Chinese Measure Words 7

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OneDotDot Chinese
Grammar · HSK 5
Grammar Point · HSK 5

8 Measure Words — 册 cè, 朵 duǒ, 届 jiè, 颗 kē, 匹 pǐ, 行 háng, 架 jià, 群 qún

Eight more measure words: for bound books, flowers and clouds, recurring events, small round things, horses and fabric, lines of text, framed machines, and crowds.

The pattern is always Number + Measure Word + Noun. Watch out for 颗 kē on this page — it’s a homophone of 棵 kē (trees and plants), but the two words aren’t related at all.

1 Quick Reference

A cheat sheet before diving into examples.

Word Used For Example Nouns
册 cè Bound volumes book sets, old texts
朵 duǒ Flowers and clouds roses, clouds
届 jiè Sessions or editions of a recurring event Olympics, graduating classes, terms
颗 kē Round things stars, pills, teeth, beads
匹 pǐ Horses and bolts of cloth horses, fabric
行 háng Lines or rows lines of text, rows of trees
架 jià Things with a frame or structure planes, pianos, set of camera
群 qún Groups or crowds people, animals

2 Usage

册 cè — Bound Volumes

冊 measure word
这套zhètào小说xiǎoshuō一共yígòng有yǒu六册liùcè
This novel set has six volumes in total.
图书馆túshūguǎn新进xīnjìn了le一册yícè珍贵zhēnguì的de古书gǔshū
The library acquired a rare old book.

朵 duǒ — Flowers and Clouds

朵 measure word
她tā送sòng了le我wǒ一朵yìduǒ玫瑰花méiguīhuā
She gave me a rose.
天空tiānkōng中zhōng飘piāo着zhe几朵jǐduǒ白云báiyún
A few white clouds float in the sky.

届 jiè — Sessions or Editions of a Recurring Event

屆 measure word
这zhè是shì第三十届dìsānshíjiè奥运会Àoyùnhuì
This is the 30th Olympic Games.
他tā是shì我们wǒmen学校xuéxiào第五届dìwǔjiè的de毕业生bìyèshēng
He’s a graduate from our school’s fifth graduating class.

颗 kē — Small Round Things

顆 measure word
天上tiānshàng有yǒu一颗yìkē星星xīngxīng特别tèbié亮liàng
There’s one star in the sky that’s especially bright.
医生yīshēng叫jiào我wǒ每天měitiān吃chī一颗yìkē药yào
The doctor told me to take one pill a day.
Good to Know

颗 kē (small round things) and 棵 kē (trees and plants) sound exactly the same but have nothing to do with each other — one is for stars, pills, and beads; the other is for anything growing from the ground. Context and the written character are the only way to tell them apart.

匹 pǐ — Horses and Bolts of Cloth

匹 measure word
他tā骑qí着zhe一匹yìpǐ白马báimǎ
He’s riding a white horse.
她tā买mǎi了le一匹yìpǐ布bù做zuò衣服yīfú
She bought a bolt of cloth to make clothes.

行 háng — Lines or Rows

行 measure word
这首zhè shǒu诗shī只有zhǐyǒu四行sìháng
This poem only has four lines.
路lù两旁liǎngpáng种zhòng着zhe一行行yìhángháng的de树shù
Rows of trees are planted along both sides of the road.

架 jià — Things with a Frame or Structure

架 measure word
天空tiānkōng中zhōng飞过fēiguò一架yíjià飞机fēijī
A plane flew across the sky.
房间fángjiān里lǐ有yǒu一架yíjià钢琴gāngqín
There’s a piano in the room.

群 qún — Groups or Crowds

群 measure word
一群yìqún孩子háizi在zài公园gōngyuán里lǐ玩耍wánshuǎ
A group of children are playing in the park.
草原cǎoyuán上shàng有yǒu一群yìqún羊yáng
There’s a flock of sheep on the grassland.

3 Practice Quiz

Fill in the blank with the correct measure word.

我wǒ想xiǎng买mǎi这套zhètào书shū，一共yígòng六liù ＿＿＿。

I want to buy this book set — six volumes in total.

你nǐ看kàn，有yǒu一yì ＿＿＿ 云yún像xiàng兔子tùzi。

Look, there’s a cloud shaped like a rabbit.

这zhè是shì第十dìshí ＿＿＿ 世界杯Shìjièbēi。

This is the 10th World Cup.

我的wǒde鞋子xiézi里lǐ有yǒu一yì ＿＿＿ 小xiǎo石头shítou。

There’s a small stone in my shoe.

农夫nóngfū有yǒu两liǎng ＿＿＿ 马mǎ。

The farmer has two horses.

请qǐng念niàn这段zhèduàn的de第一dìyī ＿＿＿。

Please read the first line of this paragraph.

那边nàbiān有yǒu两liǎng ＿＿＿ 直升机zhíshēngjī。

There are two helicopters over there.

一yì ＿＿＿ 游客yóukè正在zhèngzài拍照pāizhào。

A group of tourists is taking photos.

她tā脸上liǎnshàng有yǒu一yì ＿＿＿ 痣zhì。

She has a mole on her face.

他tā买mǎi了le一yì ＿＿＿ 丝绸sīchóu。

He bought a bolt of silk.

Related Grammar

→All Measure Words

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