 8, and the rural area my parents moved me to in the states more or less made me focus on English more. So, my Chinese was developed through in home speaking, and a lot of listening to my parents. I never knew the formal why or how behind 两 and 二, I just conveniently happen to be using each one correctly out of luck.) Hope this comment is seen! Thanks!

[@RandolphHuang]

I think if you want to say something only 2, you have to use 兩, but you have to use 二 if it's a serial number. Something starts with 第 that must be a serial number.

[@angelesrivera933]

Hey, i have a question...How can you know if someone is eating rice or just food? I mean, i understood that fan is food but also means rice, so how can you know which one you have been told or which one you are saying?

[@kenny770322]

+Angeles Rivera It's a little bit complicate to explain. I would say "it depends on the occasion" Like if you are eating and someone ask you "would you like to eat fanˋ", that means rice. If you are not eating, but you get the same question, that means food. However, this is not 100% sure. At some rare times, we also need to ask for double check.

[@mariohoude7788]

congratulation for your video it is very funny to listen and interesting. continue your good job.i'm happy to look your video wt a bit sense of humour . it begin to learn chinese and polish my english at the same time.thank for your happy job.

[@symonealemania9884]

are the measure words in the video traditional chinese or simplified chinese?

[@MRKLBS]

I read somewhere that the character "一" changes it's tone, like in "一定 "(yídìng). I'm actually not sure about the rules for changing the tone of "一", I only pronounce those things as how my dictionary shows them :P so I think it would be nice if Ben and Karen do a video about tone changes.

[@user-xo4ng4mr5s]

一部(台)車、一扇門、一門簾子、一家店、一幢房子、一座公園、一疊舊報紙、一套書、一列車隊、一群人、一份報紙、一道手續、一幅圖、一局棋、一席話、一口井、一場球賽、一尊銅像、一輪明月、一彎新月、一所學校、一炷香、一桌菜、一甲地.......... 網路上隨便GOOGLE就有超多沒被提到的量詞 以前學英文的時候看到量詞就覺得好多好煩 沒想到量詞真正超級多的竟然是中文..........

[@enjuichang]

一盞燈，一捆繩子，一串葡萄，一面鏡子，一根甘蔗，一碗牛肉麵，一根湯匙 Haha!

[@cllcn888]

car uses "tai" and use"ge" is fine for house. % is "bai fen zi", like 20% is "bai fen zi 20". For time, the literal expression "xx dian xx fen" is used, sort of meaning "xx hour xx minute". For example 8:10, it is "8 dian 10 fun". Check out the numbers pronunciation if you want.

[@leowang6283]

女主播的汉语英语都好厉害

[@alexander1989x]

What do you mean we don't have something like that in English? "A string of hair" "A piece/slice of cake"

[@John5mith]

English may have some, but not as frequently used as Chinese.

[@39thala]

John Smith I think the difference is, english words like piece of, string of, lump of, stack of, etc can be used for a lot of different unrelated things and have to do more with how things are presented etc rather than what classification an object falls into. For instance, you just say a cat, a fish, a horse, a log, a cake. Whereas if those things are presented in a certain way, then you have a slice or piece of cake, a herd of cows or horses, a stack of logs, a pack of dogs, a school of fish etc.

[@jadeliu4992]

+Alexandru Popa One difference is that without using these terms, you literally cannot get by sounding like a normal Chinese speaker, whereas no one will notice the difference if you say "I pulled out a hair" instead of "I pulled out a string of hair." In Chinese, every term has to have one of these measure words.

[@DenisShch93]

Please, list all characters and their meanings in the description.

[@matthew6765]

u just want to skip school work dont u

[@reneedooma]

Please show us the measure words you were talking about at the end!

[@irisx]

Chinese counters are weird, you can also say 一张椅子. You should do a different verbs video too if you haven't already. I know my sister always confuses 带帽子 with 穿帽子 which is just hilarious.

[@recklessroges]

Is there a Chinese counting word for abstracts like ideas or hopes or words? Great session guys, thank you. (A shame that youtube chose to cover up the text at the bottom with a link to another video - thankfully it can be closed with the little x.) I have not found the link or list of todays words in the description, but writing them out from the video is probably good homework ;-) Thanks again.

[@breaknfiction21]

Do a part 3!!!!

