Measure word for glutinous rice ball
汤圆 tāng yuán glutinous rice ball HSK 6
一个汤圆 yí gè tāngyuán
个 gè · For people and most things
一颗汤圆 yì kē tāngyuán
颗 kē · For small round things
一碗汤圆 yì wǎn tāngyuán
碗 wǎn · For bowls of food
Also counted with 个
Type a noun in English, pinyin or Chinese.
What is the measure word for glutinous rice ball in Chinese?
Glutinous rice ball is 汤圆 (tāng yuán), and its measure word is 个, 颗 or 碗: one glutinous rice ball is 一个汤圆. The dictionary also gives 颗 (一颗汤圆), 碗 (一碗汤圆).
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.