Measure word for elephant
大象 dà xiàng elephant HSK 5
一头大象 yì tóu dàxiàng
头 tóu · For cattle, pigs and garlic bulbs
一只大象 yì zhī dàxiàng
只 zhī · For animals, one of a pair, boats and some containers
Also counted with 头
Type a noun in English, pinyin or Chinese.
What is the measure word for elephant in Chinese?
Elephant is 大象 (dà xiàng), and its measure word is 头 or 只: one elephant is 一头大象. The dictionary also gives 只 (一只大象).
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.
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 official HSK word list. Speakers use others too.