LEARN + CHINESE / 5 of 300 HSK 1
Two Cups, Three Books 个
You’re setting the table: two books go in a stack, three cups of water on the tray. Chinese slips a measure word between each number and noun—两本书, 三杯水. The measure word gives the count its shape, and “two” is usually 两 before it; 二 appears in counting and numbers like 二十.
Examples
我有两本书。
Wǒ yǒu liǎng běn shū.
I have two books.
桌上有三杯水。
Zhuō shàng yǒu sān bēi shuǐ.
There are three cups of water on the table.
这个房间有四个人。
Zhège fángjiān yǒu sì ge rén.
There are four people in this room.
我们家有五口人，桌上还放着两块蛋糕。
Wǒmen jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén, zhuō shàng hái fàngzhe liǎng kuài dàngāo.
There are five people in our family, and two pieces of cake on the table.
Hint · 힌트
Learn a noun with its usual measure word: 本 for books, 杯 for drinks, 间 for rooms, 口 for family members, 块 for pieces, and 页 for pages. 个 is common, especially for people, but it does not replace every measure word.
Vocabulary
| Chinese | English |
|---|---|
yī | one |
èr | two (in counting) |
liǎng | two (before a measure word) |
sān | three |
sì | four |
wǔ | five |
shí | ten |
bàn | half |
běn | measure word for books |
bēi | cup; measure word for drinks |
gè | general measure word |
jiā | measure word for businesses/families |
jiān | measure word for rooms |
kǒu | measure word for family members |
kuài | piece; measure word for chunks |
yè | measure word for pages |
fángjiān | room |
zhuōzi | table |
dàngāo | cake |
shùliàng | quantity |
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