[@surdude282]

What about "Set", as in "a set of dishes" or "a set of action figures". It's only piece, but has multiple items within the "set".

[@vickynomikou4005]

Would it be possible to show these measure words in simplified Chinese? xiexie nimen

[@nickbest604]

您是希臘人嗎?

[@protimap]

What is measure word for 画报？

[@BlockandCube]

What is 种 used for? I've heard it explained as meaning 'types of', but I've also heard it being used like 一种解释-one type of explanation?

[@user-ef8bg3vq9b]

i am a Chinese native Speaker ,maybe I can help you if you really want to learn mandarin well .and it's all free ,just wish for we can get along and become good friends.here is my Email :[e-mail]

[@birdkako7290]

种 = 種 in traditional character

[@MatthewHenderson1]

did pinyin input write the wrong character at 5:03? It wrote 只 instead of 隻. (correct me if I'm wrong you're the experts)

[@MRKLBS]

thanks :D

[@YLS1506]

Karen is so beautiful!

[@laoziagainstthemachine5323]

yì o yí? Traditional or simplified Chinese?

[@cllcn888]

I think you should include the explanation between these measure words and articles. Cuz there is no article in Chinese, the indefinite article "a" is always replaced as "one+measure word" when translating into Chinese. All of the expressions in the video can be translated back into English simply "a+object" rather than "one+object", cuz saying "one+object" is kind of weird.

[@DrinkTheCoolaid8484]

I LOVE 烤鱼 i am in Chengdu and i love it too! haha!! Thank you for this channel, i have been watching vids on here the past 2 days. i have been in china for about 10 months. i have not really taken any formal lessons, and have learned some basic stuff just from being out and some computer programs. your channel is real great for me to pick up some good words! thank! i wanted to see if you could do a video i think could be helpful to me and explain some interesting things to others. could you do a video about some simplified characters and other characters that look very similar. for example： 四匹 From being here that is an obvious one for me, but there are a lot that i see, and i think i think they are the same but there is some small 1 stoke difference. i know there is one like 土 ， 内

[@DrinkTheCoolaid8484]

i think that would be a cool vid!!! 谢谢 我看多！！ ^.^

[@John5mith]

another tip, when two 3rd-tone words link, the first 3rd tone change to 2nd tone.

[@carlavlund5841]

I'm having trouble understanding why a lot of the examples used in the video end on 子. It means “child”, right? So why is it used in the words for “umbrella” and “table”?

[@stinot875]

Yes, 子 (zǐ, third tone) can mean "son, child". For the video examples, you can think of the 子 character (zi, neutral tone) as an arbitrary suffix that doesn't really have any meaning in isolation. It's a sort of ending we slap on the names for certain objects; that's all. Same character as far as writing, but a distinct pronunciation and distinct usage from the "son, child" one.

[@stinot875]

There's a similar case with the character 兒/儿. It can mean "child" (pronounced ér, second tone) but can also function as a suffix (-r). Again, same character on paper, different works.

[@carlavlund5841]

Thank you! :)

[@guyincognito1597]

I find measure words quite difficult. And that's not even all, is it? I would be happy if the few ones you were talking about is all I need to learn.

[@ximenggao9200]

measure words(or quantifier) is difficult for foreigners,especially something can be discribed by more than one word.for ex:一支枪，一条枪，一杆枪，一柄枪，一把枪，they all mean 'a gun'.if it's a machine gun,一挺枪，一架枪 are right too.

[@tentedusavoir2365]

Ben is hilarious, I miss that guy!

[@YunZhiZhongYi]

This is so amazing and helpful but you guys only use traditional characters, which makes it harder to keep up though. They're really good to understand the concept of the character itself but i get kind of lost. At college they only teaches us the simplified version Could you please try to put some of the "harder" ones in both traditional and simplified characters? Even if u can't you're still the best!!!! Thank you!!!

[@MatthewHenderson1]

ahh you're right thanks, didn't even think. doesn't this channel only use traditional though? was it still a mistake or are they yielding to the complaints?

[@dannykim2433]

cool

[@qirinrsln8851]

What about die2? Eg. Classifier for saucers?

[@bldstrike]

+Safia Syaqirin "die" can be "碟" plate or "叠" stack.

[@qirinrsln8851]

bldstrike I see. Thanks!! :)