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Measure words are very important in Chinese grammar as they are needed before every noun. There are more than a hundred Mandarin Chinese measure words, and the only way to learn them is by memorizing them. Whenever you learn a new noun, you should also learn its measure word. Here is a list of the most commonly used measure words in Chinese to kick start your growing vocabulary.

Chinese Measure Words – The Structure
Measure words are always used (at least implicitly) with a number. The structure always looks like this:
Number  +   Measure Word  + Noun
For example, to say “one apple” or “an apple” you will say: 一个苹果.
一 is the number
个 is the measure word
苹果 is the noun
Two apples? 两个苹果。Three apples? 三个苹果.
Your turn: How can I say “Five apples?” No matter what your number, the measure word will never change.  

There are hundreds of Chinese classifiers and measure words. The Chinese language has a variety of measure words for various objects and concepts, based on the noun’s shape, characteristic, container, or common use. There are different quantifiers for different types of words. For instance, there are five measure words to classify people:

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In terms of measure words, the main difference between English and Chinese is that Chinese requires a measure word for most objects. In English, one can say “two books”. In Chinese, we do not say “两书”, but “两本书”.  (本 is a measure word for book 书)
However, when a noun is not counted or introduces with “this” or “that”,  a measure word is not necessary. e.g. : We do not say “我的本书”, but “我的书”.
Most nouns have one or more particular measure words associated with them. The usage depends on personal preference and dialects. e.g:
For car, some people use 那辆车 and others may use 那部车 or  那台车 to mean three cars.
There is a general measure word 个 which can be used when the actual measure word is not known. It is frequently used for many types of things (such as apples, bread, and light bulbs).  In informal and spoken language, native speakers tend to use this measure word far more than any other, even though they know which measure word is “correct” when asked.
There are more than a hundred Chinese measure words. Here are some of the common measure words that we have learnt so far:
个 间 件 张 位 条 本
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Measure WordPinyin Main Uses Example 1个gè
individual things, people, catch-all measure word (usage of this measure word in conjunction with any noun is generally accepted if the person does not know the proper classifier)一个人 (person)
两个哥哥 (elder brother)
那个学生 (student)
十个亲戚 (relative)
一个想法 (thinking)
一个建议(suggestion)
这个问题 (question)
一个国家 (nation)

2间jiān
rooms, spaces一间房间 (room)
十间宿舍(dorm)
那间卧室 (bedroom)
一间厨房(kitchen)
两间教室 (classroom)
三间房子 (house)
一间学校 (school)
一间公司 (company)
两间教堂 (chapel)

3件jiàn
matters (affairs), clothing (tops), furniture 一件衣服 (clothing (top))
三件内衣 (undershirt)
两件衬衫 (shirt)
这件大衣 (coat)
一件床单 (bed sheet)
一件行李 (luggage)
那件礼物 (present)
两件事 (matter/thing) 

    This shirt (这件衬衫 – zhè jiàn chèn shān)
    One matter/thing/problem (一件事 – yī jiàn shì)
    Three gifts (三件礼物 – sān jiàn lǐ wù)


4张zhāng
“sheet” — flat or paper objects两张纸 (paper)
那张桌子 (table)
三张床 (bed)
五张卡 (card)
两张沙发 (sofa)
一张光碟 (CD/DVD)
十张照片 (photograph)
两张票 (ticket)
三张图画 (painting)
一张脸 (face)
一张嘴 (mouth) 

    One soft sleeper ticket (一张硬卧票 – yī zhāng yìng wò piào)
    Three tables (三张桌子 – sān zhāng zhuō zi)
    Five bus tickets (五张车票 – wǔ zhāng chē piào)


5位wèi
polite, respectful classifier for people三位老师 (teacher)
一位顾客 (customer)
两位同事 (colleague)

6条tiáo
long, narrow, flexible objects三条鱼 (fish)
两条蛇 (snake)
一条龙 (dragon)
三条虫 (worm)
五条狗 (dog)
这条路 (road)
一条河 (river)
四条线 (stem)
一条绳 (rope)
那条毛巾 towel
一条裤子 (pants)
两条领带 (necktie)
那条裙子 (skirt)
一条好汉 (heroic person)
一条船 (a boat)  

    Ten fish (十条鱼 – shí tiáo yú)
    This river (这条河 – zhè tiáo hé)
    Two pairs of pants (两条裤子 – liǎng tiáo kù zi)


7本běn
“volume” — bound print matter一本书 (book)
八本杂志 (magazine)
九本小说 (novel)
这本经文 (scripture)
那本字典 (dictionary)
三本笔记本 (notepad)
两本课本 (textbook)

    This newspaper (这本报纸 – zhè běn bào zhǐ)
    Ten books (十本书 – shí běn shū)
    One magazine (一本杂志 – yī běn zá zhì)
 

瓶 – píng; 杯 – bēi

We’re going to put these two measure words together and relate them to the last example, as these are both very handy in a bar/restaurant. The first (瓶) means “bottle,” and the second (杯) means “glass.” This way you can distinguish between “a bottle of beer” and “a glass of wine.”

    A bottle of beer (一瓶啤酒 – yī píng pí jiǔ)
    A glass of red wine (一杯红酒 – yī bēi hóng jiǔ)
    That bottle of water (那瓶水 – nà píng shuǐ)

家 – jiā

This is a very versatile Chinese character – it can mean “home” or “family,” and it can also be used as a measure word. In this context, it is attached to gatherings of people, or establishments (shops, restaurants, etc.) Let’s see how it’s used:

    This company (这家公司 – zhè jiā gōng sī)
    Four restaurants (四家饭店 – sì jiā fàn diàn)
    A bar (一家酒吧 – yī jiā jiǔ bā)

辆 – liàng

This measure word is used for vehicles with wheels, but not trains. You can use it to talk about cars, bikes, and the like, though. Let’s see it in action:

    Three bicycles (三辆自行车 – sān liàng zì xíng chē)
    Five cars (五辆车 – wǔ liàng chē)
    This electric bikes (这辆电动车 – zhè liàng diàn dòng chē)

双 – shuāng

As mentioned above, this is the Chinese equivalent of “pair” in English. Here are a few examples:

    A pair of chopsticks (一双筷子 – yī shuāng kuài zi)
    That pair of shoes (那双鞋 – nà shuāng xié)
    Two pairs of gloves (两双手套 – liǎng shuāng shǒu tào)

只 – zhī

If 个 is the go-to measure word for people, then 只 is used for animals. Strangely enough, it’s also used for arms, hands, legs, and feet – body parts that come in pairs. Here’s this common measure word in action:

    This dog (这只狗 – zhè zhī gǒu)
    Two hands (两只手 – liǎng zhī shǒu)
    Five cats (五只猫 – wǔ zhī māo)

碗 - wǎn
    一碗米饭
    yī wǎn mǐfàn
    a bowl of rice

Example 2:

    两碗面条
    liǎng wǎn miàntiáo