Understand Chinese Measure Words in 1 Video

Find how to improve your spoken Chinese using the 'Building Blocks Method': www.fluentinmandarin.com/conte...

[@johnroekoek12345]

Very important. My first real Chinese conversation was me ordering food and drinks. Amongst this was a coffee: yī kāfēe. Behind the counter they didn't have a clue what I meant with this. It's Yī beī kāfeī. The rest of my story has a happy ending. :)

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Nice story!

[@QuizmasterLaw]

Chris explains measure words here really well: we don't usually think of them in English, but we use them sometimes too: a flock of geese, a school of fish, a loaf of bread, a bottle of beer. Chinese has more measure words than English, but good news! 1) You can always cheat and just use "ge" when in doubt. You sound bad but people will understand you 2) Measure words are the only part of Chinese grammar which is different too and tougher than English. 3) Fluent in Mandarin will help you greatly to learn Chinese quickly and so you will speak Chinese properly and sound smooth, businesslike, even diplomatic.

[@QuizmasterLaw]

Eng.: a head of cattle = Chin: a head of elephant haha learned something :)

[@liguobu229]

Fluency in any language, starting with one’s own, is always an asset, and a prerequisite to learn a new one well.

[@somno6878]

Well explained but you forgot to mention one impotent thing: measure words do not serve merely for grammatical purposes because they are not 虚词 (function words), they all have their specific meanings and are there to further define features of an object or a group of objects. For example, for paper we can have 一张纸（a regularly-shaped piece of paper） 一片纸(a regularly or irregularly-shaped piece of small paper) 一摞纸(a high pile of paper) 一叠纸(a thin pile of paper) 一打纸(very small pile of paper) 一面纸(a side of paper) 一堆纸(messy piles of paper) 一团纸(kneaded dry paper) 一坨纸(a lump of paper) 一切纸(a cut of paper, always refer to standerdised sizes, e.g. A1 is one cut of paper of A0, if one shows you a large piece of paper and asks whether you would like to have one 切 or two 切s, that means 'whether you'd like to have half or a quarter of the piece') 一条纸(a strip of paper) 一包纸(a neat pack of paper) 一袋纸(a pack of paper) 一份纸(a portion of a pile of paper) 一页纸(a page of paper) 一吨纸(a tonne of paper) 一扇纸(a piece of paper used for fan or window making) 一层纸(a layer of paper) 一贴纸(a post of small paper that always can be stuck onto something) BTW, you made a mistake at the end of your video. 一朵花 and 一枝花 are not the same. 一朵花 means a flower that is only a flower without stem or leaves, while 一枝花 means a flower that has at least an attached stem.

[@mat5844]

Somoko Chou thank you!!!

[@mohammedfathi3592]

This is really depressing. I'm sure the whole point from his video is to come out nice and simple.

[@mohammedfathi3592]

This is really depressing. I'm sure the whole point from his video is to come out nice and simple.

[@EduardoCanizalez]

Please give this man more likes!

[@dankhnw8]

Holy fuck

[@Fatcatbaz]

Great job Chris. This is the clearest explanation of measure words that I have found. Many thanks..

[@lenkakroupova4354]

Thank you so much for this video. I started to study chinese quite recently and one of the things I was quite puzzled was, that every second caracter I looked up, has also a measure word for something like a possible use. So now, after watching your video, this question is fully answered🙏😊😊

[@soehayman6937]

Very clear and useful. This is really easy to understand. I love it. Thank you.

[@solomonthian3793]

Thank you brother. You explain clearly how to use all these words.

[@liguobu229]

Great help that Chris’s English is crisp and his voice is pleasantly pleasant.

[@Brandespada]

Where "pleasantly" is a measure word for "pleasant"

[@speakofthistonoone2869]

Wow, I was so frustrated with having to learn Chinese measure words in over two videos! I am so exuberantly happy and that I can learn these phrases in one video, thank you so much for making it so easy for me to learn

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

You're welcome!

[@johnroekoek12345]

One of the most difficult rules for learning Mandarin. Good video.

[@carolalderson8367]

An excellent video! Thank you very much - very useful and clear. 谢谢您

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

You're welcome Carol!

[@israelrivera835]

thanks for the lesson!

[@choutxu]

Super detailed. Thanks

[@argentinakun8173]

谢谢

[@zipporahnyakio5360]

thank you for the lesson

[@RenzoCotta]

this was very helpful for me ... thanks a lot

[@nimashafernando5241]

Thank you.. very useful….

[@nermineagayeva6496]

Thank you very much .👏

[@yassinyassin5586]

Thank you soooooo much

[@Moniiii148]

It was a really helpful video. 谢谢你！

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

You're welcome!

[@dmgolfing]

Thank you!

