Chinese measure word picker. Suggests the right 量词 for any noun (一本书 / 一只猫 / 一双鞋 / 一辆车...). 70+ common nouns across 9 categories. Essential for Chinese learners.
Chinese Measure Word Picker (量词选择器)
How to use
Enter noun
Chinese (书, 狗, 鱼) or English (book, dog, fish) — both work.
See the main measure word
Each noun has 1 primary measure word + 0-2 alternatives.
Read the example
Each entry has a "一 + measure word + noun" example — copy directly.
Read the notes
Notes flag formal vs casual and contextual differences (e.g. 位 honorific vs 个 general).
Measure words (量词) — Chinese\'s grammatical challenge
The measure word (量词, also "classifier") is one of Chinese\'s most distinctive grammatical features. Every noun paired with a number requires one: you cannot say "一书" (one book) or "三猫" (three cats) — you must say "一本书" and "三只猫". Chinese has 200+ measure words; English has just "some / a piece of / a slice of".
5 logical groupings
(1) Shape: 张 (flat), 条 (long), 根 (thin), 片 (slice), 块 (chunk). (2) Function: 本 (bound books), 辆 (wheeled vehicles), 艘 (ships), 架 (aircraft). (3) Containers: 杯, 碗, 瓶, 桶. (4) Groups: 双 (pair), 对 (couple), 副 (set), 套 (suit). (5) Action units: 次, 回, 趟, 遍.
"「个」 (gè) is the universal default. When you don\'t know which measure word to use, 个 is never wrong (but feels clunky). 位 is more respectful, 张 is more precise, 本 is specifically for books."
Common mistakes
(1) "一只老师" (should be 一位老师 — 只 is for animals!). (2) "一个鱼" (should be 一条鱼 — fish are long). (3) 一杯 vs 一瓶啤酒 (cup of beer vs bottle of beer — different containers, different meaning). (4) 一双 vs 一只鞋 (a pair vs a single shoe).
This tool\'s scope
~70 most common nouns across 9 categories. The deceptively simple "个" hides rich Chinese logic — master measure words and your Chinese will sound 50% more natural.
10 facts about Chinese measure words
Chinese has 200+ measure words; English has just a handful (some, a piece of).
「个」 (gè) is the universal fallback — always grammatically OK but often unnatural.
「位」 (wèi) is the honorific measure word: 一位老师 (teacher), 一位客人 (guest). Using 个 would feel disrespectful.
Animal measure words distinguish size: 头 (large), 只 (medium), 条 (long-bodied), 匹 (horses only).
「双」 vs 「对」: 双 (symmetric pair, e.g. shoes), 对 (equivalent pair, e.g. couples).
「本」 (books) derives from bamboo strips tied into bundles — the physical form of ancient books.
「辆」 vs 「列」: 辆 (cars, bikes — wheeled), 列 (trains — because of multiple connected cars).
「家」 = measure word for commercial establishments (一家公司, 一家医院) — unrelated to "family".
「枚」 (méi) was widely used in classical Chinese; modern usage limited to small valuables like medals, stamps, rings.
SG + MY Chinese in casual speech often default to 「个」 for everything (which sounds odd to mainlanders) — textbook measure words remain the standard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use 「个」 (gè). Except for a few cases (teachers must use 位), 个 is always grammatically correct — just sounds slightly unnatural.
位 = respectful (teachers, guests, elders, doctors). 个 = neutral/equal (friends, colleagues, children). Don't use 位 for negative/derogatory referents (e.g. 一个流氓 = one thug, never 一位流氓).
~70 most common nouns across 9 categories (people, animals, objects, abstract, vehicles, buildings, etc.).
Yes. Cantonese, Hokkien etc. have slight variations (e.g. Cantonese uses 张 more widely). This tool uses the Mandarin standard.
Different containers: 杯 (glass, 300ml), 瓶 (bottle, 500-660ml), 罐 (can, 330ml). When ordering you must specify the container.
(1) By shape (张 flat, 条 long); (2) By common noun pairing (本=books, 辆=vehicles, 张=paper); (3) Lots of listening + reading to build instinct. This tool is for quick lookup.
For action counts: 看一次 (look once), 来一趟 (come once), 读一遍 (read through once), 试一下 (give it a try). Parallel system to noun measure words.
Yes — submit via the RECATOOLS feedback channel. Periodic updates.
Modern Chinese Dictionary (7th ed.) + Commercial Press Measure Word Dictionary. All data publicly available.
Yes. All RECATOOLS tools are 100% free, ad-supported.
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