量词【liàngcí】

Counting a noun in Chinese takes three parts: the number, a measure word, then the noun.

The measure word is not optional and it is not chosen freely. Each noun has one that belongs to it, in the way English "a loaf of bread" and "a slice of bread" are fixed.

The ones to learn first

• 个 – people and anything with no measure word of its own: 一个人
• 本 – bound volumes: 一本书, 一本词典
• 张 – flat things: 一张纸, 一张桌子, 一张照片
• 支 – long thin things: 一支笔
• 杯 – cupfuls: 一杯茶
• 件 – clothes and abstract items: 一件衣服, 一件事
• 位 – people, politely: 一位老师
• 口 – people in a household: 五口人

Not just after numbers

这, 那, 哪 and 几 all need one too.

Guessing 个 has a cost

个 covers a lot, but 一个书 and 一个纸 are wrong, and the mistake is immediately audible. Learn the measure word with the noun rather than after it.

The noun can drop

Once it is clear what you are talking about, the noun disappears and the measure word carries it.

两 before a measure word

"Two" is 两, not 二: 两本书, 两个人, 两杯咖啡.