Chinese Classifiers: What are they and how to use them

Classifiers are a “measure word” that needs to be used when referring to one or more items in Chinese, and is placed between the number of objects and the object referred to. An example of a classifier is “cups” in the sentence “one cup of coffee”. In English we can avoid using a classifier, so “two coffees” is still correct, however classifiers are almost always needed in Chinese.

Be sure to check out my post where I provide a complete list of Mandarin Chinese classifiers and measure words. This is a searchable and sortable list of classifiers broken down by classifier type.

Introduction to Chinese Classifiers

Let’s look at some more examples in English:

Two pieces of paper
Two cups of coffee
Three loaves of bread
Five slices of bread
Two bottles of milk
Three head of cattle
Ten bundles of wheat
One hundred bales of hay

As you can see, there is no mystery to classifiers, we use them all the time in English, however keep in mind we typically don’t have to, here are some examples of sentences in English without classifiers

A (one) coffee
Two milk
One hundred sheep

So how do you use classifiers in Chinese? Let’s have a look.

The classifier 杯bēi (bēi) means “cup”:

一yīssttrroonngg>>杯bēi//ssttrroonngg>>咖kā啡fēi
yī bēi kāfēi
One cup of coffee

The classifier 瓶píng (píng) means “bottle”:

两liǎngssttrroonngg>>瓶píng//ssttrroonngg>>牛niú奶nǎi
liǎng píng niúnǎi
Two bottles of milk

Finally the classifier 只zhǐ (zhǐ) is the classifier for certain types of animals (but not all animals):

一yī百bǎissttrroonngg>>只zhǐ//ssttrroonngg>>羊yáng
yībǎi zhǐ yáng
One hundred head of sheep

A summary of these sentences comparing the English and Chinese with classifiers is below:

English	Chinese	Pinyin (Pronunciation)	Classifier
One cup of coffee	一yī杯bēi咖kā啡fēi	yībēi kāfēi	杯bēi
Two bottles of milk	两liǎng瓶píng牛niú奶nǎi	liǎng píng niúnǎi	瓶píng
One hundred head of sheep	一yī百bǎi只zhī羊yáng	yībǎi zhǐ yáng	只zhǐ

It is not correct in Chinese to leave out the classifier:

English – Correct (without classifier)	English – also Correct (with classifier)	Chinese – Correct (with classifier)	Chinese – Incorrect (no classifier)
A (one) coffee	One cup of coffee	一yī杯bēi咖kā啡fēi yībēi kāfēi	一yī咖kā啡fēi yībēi kāfēi
Two milk	Two bottles of milk	两liǎng瓶píng牛niú奶nǎi liǎng píng niúnǎi	两liǎng牛niú奶nǎi liǎng píng niúnǎi
One hundred sheep	One hundred head of sheep	一yī百bǎi只zhī羊yáng yībǎi zhǐ yáng	一yī百bǎi羊yáng yībǎi zhǐ yáng

The general classifier: 个gè (gè)

个gè (gè) is a generic classifier that can be used in many situations. Examples of uses of 个gè (gè) are when counting people, for example “five people” 五wǔssttrroonngg>>个gè//ssttrroonngg>>人rén (wǔ gèrén) or “three children” 三sānssttrroonngg>>个gè//ssttrroonngg>>孩hái子zi (sān gè háizi). Other examples of where 个gè (gè) can be used are when about time, for example 两liǎng (liǎng) is the equivalent of the English word “couple” or “both” and is always used instead of 二èr (èr) when referring two of any specific item or people. While 两liǎng只zhī猫māo (liǎng zhī māo)
– “two books” 两liǎng本běn书shū (liǎng běn shū)
– “two cars” 两liǎng辆liàng车chē (liǎng liàng chē); here 辆liàng (liàng) is the classifier for vehicles and is a different character and tone to the word for two 两liǎng (liǎng)

For information on 两liǎng (liǎng), check out my post on how to count in Chinese.

Can I use 个gè (gè) instead of the correct classifier?

In situations where you don’t know the correct classifier, you could substitute 个gè (gè) and the meaning will most probably still be understood by the person you are speaking to. This doesn’t mean using 个gè (gè) is correct, but if you don’t know the correct classifier, it is better than leaving the classifier out completely.

As an example saying 一yī个gè猫māo (yīgè māo) instead of 一yī只zhī猫māo (yī zhǐ māo) is better than leaving out the classifier completely 一yī猫māo

A given classifiers can be used with multiple words

There are less than one hundred classifiers that are commonly used in Chinese. Each classifier can be paired with many different words.

For example 只zhǐ (zhǐ) is the classifier for smaller animals, and can be used to say “one dog”, “a cat”, “five sheep”, “nine rabbits”:
– “one dog” 一yī只zhī狗gǒu (yī zhǐ gǒu)
– “a (one) cat” 一yī只zhī猫māo (yī zhǐ māo)
– “five sheep” 五wǔ只zhī羊yáng (wǔ zhǐ yáng)
– “nine rabbits” 九jiǔ只zhī兔tù子zi (jiǔ zhǐ tùzǐ).

Some words can be paired with more than one classifier

Some words can be paired with multiple classifiers, for example when referring to sheep you use the classifier 只zhǐ (zhǐ) or 头tóu (tóu), both are correct. As we saw previously, 只zhǐ (zhǐ) is the classifier for small animals, while 头tóu (tóu) is the classifier used for livestock, and is roughly equivalent to “head” in English, as used when referring to sheep “one head of sheep”.

Thus both of the following are correct:
– “a sheep” 五wǔ只zhī羊yáng (wǔ zhǐ yáng)
– “one sheep” 五wǔ头tóu羊yáng (wǔ tóu yáng)

Conclusion

The best way to remember which classifier can be paired with each word is through exposure to learning Chinese. I recommend starting off learning the classifiers that are paired with every day words, as these are ones you can use again and again to reinforced your memory. The other way to learn classifiers is to remember their meaning, so classifiers like “cup” 杯bēi (bēi) and “bottle” 瓶píng (píng) can be used in any situation where you are asking for a cup or bottle of something, be it a “cup of coffee” 一yī杯bēi咖kā啡fēi (yībēi kāfēi) or a bottle of beer 一yī瓶píng啤pí酒jiǔ (yī píng píjiǔ).

Remember to take a look at my complete list of Mandarin Chinese classifiers and measure words.