Chinese measure words: 个、本、张、支

Original Chinese study material with English explanations. Simplified Chinese with pinyin; beginner, intermediate and advanced are editorial difficulty labels.

Place a classifier between a number or demonstrative and a noun: number + classifier + noun. Common pairings include 一本书 (a book), 一张纸 (a sheet of paper) and 一支笔 (a pen).

我有两本书。

Wǒ yǒu liǎng běn shū.

I have two books.

请给我一支笔。

Qǐng gěi wǒ yì zhī bǐ.

Please give me a pen.

个 is useful but does not replace every classifier. Use 一节课 for a class session and 一篇课文 for a lesson text.

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Complete “three books”: 三___书

1. 张
2. 本
3. 支

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