As a Chinese learner, you must wonder why there are so many measure words in Chinese. In this post, we will help you find the whys and wherefores.
What are Chinese measure words?
Measure words, also called classifiers, are a very important part of speech in Chinese. They are used to express the quantitative units of people, things or actions. There are two types of measure words in Chinese:
1. Measure words for objects
Measure words for objects are used to indicate the counting unit of people or things, such as 十个人(个) , 一升水(升)，三尺布(尺), etc.
2. Measure words for actions
Measure words for actions are used to indicate the number of actions or the total amount of time they occur, such as, 做一次 (次)，去一回 (回)，走一趟 (趟),
etc.
The Development History of Chinese Measure Words
Chinese measure words first appeared in the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty. Measure words in this period were very basic and simple; they were mainly used for length, capacity, weight, and container measure. In the pre Qin period measure words begun to develop and in the Han Dynasty they further developed. In the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, measure words developed rapidly and extensively. During the Tang Dynasty, measure words flourished. In the Song Dynasty, measure words developed maturely and then gradually became complete in modern Chinese.
Why are so many measure words used in Chinese?
With the continuous growth of people’s cognition of the world, more and more nouns and verbs appear in Chinese. In order to modify the new nouns and verbs, new measure words appear subsequently. On the other hand, to meet people’s needs of expression, measure words are used not only for indicating quantity, but also for other functions.
Functions of Chinese measure words
Besides indicating quantity, Chinese measure words also have the following functions and properties:
1. Depictive
Measure words can show the physical characteristics of the objective things, make a vivid impression on readers and stir their imagination, for example:
一钩残月 (钩) a waning moon;
一弯新月 (弯) a crescent moon;
一轮明月 (轮) a full moon.
“轮“ is associated with the image of “full”, and it represents “complete and perfect” in “一轮圆月”; “弯” vividly expresses the curve of the moon, and it indicates the beauty of the moon in 一弯新月; “钩” depicts the thin part of the moon, which looks like a hook, and it produces a dreary and lonely feeling in 一钩残月.
2. Perceptible
Many things are abstract and conceptual. Measure words can concretize abstract things and turn intangible and imperceptible things into tangible and perceivable things. For example:
一线生机 (线) a slim chance of survival;
一丝希望 (丝) a glimmer of hope;
一缕相思 (缕) a wisp of lovesickness.
Survival, hope and lovesickness are abstract things. You can’t see or touch them. However, the use of the measure words “丝”, “线” and “缕” makes them touchable and perceivable.
3. Variable
The same thing has different shapes and states, in which case, different measure words are used. For example:
一滴水 (滴) a drop of water，一瓶水 (瓶) a bottle of water，一池水 (池) a pool of water，一地水 (地) no literate tranlation
一条绳子 (条) a rope，一根绳子 (根) a rope，一段绳子 (段) a length of rope，一截绳子 (截) a section of rope
一朵云 (朵) ≈ a cloud，一块云 (块) ≈ a cloud，一片云 (片) ≈ a cloud，一团云 (团) ≈ a cloud
4. Rhetorical
Measure words have rhetorical function. The use of measure words can avoid the use of rhetorical devices, making the expression concise and effective, for example:
一口井 (口) a well；
一叶舟 (叶) a boat；
一眼泉 (眼) a spring.
The use of 口, 叶 and 眼 figuratively, vividly and concisely depicts the shapes of the well 井, the boat 舟 and the spring 泉. 井, 舟 and 泉 respectively look like a mouth, a leaf and an eye.
If we don’t use measure words, we have to rewrite the three expressions as:
井像一张口，舟像一片叶子，泉像一只眼睛。
5. Emotional and attitudinal
Through measure words, people can express different emotions and attitudes towards things, derogatory or commendatory.
When you say 一位教授，一位警察，一位朋友, etc, you show respect because “位” is an honorific measure word. You say 一帮坏蛋 a gang of bad guys，一伙窃贼 a band of thieves and 一群流氓 a mob of hooligans; in these cases, you can’t replace “帮”“伙”and “群” with “位” because they are derogatory.
一尊佛像 a statue of a Buddha, 尊 indicates respect and dignity; 一尊雕像 a statue, 尊 indicates respect and solemnity; 一尊大炮 a piece of artillery, 尊 indicates magnitude. If you use 个 or other measure words, the emotional and attitudinal indication will disappear.
From the above examples, you can see Chinese measure words are more than indicating quantity, they carry more functions and properties, and the functions and properties have to do with people’s various needs of expression. That’s why measure words are so abundant in Chinese.
You can also check out our YouTube video for this subject.