{"id":6546,"date":"2015-12-17T03:33:13","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T03:33:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/?p=6546"},"modified":"2022-05-02T12:44:17","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T12:44:17","slug":"4-common-chinese-measure-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/4-common-chinese-measure-words.html","title":{"rendered":"4 Common Chinese Measure Words – \u4e2a\/\u53ea\/\u652f\/\u5934"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Many people have trouble understanding which \u201cmeasure word\u201d they should use in different situations. If you don\u2019t know what a measure word is \u2013 it\u2019s a word that is used in Chinese to specify a certain quantity of a given noun. We also have measure words in English, such as the words in the example below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Slice<\/strong> of Pizza<\/em><\/li>
A Cup<\/strong> of Coffee<\/em><\/li>
Two Pairs<\/strong> of Shoes<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The use of measure words in Chinese has a few key differences, though. First, Chinese has many more words that act as or require measure words. Second, there is no additional linking particle word like there is in English (\u201cof\u201d). What I\u2019ve experienced is that, early on, it was really hard to remember all of the measure words and the proper times to use them. So, instead of taking the time to sit down and learn them all, I fell into the bad habit of using \u4e2a(g\u00e8) every time I needed a measure word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t recommend that you use<\/strong>\u4e2a<\/strong>(g<\/strong>\u00e8<\/strong>) as a universal measure word for two big reasons<\/strong>: 1) It makes you sound like a baby, and people will think you sound uneducated or unnecessarily cutesy. 2) If you take the time to learn the measure words,it will exercise your memory muscles and help you mentally organize your vocabulary into measure word categories. In the long run, this will allow you to retain a larger vocabulary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n