27.2 Classifiers for Food and Drinks I (Food Containers)

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Container Classifiers

We can use container classifiers with nouns for food. Container classifiers are a group of measure classifiers. They indicate the quantity of the food based on its container (e.g., bowl, plate).

Classifier	Meaning / Use	Example
碗 wun2	bowl	一碗飯 jat1 wun2 faan6 a bowl of rice
碟 dip6	plate	一碟菜 jat1 dip6 coi3 a plate of vegetables
兜 dau1	bowl-like container (usually larger and for serving food without soup)	一兜沙律 jat1 dau1 saa1 leot2 a bowl of salad
煲 bou1	pot	一煲雞煲 jat1 bou1 gai1 bou1 a pot of chicken pot
窩 wo1	pot (usually larger and for serving congee or soup)	一窩粥 jat1 wo1 zuk1 a pot of congee
盅 zung1	pot (usually smaller, with lid and for serving soup or food prepared by stewing or steaming)	一盅湯 jat1 zung1 tong1 a pot of soup
籠 lung4	steamer (usually for dim sum served in a bamboo steamer)	一籠燒賣 jat1 lung4 siu1 maai2 a steamer of siu mai

Other Classifiers

When referring to a dish, we can generally put the classifier 個 go3 before the dish name.

一個咕嚕肉
jat1 go3 gu1 lou1 juk6
a Sweet and Sour Pork

一個涼瓜炒蛋
jat1 go3 loeng4 gwaa1 caau2 daan2
a Scrambled Eggs with Bitter Melon

We can also use 個 go3 with a specific type of dish.

一個粥
jat1 go3 zuk1
a congee [a congee item on the menu]

一個菜
jat1 go3 coi3
a vegetable [a vegetable item on the menu]

When indicating the number of dishes, we often use the noun 嘢 je5 (‘thing’) to mean ‘dish’. We use the classifier 樣 joeng6 with 嘢 je5.

A:	我哋而家揀咗幾多樣嘢呀？ ngo5 dei6 ji4 gaa1 gaan2 zo2 gei2 do1 joeng6 je5 aa3? How many things we have chosen now?
B:	而家揀咗三樣嘢。 ji4 gaa1 gaan2 zo2 saam1 joeng6 je5. We have chosen 3 things now.

For poultry served whole, we can use the classifier 隻 zek3 (for animals). We use 一 jat1 (‘one’) or 成 seng4 / sing4 (‘whole’) for a whole one, and 半 bun3 (‘half’) for half of it.

一隻雞
jat1 zek3 gai1
a chicken

成隻雞
seng4 zek3 gai1
a whole chicken

半隻鵝
bun3 zek3 ngo2
half a goose

For fish served whole, we can use the classifier 條 tiu4 (for things with a long shape).

一條魚
jat1 tiu4 jyu2
a fish

For pizza, we use the classifier 個 go3 for a whole pizza and the classifier 塊 faai3 (‘piece’, for things with a flat shape) for a slice.

一個pizza
jat1 go3 pi1 saa4
a pizza

一塊pizza
jat1 faai3 pi1 saa4
a slice of pizza

For cake, we use the classifier 個 go3 for a whole cake and the classifier 嚿 gau6 (‘piece’) or 件 gin6 (‘piece’, less colloquial) for a slice.

一個蛋糕
jat1 go3 daan6 gou1
a cake

一嚿蛋糕
jat1 gau6 daan6 gou1
a slice of cake

一件蛋糕
jat1 gin6 daan6 gou1
a slice of cake

For skewers, we use the classifier 串 cyun3 (for small things held together by a thin stick). For a large number, we can use the classifier 打 daa1 (‘dozen’). 一打 jat1 daa1 (‘one dozen’) equals to 12 and 半打 bun3 daa1 (‘half a dozen’) equals to 6.

一串串燒
jat1 cyun3 cyun3 siu1
a skewer

一打串燒
jat1 daa1 cyun3 siu1
a dozen skewers [= 12 skewers]

半打串燒
bun3 daa1 cyun3 siu1
half a dozen skewers [= 6 skewers]

For food with a clearly specified quantity (e.g., a set of five fried chicken pieces), we can use the classifier 份 fan6 (‘set’).

一份炸雞
jat1 fan6 zaa3 gai1
a set of fried chicken