Grammar · Nouns

Measure words

A number cannot go straight onto a noun. A measure word goes between them.

Number, measure word, noun, in that order, and the same after 这, this, and 那, that. English does it with some nouns: a cup of tea, a sheet of paper. Chinese does it with all of them. 个, gè, is the general measure word and is understood almost everywhere, so use it whenever you do not know the right one.

Examples