Chinese Measure Words 9

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Grammar · HSK 6
Grammar Point · HSK 6

5 Measure Words — 串 chuàn, 滴 dī, 枝 zhī, 扇 shàn, 卷 juǎn

Five more measure words at HSK6 level: for strung-together items, drops of liquid, flowers and branches, hinged panels, and rolled-up things.

The pattern is always Number + Measure Word + Noun. Watch out for 枝 zhī on this page — it’s a homophone of 支 zhī (pens, cigarettes, songs), but the two aren’t related.

1 Quick Reference

A cheat sheet before diving into examples.

Word Used For Example Nouns
串 chuàn Strings of things keys, grapes, skewers, lanterns
滴 dī Drops of liquid water, tears, blood, sweat
枝 zhī Flowers and branches roses, twigs, tree limbs
扇 shàn Hinged, flat panels doors, windows
卷 juǎn Rolled-up things tissue paper, film, sushi rolls

2 Usage

串 chuàn — Strings of Things

串 measure word
他tā手上shǒushàng拿ná着zhe一串yíchuàn钥匙yàoshi
He’s holding a bunch of keys in his hand.
妈妈māma买mǎi了le一串yíchuàn葡萄pútáo
Mom bought a bunch of grapes.

滴 dī — Drops of Liquid

滴 measure word
窗外chuāngwài下xià着zhe雨yǔ，一滴一滴地yìdī yìdī de打dǎ在zài窗上chuāngshàng
It’s raining outside, drop by drop hitting the window.
她的tāde眼睛yǎnjīng里lǐ流出liúchū一滴yìdī眼泪yǎnlèi
A tear fell from her eyes.

枝 zhī — Flowers and Branches

枝 measure word
花瓶huāpíng里lǐ插chā着zhe一枝yìzhī玫瑰méiguī
There’s a rose in the vase.
她tā折下zhéxià了le一枝yìzhī梅花méihuā
She broke off a plum blossom branch.
Good to Know

枝 zhī (flowers and branches) and 支 zhī (pens, cigarettes, songs) are perfect homophones with no connection between them. The distinction survives only in writing — 枝 has the tree radical 木, a hint that it’s for things with stems or branches, growing or cut from a plant. In Taiwan, you’ll also see used as the measure word for pens — — where it overlaps with 支 rather than staying separate.

扇 shàn — Hinged, Flat Panels

扇 measure word
房间fángjiān里lǐ有yǒu一扇yíshàn窗chuāng
There’s a window in the room.
请qǐng把bǎ那扇nàshàn门mén关上guānshàng
Please close that door.

卷 juǎn — Rolled-Up Things

卷 measure word
桌上zhuōshàng有yǒu一卷yìjuǎn卫生纸wèishēngzhǐ
There’s a roll of toilet paper on the table.
这卷zhèjuǎn底片dǐpiàn还没háiméi洗出来xǐchūlái
This roll of film hasn’t been developed yet.

3 Practice Quiz

Fill in the blank with the correct measure word.

地上dìshàng有yǒu一yì ＿＿＿ 鞭炮biānpào。

There’s a string of firecrackers on the ground.

一yì ＿＿＿ 血xuè滴dī在zài地上dìshàng。

A drop of blood fell on the floor.

她tā手上shǒushàng拿ná着zhe一yì ＿＿＿ 玫瑰méiguī。

She’s holding a rose in her hand.

请qǐng打开dǎkāi那nà ＿＿＿ 窗chuāng。

Please open that window.

我wǒ买mǎi了le一yì ＿＿＿ 胶带jiāodài。

I bought a roll of tape.

门口ménkǒu挂guà着zhe一yì ＿＿＿ 红灯笼hóngdēnglóng。

A string of red lanterns hangs at the entrance.

汗水hànshuǐ一yì ＿＿＿ 一滴地yìdī de从cóng他tā额头étóu滴下dīxià。

Sweat dripped down his forehead drop by drop.

这个zhège房间fángjiān有yǒu两liǎng ＿＿＿ 门mén。

This room has two doors.

园丁yuándīng修剪xiūjiǎn了le一yì ＿＿＿ 树枝shùzhī。

The gardener trimmed a branch.

这zhè ＿＿＿ 寿司shòusī看起来kànqǐlái很好吃hěnhǎochī。

This roll of sushi looks delicious.

Related Grammar

→All Measure Words

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