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Mandarin Chinese Grammar for Pimsleur Students NOUNS - Pronouns - Nouns - Proper nouns |
Nouns
Examples
Countable
Nouns that go with the measure word 个 / ge ("unit"/"individual")
| 班机 | bān jī | flight, airplane |
| 儿子 | érzĭ | son |
| 飞机 | fēijī | airplane |
| 飞机场 | fēijīchăng | airport |
| 女儿 | nǚér | daughter |
| 人 | rén | person |
| 太太 | tài tài | wife |
| 先生 | xiānshēng | husband |
| 小孩儿 | xiăo hái'er | child |
| 小时 | xiăoshí | hour |
Nouns that go with the measure word 条 / tiáo ("string")
| 街 | jiē | street |
| 路 | lù | road |
| 蛇 | shé | snake |
Nouns that go with the measure word 家 / jiā ("house"/"family")
| 饭店 | fàn diàn | restaurant |
| 酒店 | jiŭ diàn | hotel |
Nouns that don't require another measure word
| 家里 | jiā lĭ | home, family |
| 家人 | jiā rén | family, household |
| 洗手间 | xĭ shŏu jiān | bathroom |
Not countable
| 茶 | chá | tea |
| 啤酒 | píjĭu | beer |
| 钱 | qián | money |
| 水 | shuĭ | water |
Others
| 东西 | dōngxi | thing, something |
| 晚饭 | wănfàn | dinner |
| 午饭 | wŭfàn | lunch |
Notes
Measure words, or classifiers, are placed before nouns and any modifying adjectives. They are generally based on shape, size, amount, animacy, and/or function. Contrary to what some might believe, which classifier is used with a noun is often not strictly one classifier. As such, one should not liken classifiers to the gendered articles found in many languages such as German or Spanish.
When you do not know which classifier to use, guess 个, as native speakers often default to 个 in daily conversation unless the classifier is obvious.
Generally, people and intangible nouns (like ideas, processes, etc.) take 个. To signal respect to a person's job, that role (e.g. teacher) may take the classifier 位 (wei4).
Animals take 只 (zhi1) by default, but for large animals like cattle (牛) and sheep (羊), 头 ("head") is used. For dogs, either 条 or 只 is used depending on the speaker and region, and if the dog seems long in shape.