Cantonese classifiers and measure words
In Cantonese you cannot put a number straight in front of a noun. A classifier, also called a measure word, sits in between. Different kinds of nouns take different classifiers, and the same little word on its own can mean the. This guide covers the everyday classifiers you need first.
Why Cantonese needs a classifier
English lets you say one person, three cats, two books with nothing between the number and the noun. Cantonese does not. The pattern is always number, then classifier, then noun. Leaving out the classifier sounds wrong to a native ear in the same way that one of person would sound wrong in English.
The classifier you choose depends on the noun. It is a bit like the way English forces a slice of bread, a sheet of paper, a head of cattle, except Cantonese applies the idea to almost every countable noun, not just a few.
go3 個: the general classifier
go3 個 is the workhorse. When you do not know the right classifier for a noun, go3 is your safest guess, and for many everyday nouns, including people, it is the correct one. Start here.
Classifiers for common kinds of nouns
Beyond go3, a handful of classifiers cover most of what a beginner talks about. Animals, books, flat things, clothing and matters, and cups each have their own.
Each classifier at a glance
| Classifier | Used for | Example noun |
|---|---|---|
| go3 個 | General, plus people and abstract things | jan4 人 (person) |
| zek3 隻 | Animals, and one of a pair | maau1 貓 (cat) |
| bun2 本 | Books and bound volumes | syu1 書 (book) |
| zoeng1 張 | Flat objects like paper, tables, beds, tickets | toi2 枱 (table) |
| gin6 件 | Clothing, and matters or affairs | saam1 衫 (clothing) |
| bui1 杯 | Cups and glasses of a drink | caa4 茶 (tea) |
Use 兩 not 二 before a classifier
The number two has two forms. ji6 二 is the counting and reading form, used for digits, dates, and phone numbers. But when two comes right before a classifier, you must switch to loeng5 兩. So it is loeng5 bun2 syu1 for two books, never ji6 bun2 syu1.
Drop the number and keep just the classifier, and you mark the noun as definite, the way English uses the. go3 hok6 saang1 hou2 lek1 means the student is smart, pointing to one particular student you both have in mind. With a number, jat1 go3 hok6 saang1 means a student or one student. The bare classifier is one of the most useful tricks in spoken Cantonese.
How the inventory differs from Mandarin
If you have studied Mandarin, the idea of classifiers will feel familiar, but the specific words are not always the same. The biggest one to notice early: Mandarin reaches for the general classifier zhi 只 for animals, while Cantonese uses zek3 隻. So a cat is zek3 maau1 in Cantonese, not the Mandarin word. The general Cantonese classifier go3 個 also covers more ground than its Mandarin counterpart, so when in doubt, go3 is a reasonable default.
Common mistakes
Leaving out the classifier
Saying saam1 maau1 for three cats, with no classifier, is wrong. The classifier is not optional. The correct form is saam1 zek3 maau1. Whenever a number or a word like ni1 (this) sits before a noun, a classifier has to go in between.
Using 二 before a classifier
Reaching for ji6 二 when you mean two of something is a classic slip. ji6 is for reading numbers aloud, dates, and phone numbers. Before a classifier the form is loeng5 兩. Two books is loeng5 bun2 syu1, never ji6 bun2 syu1.
Defaulting every noun to 個
go3 個 is a great fallback, but it is not always right. Animals take zek3 隻, books take bun2 本, flat things take zoeng1 張. Saying go3 for a cat or a book is understandable but sounds off. Learn the noun and its classifier together as a pair, the same way you learn a noun and its gender in other languages.
