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Measure word finder
Type a noun in English, pinyin or Chinese and see the measure word it takes, like 一本书 and 一张桌子.
Type a noun in English, pinyin or Chinese.
The common measure words
个 gè
For people and most things
位 wèi
For people
种 zhǒng
名 míng
For people
条 tiáo
For long thin things, rivers, roads, fish, messages, news and items
- 一条路 yì tiáo lù
- 一条马路 yì tiáo mǎlù
- 一条船 yì tiáo chuán
- 一条道路 yì tiáo dàolù
场 chǎng
For sports events, shows and exams
份 fèn
For portions, copies of newspapers, documents and gifts
张 zhāng
For flat objects
项 xiàng
For tasks, projects and items
- 一项活动 yí xiàng huódòng
- 一项运动 yí xiàng yùndòng
- 一项成就 yí xiàng chéngjiù
- 一项调查 yí xiàng diàochá
座 zuò
For mountains, buildings, bridges and other large fixed objects
- 一座楼 yí zuò lóu
- 一座山 yí zuò shān
- 一座体育场 yí zuò tǐyùchǎng
- 一座体育馆 yí zuò tǐyùguǎn
只 zhī
For animals, one of a pair, boats and some containers
次 cì
For times and occurrences
块 kuài
For pieces, lumps, chunks
家 jiā
For businesses and families
件 jiàn
For clothes, matters and items
- 一件事 yí jiàn shì
- 一件衣服 yí jiàn yīfu
- 一件大衣 yí jiàn dàyī
- 一件礼物 yí jiàn lǐwù
笔 bǐ
For sums of money and deals
部 bù
For films, books and vehicles
台 tái
For machines and performances
- 一台电脑 yì tái diànnǎo
- 一台电视 yì tái diànshì
- 一台电视机 yì tái diànshìjī
- 一台计算机 yì tái jìsuànjī
根 gēn
For long thin objects
- 一根毛 yì gēn máo
- 一根面条 yì gēn miàntiáo
- 一根草 yì gēn cǎo
- 一根头发 yì gēn tóufa
支 zhī
For troops, songs, pens and long thin things
- 一支笔 yì zhī bǐ
- 一支球队 yì zhī qiúduì
- 一支乐队 yì zhī yuèduì
- 一支香 yì zhī xiāng
片 piàn
For slices, tablets, stretches of land, scenes and feelings
- 一片草地 yí piàn cǎodì
- 一片大海 yí piàn dàhǎi
- 一片药片 yí piàn yàopiàn
- 一片茶叶 yí piàn cháyè
把 bǎ
For things with a handle, chairs and handfuls
间 jiān
For rooms
本 běn
For books
- 一本本子 yì běn běnzi
- 一本课本 yì běn kèběn
- 一本书 yì běn shū
- 一本笔记本 yì běn bǐjìběn
What is a measure word?
In Chinese a number can’t go straight before a noun: you say 一本书 (one “volume” of book), not 一书. The word in the middle is the measure word, or classifier. Each noun takes its own, often by its shape: 张 for flat things, 条 for long thin ones, 本 for books.
What if I don’t know the measure word?
个 (gè) works for people and most things, and native speakers use it a lot in speech. The right measure word sounds more natural, and some nouns never take 个.
Where do these come from?
The measure words the CC-CEDICT dictionary gives each word in the HSK 3.0 lists, levels 1 to 6: 1,493 words in all. A word can take several; the first is usually the most common.
Why is 一 said yí here?
一 is said yí before a fourth tone (一个 yí ge, 一件 yí jiàn) and yì before the other tones (一本 yì běn, 一张 yì zhāng).
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Measure words from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0), for the HSK 3.0 word list. Speakers use others too.