What are some of the most troublesome issues you have ever encountered while learning Chinese? The use of measure words would probably be on the list, if not on the top. You are not alone, using measure words correctly can be a challenge for many Mandarin Learners, especially those whose native languages do not frequently use measure words, for example, English. But don’t worry we are here to help you so you don’t have to just rely on 一个 (yígè, a), 这个 (zhègè, this).
What makes measure words a challenge to you? The most common reason that makes measure words a difficult part for Chinese learners is that they are not commonly used in English, as well as in many other languages. In most occasions, you can just say a burger or fries rather than “a + (measure word) + burger” and “a box of fries”. Yet, in Chinese, you must always use a measure word when saying a noun including the amount of the item as well, that’s to say, you always need to find the right measure word and put it between the number and the noun.
For example: 一棵树 (yìkē shù, a tree)
两条鱼 (liǎngtiáo yú, two fishes) 三只鸟 (sānzhī niǎo, three birds) …
Notice how the measure words are in the middle. Well, perhaps it wouldn’t be that hard if one measure word could be used with a lot of different nouns. Unfortunately, life isn’t always easy and well… that is just not the case. There are in total around 150 measure words that we in use in modern Chinese, which makes it quite a task to memorize all of them. Although there does exist an “all-around” measure word, which I will introduce to you later, when your proficiency level increases, you will feel the urgency to use more measure words as this will make you sound more like a native speaker! Of course, you will also be required to choose the right ones during tests. So don’t avoid learning them just because it’s hard and a hassle.
So, how to learn measure words effectively?
For kids, teachers often avoid purposely emphasizing and solely focusing on the use of measure words. Instead, they make it a natural part of speech whenever kids speak in Chinese. However, for older learners, the best way to master the measure words is to memorize them with the help of example sentences (so you know how to use it) and then practice their usage in real-life scenarios.
For learners at beginner or intermediate level, I would recommend to first memorize the most commonly used measure words and their uses. You need to spare some effort for this as there really isn’t a shortcut. Remember that practice makes perfect. As you learn more Chinese, you will get the chance to know more measure words and will find out some patterns that can help you to use these words. Many measure words can cover a group of nouns. For example, insects like ant, dragonfly, and caterpillar can all go with the measure word 只 (zhī). Also, many measure words have a meaning that covers a certain feature of the group of nouns that go with it. Like the word “条”, which is used with snake, rope, and cucumber. Guess what does it mean? Can you see a pattern between these three things? Yes, they are all long and rope-like. So 条 (tiáo) means “long and thin”.