Verbal Measure Word 4

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Grammar · HSK 6
Grammar Point · HSK 6

Verbal Measure Words 4 — 番 fān

Unlike the other verbal measure words you’ve seen, 番 fān doesn’t count how many times something happened — it marks an effort, an event, or a quality as substantial and deliberate.

The pattern is (Verb +) 一番 + Abstract Noun. 番 fān only pairs with a handful of abstract nouns — 功夫 (effort), 话 (words), 心血 (painstaking care), 风味 (flavor/character), 思考 (thought) — and signals that the effort or quality is real and substantial, not casual.

1 Usage

番 fān — Substantial Effort, Speech, or Quality

番 fān measure word
他tā费fèi了le一番yìfān功夫gōngfū才cái把bǎ问题wèntí解决jiějué
He put in considerable effort to solve the problem.
妈妈māma语重心长地yǔzhòngxīncháng de说shuō了le一番yìfān话huà
Mom gave a heartfelt talk in earnest words.
经过jīngguò一番yìfān思考sīkǎo，他tā终于zhōngyú做出zuòchū决定juédìng
After some serious thought, he finally made a decision.
这里zhèlǐ别有biéyǒu一番yìfān风味fēngwèi
This place has a unique character all its own.
Good to Know

番 fān and 些 xiē can both loosely translate as “some,” but they’re not interchangeable. 些 xiē is a neutral, vague quantity that pairs freely with almost any noun. 番 fān is much more restricted — it only attaches to a small set of abstract nouns like 功夫, 話, 心血, and 風味 — and always implies the effort, speech, or quality involved was substantial and deliberate, never casual or minor.

2 Practice Quiz

Fill in the blank with the correct measure word.

他tā下xià了le一yì ＿＿＿ 功夫gōngfū学xué中文zhōngwén。

He worked hard to learn Chinese.

老师lǎoshī语重心长地yǔzhòngxīncháng de跟gēn学生xuéshēng说shuō了le一yì ＿＿＿ 话huà。

The teacher gave the students a serious talking-to.

经过jīngguò一yì ＿＿＿ 考虑kǎolǜ，她tā改变gǎibiàn了le主意zhǔyì。

After some deliberation, she changed her mind.

这家zhè jiā餐厅cāntīng有yǒu一yì ＿＿＿ 独特dútè的de风味fēngwèi。

This restaurant has its own unique flavor.

他tā为wèi这个zhège计划jìhuà费fèi了le一yì ＿＿＿ 心血xīnxuè。

He put a lot of heart and effort into this project.

这个zhège小镇xiǎozhèn别有biéyǒu一yì ＿＿＿ 风情fēngqíng。

This small town has its own charm.

经过jīngguò一yì ＿＿＿ 争吵zhēngchǎo，他们tāmen终于zhōngyú和好héhǎo了le。

After a good argument, they finally reconciled.

老教授lǎo jiàoshòu跟gēn毕业生bìyèshēng说shuō了le一yì ＿＿＿ 语重心长yǔzhòngxīncháng的de话huà。

The old professor shared some heartfelt words with the graduates.

我们wǒmen经过jīngguò一yì ＿＿＿ 奋斗fèndòu才cái终于zhōngyú到达dàodá山顶shāndǐng。

We had a real struggle before finally reaching the summit.

这幅zhè fú画huà别有biéyǒu一yì ＿＿＿ 艺术yìshù风格fēnggé。

This painting has a unique artistic style.

Related Grammar

→All Measure Words

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