How about the measure words?

Language Learning Chinese
1

Hello.
I noticed in my books, some are always used (for example 件 for clothe or 張 for paint) and some others seem to be non mandatory ( 首 for song, 所 for building) and in these cases of course replaced by the standard measure word.
Is there a general rule?

2

[quote=“emmanuelser”]
Is there a general rule?[/quote]

Yes. If you can remember what it is, use it. If you can’t, use ge.

3

[quote=“emmanuelser”]Hello.
I noticed in my books, some are always used (for example 件 for clothe or 張 for paint) and some others seem to be mandatory ( 首 for song, 所 for building) and in these cases of course replaced by the standard measure word.
Is there a general rule?[/quote]

所 is for institutions, 棟 is for buildings.

The general rule is for anything that comes in thin slices, it’s 張, for example, CD, records, paper. For machinery it’s usually 台, for example TV, toaster. For transportation it’s 輛, for example, scooters, cars, trains. But if I tell you an air plane is 架 and not 輛, you’d see it’s not so general, and you just have to memorize them.

It’s not all that different from a cup of coffee or a piece of paper though.

4

thanks for the replies
i edited my post, of course i meant “not mandatory” for 首 (song) because most of the time in my book they just use the standard measure word for song (ge): hence me wondering if is alright if you always use ‘ge’ when you don’t know the specific measure word. Some are easy to remember (the ones for book, vehicules (like you said hansioux), paint, table, clothe). I guess I have to get used to it :slight_smile:

5

[quote=“emmanuelser”]
i edited my post, of course I meant “not mandatory” for 首 (song) because most of the time in my book they just use the standard measure word for song (ge): hence me wondering if is alright if you always use ‘ge’ when you don’t know the specific measure word. Some are easy to remember (the ones for book, vehicules (like you said hansioux), paint, table, clothe). I guess I have to get used to it :slight_smile:[/quote]

Short answer, yes. It’s not like you have much of a choice. Grammatically speaking though, it’s not alright. You’ll most often be corrected if you don’t use it.

“這個畫很漂亮”
“hmm 這幅畫， 對”

Par for the course.

6

Get it. Thanks :wink:

7

Here are some common use measure words in Chinese:

  1. 个 ɡè
    If you are just starting to learn Chinese, “个” is probably an easy word for you. It is the most commonly used measure word in Chinese and can describe a person or a thing.

  2. 张 zhānɡ
    This measure word is usually encountered in combination with something flat, used with surfaces, and with something horizontal.

3.双 shuānɡ
“双” is usually used for pairs of something. It is equal to “a pair of” in English.

4.件 jiàn
“件” is usually used for any kind of clothing.

5.辆 liànɡ
“辆” can be used for any kind of vehicle with wheels.

  1. 只 zhī
    “只” can be used for some types of animals

You can read more here:
onlinechineselearning.com/re … inese.html

8

Don’t forget ‘匹’! According to Chinese textbooks here (in the US), you’re definitely going to need it. I mean, who studies Mandarin and isn’t a jockey?

9

you need that word in the textile industry also

and you need that character for the word 匹配, which you would use in match making, electrical engineering and many other fields.

10

Where can you find a good “master list” of these?

11

Here’s a (Simplified) list.

I could take my copy of the CC-CEDICT and print a list, but then I was like, “Duck it, why not just search for the word ‘classifier’ on the site proper?”