Classifier / Measure Word
What kind of unit are we counting?
Significado
A word or marker used with numbers or quantity to classify the noun by shape, type, animacy, function, or measurement unit.
Como identificar
Notice whether numbers require an extra word before the noun.
Exemplos
piece|cup|sheet|person|classifier
three cups of water|one piece of paper
I bought three cups of coffee.
Visual guide
counting a noun: number -> unit/class -> noun 3 -> cups -> coffee 1 -> piece -> paper classifier answers: "count as what kind/unit?"
Counting patterns: A) 3 books number + noun B) 3 CL book number + class + noun C) 3 cups of water number + measure + of + noun Ask: required? which class?
Vista por língua
Na tua língua materna
Portuguese uses measure words naturally but has no obligatory classifier system like Mandarin.
dois copos de água
two glasses of water
Na tua língua de aprendizagem
English has measure expressions, but classifiers are not generally obligatory for ordinary nouns.
a piece of advice
piece of = measure expression
Learners from classifier languages may overuse measure words, while others may struggle with uncountable nouns.
Good transfer potential
This block behaves relatively similarly, so you can transfer intuition more safely between the two languages.