liàng cí
量词
de
xíng zhuàng
形状
mì mǎ
密码
The Shape Codes of Measure Words
tàn tǎo探讨zhōng wén中文liàng cí量词rú hé如何gēn jù根据wù tǐ物体xíng zhuàng形状tè zhēng特征láijīng què精确biǎo dá表达fēn lèi分类

Exploring how Chinese measure words classify and describe objects based on their shapes and features.

小潘
liúlǎo shī老师zàixiězuò yè作业shífā xiàn发现yí gè一个wèn tí问题wèi shén me为什么zhōng wén中文shuō'yī tiáo一条''yī zhāng一张zhǐ'bù néng不能zhí jiē直接shuō'''zhǐ'ne

Teacher Liu, I noticed a problem when doing my homework. Why does Chinese say '一条鱼' or '一张纸' instead of just '一鱼' or '一纸'?

刘娜
zhèjiù shì就是zhōng wén中文deliàng cí量词xì tǒng系统ràngwǒ men我们debiǎo dá表达gèngjīng què精确gèngxíng xiàng形象bǐ rú比如'tiáo'yòng yú用于zhǎngtiáo xíng条形dedōng xī东西shìzhǎngtiáo xíng条形desuǒ yǐ所以shuō'tiáo'

That’s the Chinese measure word system! It makes our expressions more precise and vivid. For example, '条' is used for long, narrow things. A fish is long, so we say '一条鱼'.

小潘
ómíng bái明白le'zhāng'shì bú shì是不是yòng yú用于píngdedōng xī东西zhǐshìpíngdesuǒ yǐ所以shuō'yī zhāng一张zhǐ'

Oh, I see! So '张' is for flat things? Paper is flat, so we say '一张纸'?

刘娜
wán quán完全zhèng què正确hěncōng míng聪明'zhāng'què shí确实yòng yú用于biǎn píng扁平dedōng xī东西bǐ rú比如'yī zhāng一张zhuō zi桌子''yī zhāng一张chuáng''yī zhāng一张zhào piān照片'liàng cí量词qí shí其实shìgēn jù根据wù tǐ物体dexíng zhuàng形状tè zhēng特征láixuǎn zé选择de

Exactly! You’re very smart. '张' is indeed used for flat objects, like '一张桌子', '一张床', or '一张照片'. Measure words are chosen according to an object’s shape and features.

小潘
tàiyǒu yì si有意思le''netīng shuō听说'yī bǎ一把yǐ zi椅子''yī bǎ一把sǎn'

That’s so interesting! What about '把'? I’ve heard '一把椅子' and '一把伞'.

刘娜
''yòng yú用于kě yǐ可以zhuādedōng xī东西yǐ zi椅子yǒufú shǒu扶手kě yǐ可以zhuāsǎnyǒubǎ shǒu把手suǒ yǐ所以yòng''hái yǒu还有yǒu qù有趣deyòng fǎ用法'yī bǎ nián jì一把年纪'biǎo shì表示nián jì年纪hěnle

'把' is used for things you can grasp. A chair has arms you can hold, and an umbrella has a handle, so we use '把'. There’s also a fun usage: '一把年纪', meaning someone is already quite old.

小潘
waliánnián jì年纪néngyòng''zhōng wén中文zhēn shì真是chōng mǎn充满zhì huì智慧xiǎngzhè xiē这些liàng cí量词yí dìng一定fǎn yìng反映lezhōng guó中国rénguān chá观察shì jiè世界defāng shì方式

Wow, even age can use '把'! Chinese is really full of wisdom. I guess measure words reflect how Chinese people observe the world.

刘娜
delǐ jiě理解hěnshēn kè深刻liàng cí量词què shí确实tǐ xiàn体现lezhōng huá中华wén huà文化duìshì wù事物fēn lèi分类dedú tè独特sī wéi思维zhǎng wò掌握liàng cí量词jiùzhǎng wò掌握lezhōng wén中文biǎo dá表达dejīng suǐ精髓

Your understanding is very deep! Measure words indeed embody the unique way Chinese culture classifies things. Mastering them means mastering the essence of Chinese expression.