Measure word finder

Measure word for high-speed rail

高铁 gāo tiě high-speed rail HSK 3

  • 一趟高铁 yí tàng gāotiě

    趟 tàng · For trips or runs

  • 一列高铁 yí liè gāotiě

    列 liè · For trains and series

Type a noun in English, pinyin or Chinese.

    What is the measure word for high-speed rail in Chinese?

    High-speed rail is 高铁 (gāo tiě), and its measure word is 趟 or 列: one high-speed rail is 一趟高铁. The dictionary also gives 列 (一列高铁).

    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.