In Chinese you cannot say "one book" — you need a measure word between the number and the noun: 一本書. Here are the ones you will meet every day.
| Measure word | Pinyin | Used for | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 個 | gè | general measure word | 一個人 | one person |
| 位 | wèi | polite for people | 一位老師 | a teacher (polite) |
| 只 | zhī | animals, one of a pair | 一隻貓 | a cat |
| 本 | běn | books, notebooks | 一本書 | a book |
| 張 | zhāng | flat things: paper, table | 一張紙 | a sheet of paper |
| 條 | tiáo | long things: road, fish, pants | 一條路 | a road |
| 件 | jiàn | clothes, matters | 一件衣服 | a piece of clothing |
| 雙 | shuāng | pairs | 一雙鞋 | a pair of shoes |
| 杯 | bēi | cups, glasses | 一杯水 | a glass of water |
| 瓶 | píng | bottles | 一瓶水 | a bottle of water |
| 碗 | wǎn | bowls | 一碗飯 | a bowl of rice |
| 塊 | kuài | pieces, lumps; yuan (colloquial) | 一塊蛋糕 | a piece of cake |
| 元 | yuán | yuan (money) | 十元 | ten yuan |
| 斤 | jīn | half a kilo | 一斤蘋果 | half a kilo of apples |
| 次 | cì | times (occurrences) | 一次 | once |
| 遍 | biàn | times (through, start to end) | 一遍 | one time through |
| 趟 | tàng | trips, runs | 一趟車 | one bus trip |
| 場 | chǎng | events, games, films | 一場比賽 | a match |
| 部 | bù | films, machines, works | 一部電影 | a movie |
| 臺 | tái | machines: computer, TV | 一臺電腦 | a computer |
| 輛 | liàng | vehicles | 一輛車 | a car |
| 架 | jià | aircraft, pianos | 一架飛機 | an airplane |
| 棵 | kē | trees, plants | 一棵樹 | a tree |
| 朵 | duǒ | flowers, clouds | 一朵花 | a flower |
| 匹 | pǐ | horses, cloth | 一匹馬 | a horse |
| 頭 | tóu | cattle, pigs | 一頭牛 | a cow |
個 (gè) is the default: if you are not sure which measure word to use, 個 is almost always understood.
Numbers plus measure words are the fastest way to practise tones — 一本, 兩本, 三本 …