量词 — Measure words: 个, 本, 口, 杯
Pattern: Number + measure word + noun
Between a number and a noun comes a measure word: 一本书 “a book”, 三口人 “three people (in a family)”, 一杯茶 “a cup of tea”. The most common one is 个. It also follows 这/那: 这个人, 那本书.
Examples
| 1 | 我家有四口人。 wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén There are four people in my family. |
| 2 | 我买了一本书。 wǒ mǎi le yì běn shū I bought a book. |
| 3 | 他喝了两杯茶。 tā hē le liǎng bēi chá He drank two cups of tea. |
| 4 | 我有三个中国朋友。 wǒ yǒu sān gè Zhōngguó péngyou I have three Chinese friends. |
A common mistake
- ✕ Wrong:
我买了一书。→ ✓ Right: 我买了一本书。 - ✕ Wrong:
我有三个人家。→ ✓ Right: 我家有三口人。
Explanations and examples by Zitou. Pinyin added automatically and checked.