Measure words (classifiers)

Structure Number + Measure word + Noun

In Chinese you don’t count "three books" but "three [measure word] books": between the number and the noun there is ALWAYS a measure word (量词). Each noun has its own: 本 for books, 张 for flat things, 杯 for cups/glasses, 只 for small animals… The catch-all, which nearly always works, is 个 (ge). Measure words also follow 这/那 and 几.

Examples

我wǒ想xiǎng喝hē一yī杯bēi水shuǐ。
I want to drink a glass of water.
他tā买mǎi了le三sān个ge苹píng果guǒ。
He bought three apples.
这zhè本běn书shū很hěn好hǎo。
This book is very good.

Levels are indicative: they follow the standard Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning) progression, not an official HSK 3.0 mapping. We never assign levels by eye.

This point and the other 370, with audio on every example, inside Wanyu.