Quantities & Measures

Chinese has two words for “two”. 二 (èr) is the digit — counting, phone numbers, ordinals (第二, 二月). 两 (liǎng) means “two of something” and pairs with a measure word (两个, 两点).

Chinese numbers are wonderfully logical: build any number from the digits 一-九 plus the place words 十 (10), 百 (100), 千 (1000). The only tricky bits are 零 (middle zeros) and 二 vs 两.

Chinese puts a measure word (classifier) between a number and a noun — and after 这/那 and 几/多少 too: 三本书 (“three books”), 这只猫 (“this cat”), 几个人 (“how many people”). The noun decides which one — 个 is the safe default; 只 for animals, 条 for long things, 张 for flat things, 本 for books…

只 (zhǐ) means “only” — and it's an adverb, so it goes right before the verb (我只喝水 = “I only drink water”), never next to the noun the way English “only” does.

Chinese gets a new number word every four digits, not three: 万 (10,000) and 亿 (100,000,000). So 12,000 is 一万两千 (“1 wàn, 2 thousand”) and a million is 一百万 (“100 wàn”).

Beyond “how many?”, 几 (jǐ) also means “a few / several” — an uncertain small number, usually under ten. It works like a number: 几 + measure word + noun (几个苹果 = “a few apples”), and scales up as 几十, 几百, 几万.

有的 (yǒude) means “some of [a group]” and usually comes in a contrast: 有的…，有的… (“some…, others…”). 这些苹果有的甜，有的酸 (“some of these apples are sweet, some are sour”). 有的人 = “some people.” Different from 一些, which is just a plain quantity (“some / a few”).

每 (měi) means “every / each,” but it’s not just one word: the full shape is 每 + measure word + noun + 都. 每个人都 (“everyone”), 每本书都 (“every book”). Time words that are already measure words — 天, 年, 周, 次 — take 每 directly: 每天, 每年 (never 每个天).

半 (bàn) means “half,” and the whole trick is WHERE it sits. Before the measure word = “half a …”: 半个小时 (half an hour). After the measure word, with a number = “… and a half”: 一个半小时 (an hour and a half). Time words 天 and 年 take 半 directly — 半天, 半年.

Chinese ordinals are wonderfully regular: just put 第 (dì) in front of the number. 第一 (“first”), 第二 (“second”), 第十 (“tenth”). With a thing, add the measure word as usual: 第一个人 (“the first person”), 第三本书. No irregular “-st / -nd / -rd” to memorise.

什么…都 (shénme…dōu) means “everything” or “anything” — and with a negative, “nothing.” Here 什么 isn’t the question “what”; it’s “any,” and 都 sweeps it: 他什么都吃 (“he eats anything”), 我什么都不知道 (“I know nothing”). The 都 is the key — it makes “any” into “all.”

全 (quán) means “whole / entire / all.” Stick it on a noun for “the whole [X]” — 全家都 (“the whole family”), 全世界都 (“the whole world”) — paired with 都, and never with 的. Or use 全都 before a verb for “all / entirely.” The tricky part is negation: position decides “none” vs “not all.”

To say “one by one” in Chinese you just double up: 一 + Measure Word + 一 + Measure Word, with no word for “by.” 一个一个 means “one by one,” and the same frame shifts meaning with the measure word: a time unit gives “little by little” (一天一天, “day by day”), and a verbal measure word gives “over and over” (一遍又一遍).

Besides “then,” 就 (jiù) often means “only / just,” capping a small quantity. It sits before the subject for “only X” (就他没来, “only he didn’t come”), before the predicate for a small amount (我就去过一次, “I’ve only been once”), and in 就 + Number + Measure + Noun for “only have” (我就一个哥哥, “I only have one brother”).

分之 (fēn zhī) builds every fraction and percentage, and the catch is the order: the denominator (the bottom number) comes first. 三分之一 is “one third,” literally “of three parts, one,” and 四分之三 is “three quarters.” Percentages use the same frame with 百: 百分之五十 is “50%.” Before a noun, add 的: 三分之一的学生 (“a third of the students”).

多 (duō) after a number means the real amount is a bit above it, the “more than / and then some” of English. The frame is Number + 多 + [measure word] (+ noun): 五十多岁 (“over fifty”), 一百多块 (“more than a hundred kuai”), 两千多年 (“over two thousand years”). Where 多 sits matters: 一百多个 is whole units more, while 一个多月 is a fraction of one more.

不到 (bùdào) means “less than / under / not yet,” literally “doesn't reach (the amount).” Subject + 不到 + Number + (Measure Word) + Noun: 我女儿不到三岁 (“my daughter isn't yet three”), 不到一百块 (“less than 100 kuai”). When 不到 sits before a duration and something happened sooner than expected, add 就…了: 他们认识不到两个月就结婚了 (“they married after knowing each other less than two months”).

Just as a noun needs a measure word to be counted, a verb needs one to count how many times it happens: Verb + Number + Measure Word. 看三次 (“watch three times”), 说一遍 (“say once through”), 拍两下 (“pat twice”). The three common ones differ: 次 counts occasions, 遍 counts complete run-throughs, 下 counts quick physical actions. A pronoun object comes before the count: 打了我三下.

所有 means “all of” a (usually large) set of things. It’s a quantifier that sits on the noun: 所有 (+ 的) + Noun. 所有的书 (“all the books”), 所有人 (“everyone”). Make the 所有 phrase the subject and you need 都 before the predicate: 所有人都走了. For “not all,” put 不是 at the front: 不是所有…都.

之一 tacks onto the end of a noun phrase to mean “one of” that (plural) group: Subject + 是 + [Noun Phrase] + 之一. 她是我最好的朋友之一 (“she is one of my best friends”). Very often the phrase is a superlative 最…的, giving “one of the most…”: 最有名的明星之一. 之 is a literary word, but 之一 is everyday spoken Chinese.

另 and 另外 point to the OTHER member(s) of a set you’ve already framed: 另外 + Number + [Measure] + Noun (另外两张票, “the other two tickets”). Use the compact 另 with a singular 一 (另一个 “the other one,” 另一半 “the other half”). The classic pair is 一…另一… (“one…, the other…”). No 的 after 另外 / 另.

有的是 (yǒudeshì) is an emphatic idiom for “have plenty of / no shortage of”: Subject + 有的是 + Noun. 他有的是钱 (“he’s got money to spare”), 我们有的是时间 (“we’ve got loads of time”). It often carries a boastful or reassuring, sometimes exaggerating tone. Two things to know: it’s a frozen unit (not 有的 “some” + 是), and it has no negative form, so for “not much” you switch to 没有很多.

其中 (qízhōng) means “among them / of which / of it,” and it points BACK to a group you've already named: [group]，其中 + subset (我买了五本书，其中三本是小说, “I bought five books; three of them are novels”). Pair it with a number or 之一 for “one of them” (其中一个 / 其中之一), add 的 for “the … of it” (其中的辛苦). Keep it apart from 当中, which attaches straight to a fresh group noun (朋友当中) and can mark a process; 其中 does neither.