Chinese Measure Words III – For Animals

• To recap:
  A measure word 量词 ((liàng cí), also known as a classifier, is used along with numerals to define the quantity of a given object or with words such as "this" and "that" to identify specific objects. e.g.:
  一张纸  。(a piece of paper)
  那张纸。(that paper)
  那一张纸。(that piece of paper)
• 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.
• Today we are going to learn the most obvious use of measure words for animals : 头 条 只 匹 群

	Measure Word	Pinyin	Main Uses	Example
1	头	tóu[Audio clip: view full post to listen]	used for something with big head or something stupid	一头牛 (cow) 那头猪 (pig) 一头驴 (donkey)
2	条	tiáo[Audio clip: view full post to listen]	used for something with long figure	三条鱼 (fish) 两条蛇 (snake) 一条龙 (dragon) 三条虫 (worm) 五条狗 (dog)
3	只	zhī [Audio clip: view full post to listen]	used for most of the animals	一只老虎 (tiger) 那只蜘蛛 (spider)
4	匹	pǐ[Audio clip: view full post to listen]	used for horse or camel	一匹马 (horse) 几匹骡子(mule)
5	群	qún[Audio clip: view full post to listen]	used to a group of beings	一群羊 (sheep)

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