Measure word finder

Measure word for rain

雨 yǔ rain HSK 1

  • 一场雨 yì chǎng yǔ

    场 chǎng · For sports events, shows and exams

  • 一阵雨 yí zhèn yǔ

    阵 zhèn · For short spells

  • 一滴雨 yì dī yǔ

    滴 dī · For drops

Also counted with 场

Type a noun in English, pinyin or Chinese.

    What is the measure word for rain in Chinese?

    Rain is 雨 (yǔ), and its measure word is 场, 阵 or 滴: one rain is 一场雨. The dictionary also gives 阵 (一阵雨), 滴 (一滴雨).

    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.