2.1 Introduction to Classifiers
🔍 Observe!
Observe the noun phrases below. The highlighted words are a type of words called classifiers.
Where does the classifier appear in each noun phrase?
________Classifiers ( 量詞 loeng6 ci4), or measure words in some books, are a type of words we need to add before a noun in several situations. In this lesson, we will learn the following situations.
Types of Classifiers
We can divide classifiers into two board types: sortal classifiers and measure classifiers.
Sortal Classifiers
Sortal classifiers are assigned to a noun based on the features of the thing which the noun refers to. Some common features are the type, shape or size of the thing.
Sometimes more than one classifier can be assigned to a specific noun. In that case, the classifiers usually have different uses. For example, we can use both 個 go3 and 位 wai2 with nouns referring to people, but their uses are different.
💡 Tips
As a beginner, if you are not sure about the classifier of a noun, you can use the classifier 個 go3. It will usually sound alright.
Measure Classifiers
Measure classifiers give information about the quantity of the thing which the noun refers to. The most common measure classifier is 啲 di1.
Notice when we put 一 jat1 and 啲 di1 together, the meaning becomes ‘some’. We will learn more about this in later lessons.
Some measure classifiers are used with nouns which refer to something with specific features. For example, the measure classifier 班 baan1 is used with people.