Editing Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Classifiers-The-Complete-Guide

<div class="pg_page_title">Specifiers (Classifiers) in Chinese: The Complete Guide</div>
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你好 Chinese Learners! 😃

➡ In today's lesson, you will learn how to use the Chinese Specifiers (Classifiers, measure words).

<span link>Consider broadening your understanding by checking out these related lessons:</span> [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/%E6%98%AF...%E7%9A%84|是...的]], [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/How-to-ask-a-question-in-Chinese|How to ask a question in Chinese]], [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Ask-for-directions-in-Chinese|Ask for directions in Chinese]] & [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Basic-structure-of-a-sentence|Basic structure of a sentence]]. 
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Chinese grammar is not very complicated, but still has some important specific rules to know.

One of the essential points of grammar to master is the specifiers, also called classifiers, specifiers or measure words.

Simply put, it is a Chinese character that is inserted between a number and a common name to classify objects, people and animals into different categories.

In this guide, you will learn how to use Chinese nouns correctly.

==What are classifiersin Chinese?==
Classifiers are words that the Chinese insert between numbers and common nouns, as well as between demonstratives and common nouns.

They are used to classify things, animals and people into common categories. Thanks to the classifiers, it is thus much easier to understand Chinese, because you will have an additional clue to understand the meaning of the following word! You will understand its importance in the anecdote that I will tell you a little later in this article.

To make a comparison with other languages, we also use classifiers even if this is not that often. For example, we will say: a pair of glasses, a grain of sand, a packet of rice...

In Chinese, it's exactly the same principle, except that each word has its own classifier.

➡ '''Tip''': to remember the classifier, insert "one unit of" between the number and the name. One unit of book, one unit of apple, one unit of soap. Well sometimes, it will sound a little weird, but you have to get used to it! We will also say in Chinese: "a cat unit" or "a person unit".

==An anecdote on the importance of classifiers==
I will tell you an anecdote that happened to me in China and which proved to me the usefulness of classifiers.

During a Chinese exam, my 老师 (teacher) comes near me and says, "I have a question for you after the exam".

The exam is over, I go to see my teacher, and she says: "Next year, I am going to Belgium and I would like to buy a tree, do you have any advice?". A tree… in Belgium? Why? Did I misunderstand? Maybe she is talking to me about a book… In Chinese, the word "book" is pronounced "shū" and the word "tree" is pronounced "shù".

The tone is different, but with my Western ear, the difference remains quite tenuous. So, I ask her the following question: 你找一本书还是一棵树? (Are you looking for a book or a tree?) To which she replies, laughing 一棵树 (a tree). So I had understood the first time, even if his request was still surprising. The conversation ended there, because I told her that I did not know enough about this subject.

Orally, the classifier allowed me to understand what my teacher was looking for among two totally different things, but which are pronounced almost the same way. Useful, right?

==Why is it important to know about classifiers?==
Classifiers are not only useful in the case of homophones! For a Chinese native, if you forget the classifier, your sentence will most certainly become incomprehensible.

To make matters worse, the Chinese sometimes omit the common noun when speaking, when the situation can be understood thanks to the context and the classifier.

For example, in a restaurant, the waiter will ask you: "几位" (jǐ wèi), which means “how many people?” In this case, it is not necessary to specify that we are talking about people 人 (rén), because the classifier 位 (wèi) is enough.

Another example: In a store, you can simply say 这件 (zhè jiàn) while pointing to the item of clothing you are talking about.

There are many classifiers in Chinese. Luckily, you don't have to memorize them all if you're just starting out. But it will earn you the respect and admiration of your Chinese interlocutor.

==The main classifiers in Chinese==

=== The universal classifier 个(gè) ===
The classifier 个 is normally used for persons. We will say 这个人 or 两个人.

But it can also serve as a joker to make yourself understood if you don't know which is the correct specific in Chinese. It can help beginners in Mandarin, but the goal is not to use only this one. You will have to learn more if you want to reach an intermediate level!

=== List of main classifiers to know ===

{| class="wikitable"
!Chinese
!Pinyin
!Use
|-
|本
|běn
|bound objects, such as books and notebooks
|-
|部
|bù
|movies and novels
|-
|口
|kǒu
|family members
|-
|位
|wèi
|a person that we respect, is used in the restaurant for the number of  people or a teacher
|-
|张
|zhāng
|flat, long objects, such as a bill or ticket
|-
|辆
|liàng
|vehicles, cars
|-
|件
|jiàn
|events, business and clothing
|-
|课
|kè
|classes and lessons
|-
|双
|shuāng
|items that come in pairs, such as socks or shoes
|-
|只
|zhī
|small animals such as dogs, cats or birds.
|}

These are the basic classifiers that I advise you to learn if you are a complete beginner. But there are many more in the following lesson:

https://polyglotclub.com/wiki/Language/Mandarin-chinese/Vocabulary/Measure-words

===The classifier 些===
The classifier 些 (xiē) allows to express an indeterminate quantity of things and can be used with any noun. It could be translated as "a few" or "some" and allows to mark the plural without giving a precise number.