[@ChineseHandwriting]

解释的很清晰，

[@khalifasamassi5216]

感谢， 从你我了解很多量词

[@CalanYes]

Thanks,I learned a lot of measure words from you

[@xkiller1968]

你的发音太好了 点赞！！！

[@sniyut1037]

Thanks, very informative lesson.

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

You're welcome :-)

[@autumnrose3943]

Still confused but very helpful. Thank you so much for the great content.

[@yangz1803]

What is the confusion?

[@yangz1803]

Small correction: we are not used to use the measure word when the noun already contains that measure word. For example, We say 一本书 but we don't say 一本书本 (also 书本 is usually a conceptual noun and not to refer to a specific object) we say 一片药 but we say 一颗药片 we say 一把刀，but we say 一个/柄刀把 we say一间房，but we say一个房间

[@sugunachandran1263]

It's very useful

[@JohnJohn-sf1df]

Thank you bro! I am using Rosetta Stone for Mandarin and they DO NOT explain measure words. RS is fine as long as you supplement it with something else for grammar. Thank you again!

[@umargul5644]

Great 👍

[@jeffreysommer3292]

I have a question about the pronunciation of X (or hs, in Wade-Giles)--I always pronounced it as "sh," not "sz." My Mandarin teacher thought this was correct, as opposed to all the Cantonese in the class, who used the latter pronunciation. Please tell me what you think.

[@bangchu3579]

Great explanation!! One week can also be 一周，where 个 is omitted tho

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

That's true, good point!

[@astrostar49]

Great video. Ever think about adding the traditional script in your videos as well? I know it's more work, but it would be awesome for those few that learn traditional. Thanks.

[@Brandespada]

Desagree

[@sauce8277]

Thanksssssss ☺

[@impexhubtradingcompany4245]

thnx bro

[@bonbonpony]

What microphone do you use in this video?

[@vaghelak.r.2155]

Very good

[@thoothlessanaconda]

Waoo. Perfect

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Glad you liked the video

[@israelrivera835]

Kudos! An Excellent Class! You work hard, and we do appreciate it!

[@dammikasiripala3139]

measure words here really well

[@BloxyMelonio]

Nice

[@rileypay724]

Hi, may i know what is the different of 条 tiao and 根 gen? Because this two measure words also describe for long and thin objects.

[@aftokratory]

根 is generally used for stiff, rigid, stick-like objects, or cylindrical objects. For example, 一根绳子(rope)，两根手指(finger)，三根头发(strand of hair)，四根棍子(stick)。条 is used for flexible objects and long flat objects, often for strips of something. 一条鱼(fish)，两条裤子(trousers)，三条毛巾(towel)，四条腿(leg)。It can also be used for bar shaped objects. 一条肥皂(soap). Also for explanations that can be listed. 几条理由(several reasons). News 一条新闻(a news headline). And lastly for stuff to do with life and people. 一条性命(a life - life as in state of being alive, not the period between birth and death). 一条心(one mind - 两人同一条心 two people of the same mind).

[@aftokratory]

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask me if you have questions.

[@rileypay724]

@imperium ploutokratikos thank you so much😀

[@jonathanjo8999]

@@aftokratory The soap example is not quite right as you already mentioned "bar shaped" so the correct measure word is "块 (bar)".

[@aftokratory]

@@jonathanjo8999 条 is also used for 肥皂 but yes generally 块 for bar-shaped

[@jamescook2412]

My book says "There are over 100 measure words in Chinese, but you will come across ONLY 2 or 3 dozen in everyday speech" NICE!!!

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Probably not even that many to be honest. The ones I put in the video are some of the main ones, some of the other ones only relate to a couple of words, so it's ok if you don't use them and go straight to the 'catch all' measure word.

[@0MVR_0]

I caught my Chinese students using 个 instead of 只 for a dog when doing some translation work. It kind of freaked me out. In casual non-academic speech, you likely won't be misunderstood for using 个 as an L2 learner.

[@xxmrec]

@@0MVR_0 个 mostly for human, 一个狗 make that dog personification

[@0MVR_0]

@@xxmrec or 条

[@xxmrec]

@@0MVR_0 条 for dog, but not for cat, cat use 只。Ofcause you can use 个 if you need that cat personification.

[@vibhathakur]

Can you explain me that why you have used ' Liăng bă dāo ' instead of ' èr bă dāo ' for two knives '

[@Neilcourtwalker]

He answered a few comments blow yours: Whenever you have an object after the number, like 2 pens or whatever, it would be liǎng. Èr is only really for counting or for when you have a number just on its own.

[@HarmoniumSumant]

Can “pian” be used interchangeably with “zhang ”?

