As mentioned in the main note on Measure Word there are just simply too many to list them all in a single place, so instead of shoehorning the items in all some of places within the page, I’m going to list them all here (some of these are also featured in the main note) all in one place with their meanings and examples.
Measure words for both tiers
| Measure Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| People (casually) | 一個 a student | |
| ^^ | Containers | 一個盒 a box |
| ^^ | Medium-size things | 一個 an orange |
| ^^ | Abstract, non-tangible things | 一個 a question |
| Age | 十歲 ten-year-old child | |
| Year | 一年 One year of study abroad | |
| Day | 一天 One day trip | |
| Birds and land animals | 一隻 a chicken | |
| ^^ | One of the pair | 一隻 a shoe |
| ^^ | Boats & Ships | 一隻 a cruise ship |
| Books | 一本 a novel | |
| Mouthful / bitful | 一口 a mouthful of rice |
Additional ones for the higher tier
| Measure Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Long & narrow (things & animals) | 一條 a goldfish 一條 a pair of trousers | |
| Family | 一家人 A family of people | |
| Actions | 一次 sports once | |
| Some things (generic), or some unknown / uncountable amount. | 一些 some homework | |
| Some things - this is the speech/informal equivalent of 些 above. | 一啲 a group of friends | |
| Cup (includes mug & glass etc.) | 一杯 a mug of hot chocolate | |
| Flat surfaces / things | 一張 a table 一張 a sheet of paper |
Footnotes
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As these are units of time these two can be used on their own to denote duration of time (一歲 for one year old, 一年 for one year and 一天 for one day) - this is not possible for the others on the list unless prior context has already been established. ↩ ↩2 ↩3
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This one technically isn’t in the GCSE spec but it would be useful to know at least for the speaking exam, right? ↩