Let's take an example: “那些书很好看” (nàxiē shū hěn hǎokàn) means “these books are interesting”. Since we don't know exactly how many books there are, we use 些 (xiē) instead of 本 (běn).

Be careful, if there is no 那 (nà) or 这 (zhè), you must use the character 一 in front of 些, as in this example: 我买了一些水果。(wǒ mǎile yī xiē shuǐguǒ), which means “I bought fruit”.

===Measure words to know===
Some specifiers are used to define a measurement, such as liters, meters, days, or months. These measurement words are themselves the classifiers.

Here are a few :

{| class="wikitable"
!Chinese
!Pinyin
!Translation
|-
|分
|fēn
|minute
|-
|天
|tiān
|day
|-
|年
|nián
|year
|-
|块
|kuài
|yuan
|-
|毛
|máo
|penny
|-
|克
|kè
|gram
|-
|公里
|gōnglǐ
|kilometer
|}

===Complate list of classifiers===
* Go here to view the complete list: https://polyglotclub.com/wiki/Language/Mandarin-chinese/Vocabulary/Measure-words

==When to use classifiers in a sentence?==
Classifiers are used in 3 different cases. All you have to do is remember these 3 rules to avoid making mistakes!

===After an amount of something===

* 今天我吃了三个苹果。(jīntiān wǒ chīle sān gè píngguǒ.)
➡ Today, I ate 3 apples.

* 我家里有两只猫。 (wǒ jiā li yǒu liǎng zhī māo.)
➡ I have two cats in my house.

===After the demonstrative 这 or 那===

* 我看过这本书。 (wǒ kànguò zhè běn shū.)
➡ I have already read this book.

* 我想买那件衣服。(wǒ xiǎng mǎi nà jiàn yīfú)
➡ I want to buy this garment.

===After the interrogative words 哪 (which one?) or 几 (how many?)===

* 你说的是哪个人? Nǐ shuō de shì nǎge rén
➡ Which person are you talking about?

* 你家里有几只狗 ？Nǐ jiā li yǒu jǐ zhǐ gǒu
➡ How many dogs are there in your home?

==Tips to remember specifications more easily==

===Learn the classifier together with the common name===
If you are learning a new word in Chinese, find out directly which classifier you should use.

For example, instead of learning that pants are said 裤子 (kùzi), remember rather than pants are said 一条裤子 (Yī tiáo kùzi).

It is much easier to learn the classifiers as you go in context than to learn the list all at once.

===Think about all the other common nouns we know that are used with the same classifier===
Now that you have learned the classifier 条 (tiáo) and know that it is used with the noun "trousers", you can think about the other words you know that are also used with this classifier in Chinese.

You will discover that 条 is also used for:
* legs: 两条腿 (liǎng tiáo tuǐ)
* Fish: 一条鱼 (Yī tiáo yú)
* Rivers: 一条河 (Yī tiáo hey)
* Snakes: 一条蛇 (Yī tiáo she)
===Circle the specifics in Chinese texts===
When you read a text, a small book or a magazine in Chinese, circle the classifiers with a pencil. Thus, you will make your long-term memory work by practicing your attention on this specific grammar point.

===Making cards on [https://apps.ankiweb.net/ ANKI] special “classifiers”===
You can create cards on [https://apps.ankiweb.net/ ANKI] to practice classifier memorization. On one side, write the classifier, and on the other side, write the type of object to be classified. You will only have to train for a few minutes a day!

==Other Lessons==
* [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Use-the-verb-去-(qù)|Use the verb 去 (qù)]]
* [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Ask-how-to-do-something-with-怎么-(zěnme)|Ask how to do something with 怎么 (zěnme)]]
* [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Separable-verbs|Separable verbs]]
* [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Be-Polite|Be Polite]]
* [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Plural|Plural]]
* [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/了-le|了 le]]
* [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Adjectives|Adjectives]]
* [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/也-yě|也 yě]]
* [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Talk-about-the-weather|Talk about the weather]]
* [[Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/是...的|是...的]]
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