[@CalanYes]

Sumant Biwalkar sometimes it does,but it depends on the context

[@amekanasai]

Hardly...片 is more of pieces / slices and can be used with food, 张 is like a "sheet" and is usually used with non-food items. There are no hard and fast rules and a lot of exceptions, it will come naturally once you get used to it. Some examples: 一张纸 == a sheet of paper, 一片纸 == a piece of paper (sounds weird to me. I always use 张.) 片 is more like a scrap of paper. 张 is a full regular sheet. 一片鱼 == a slice / piece of fish. 一张鱼 == wrong. You wouldn't say "a sheet of fish" too right? 一张桌子 == a table, 一片桌子 == wrong 一片玻璃 / 一块玻璃 == a sheet / pane / piece of glass, 一张玻璃 == wrong (I can't explain to you why. It just sounds wrong.)

[@estefani220]

You have really helped me... be frustrated... JK!!! I am glad for your added details about measure words, as well! Thanks so MUCH!!

[@mystyredz]

When does Èr change to Liǎng? Under what situations?

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Whenever you have an object after the number, like 2 pens or whatever, it would be liǎng. Èr is only really for counting or for when you have a number just on its own.

[@suryatjandra7120]

In numbering if you say 20 : 二十. 200 : 两百， 2000 : 两千，and so on. 2.222 ; 两千两百二货二.

[@seanspartan2023]

I think of it this way, if I'm just saying the number 2, or counting with 2, I use 二。 If I have a pair of objects, I use 两。 As a way to help remember the character er has 2 strokes 二 while liăng has the pair hanging out together side by side 两

[@bonbonpony]

Can it be thought of as "pair" then? The doubled "person" radical in the character seems to suggest that this is the meaning behind this character.

[@CalanYes]

I'm confused too....and I'm Chinese !

[@zhixindong2193]

Hi Chris, you mentioned 99颗玫瑰， may not be correct in Chinese. It should be 99 朵 玫瑰. Measure word for flowers is 朵

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

I believe 朵 棵 and 枝 are acceptable here.

[@user-ye6zh9kg7n]

@@FluentinMandarinDotCom it's odd to use 棵 for 玫瑰 actually

[@adirisso7735]

This is good because you are not a pretty distracting Chinese woman. I can actually concentrate

[@brunocardoso7132]

what about 一下下 what is this?

[@jonathanjo8999]

It usually means "again and again". In oral situation, it can be used with "to wait (等)" to construct a phrase "to wait a little bit (等一下下)". "A little bit (一下下)" in this phrase is an extended meaning of "again and again".

[@JariSatta]

(English collective nouns are funny) A pound of pianists, a huddle of penguins, an ambush of tigers, a disguising of tailors...

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

Yes, English collective nouns are quite entertaining, especially the ones about animals, but they are used far less often than in Chinese.

[@0705chen]

99“朵”玫瑰

[@Shawn-jg2ul]

Chris, you should apply for a job of the post of teacher in Beijing, they would pay you USD 5000 to 10000 per month with free lodging and accommodation and benefits

[@FluentinMandarinDotCom]

I don't think you can make that much money from a regular teaching job..

[@Shawn-jg2ul]

Yeah it is true.. Some of the University of Qingtao had engaged some English speaking native teachers but so far I see you are lots better than those. I would send you the links of those jobs that command some are RMB 20,000 a month or USD 3000 +

[@johnhippisley9106]

两? I thought two was 二?

[@richr6586]

I think it is used when measuring the amount of something or used as placement. It is used in time but only for 2 o'clock and not for 12.

[@linpan2561]

I'm native speaker but I usually skip the measure words unless it's absolute neccessary.

[@xxmrec]

量词在上古汉语里面本来就大多省略的，例如：三人行必有我师。但上古汉语的音节和声韵母多，这么说没有重复音无歧义。中古汉语演化为一字一音节之后，就逐渐通用量词和词头词尾了，上古的“虎”被中古的“老虎”取代，象变成“大象”，箸变成“筷子”，都是为了避免语言演化中越来越多音节合并造成的同音字歧义。

[@linpan2561]

@@xxmrec 不用追溯到上古。明清小说里量词也不是很多。我觉得是新文化运动以后中国人开始大量使用量词？

[@xxmrec]

@@linpan2561 语言和文字的差异，汉语同音字重码率太高，某些音甚至对应超过一百个字，汉字则没这个问题。

[@danespacey]

Hey man thanks, this video helped a lot - but I didn't like having your video in the corner. It seems a little unecessary. Bye!

[@zulkiflijamil4033]

我想一个苹果 几个杯子 酶个人 每 每个人 这个人 一把伞 一本书

[@aaronburr2943]

我的小狗喜欢吃一根肉骨头！

[@jeffreysommer3292]

This is hard to read. Could you please use Traditional characters?

[@paland1979]

一只猫但是一条狗

[@muhammadashshiddieqi8653]

Les d lbbbsc cekit

[@ronaldtran8579]

what a "bunch of baloney" ;) LOL

[@ronaldtran8579]

yeah, this was really helpful in my self study, thanks!

[@pyramid_scheme_termination3655]

Most redundant pointless grammar rule