<p>For classifiers there are actually a large range and, contrary to the answer above, there doesn't exist a catch-all classifier which can be used in all situations.</p>

<p>The classifier 个 is the most common one and is used by new learners when they cannot remember which one to use, but it is important that the correct classifier is used in each case.</p>

<p>What is tricky is that sometimes different classifiers can be used with the same item (as you saw with 房子. This is usually region specific or dependent on what the object itself looks like. Some examples for this include the word for dog, you can use 一只狗 which is used for many animals or 一条狗 "条" is used for something that is elongated.</p>

<p>As per your question, when counting from 1 to 10 the classifier is not going to change. However if you asked different people to type in 3 houses, you may get 5 or 6 different inputs. How you hand someone typing 3 or 三 into your program will need to be handled by the program as some people may type it differently. However, I think more than likely although 3 is acceptable, you will find more people would type 三个房子 than 3个房子.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-11T04:06:25.363Z
2012-10-11T04:06:25.363Z
going
<p>Head(n.) --- Measure Word / Quantifier</p>

<p>房子 --- 间(for Room)；栋or幢(for House/Building)；所(for the abstract)</p>

<p>房屋 --- 间(for Room)；套(for the abstract esp. real estate property right)</p>

<p>家 --- 户（for Family）  e.g. 一户人家(a family)</p>

<p>公司 --- 家(more formal)；间</p>

<p>猫 --- 只(always use this word only but not else!)</p>

<p>That's <em>natural</em> Chinese:) </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-21T16:06:42.450Z
2012-10-21T16:06:42.450Z
0xB2CC
<p>Regarding arabic numerals: I think modern usage sees arabic numbers to be generally acceptable. However the context of the material, or even the region, may influence whether they're commonly used or not. For example, in metropolitan areas you might commonly see phone numbers or prices expressed in digits, whereas in more traditional material you probably wouldn't. You may or may not be able to get away with this in your project.</p>

<p>Regarding 两 vs 二: 两 is generally used as "two" for specifying a number of objects, whereas 二 is used as the digit, such as in a phone number. See <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/755/number-two-in-chinese-%E4%BA%8C-vs-%E4%B8%A4?rq=1">this question</a> for more on this distinction.</p>

<p>Regarding the classifier: As far as I'm aware, there's no such rule as 1-6 uses this classifier, 7-9 uses this, etc. The classifier is determined by the noun. In your example, the classifier for cats (猫） is 只. For house (房子) you can use 栋.</p>

<p>The classifier for people is (usually) 个. Perhaps more importantly, 个 can be used as the catch-all classifier in casual language, or when an obscure noun has a classifier that you simply cannot remember. Again, whether you can use this "shortcut" will depend on the specifications of your project. In more formal situations, the correct classifier is preferred.</p>

<p>If you have a finite list of nouns in your project, you could spend some time looking up the relevant classifier for each noun.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php</a> specifies the classifier in the dictionary entries, denoted by the "CL:" text.</p>

<p>Hope that helps!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-10T11:42:02.703Z
I'm ok with classifiers as I can simply require them as part of zhe input. However, I am concerned with the classifier *changing* depending on the number. As I understand you, however, this change should not happen and Chinese really has no such things as singular, dual, plural (or the funny variants used in Russain)?
Hagen von Eitzen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-10T16:16:07.830Z
@HagenvonEitzen There is no such thing like classifier changing in Chinese. In a consistent context you should always use the same classifier for the same noun (otherwise it seems weird). And Chinese nouns don't reflect, in other words, they remain the same almost all the time.
Nihil
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-10T16:20:54.503Z
个 suits most nouns, but not all. 一个人 is perfect, 一个房子 not perfect yet acceptable, but *一个猫 sounds weird.
Nihil
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-10T18:06:24.777Z
@HagenvonEitzen a large proportion of the online translation results you've cited is wrong or inconsistent; what is said in this answer is right. Just stick with the answer and ignore those translations.
NS.X.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-11T03:40:20.690Z
@HagenvonEitzen - Just to confirm what was said by Nihil. This answer is mostly correct, except for using 个 as a catch all. This might be acceptable for someone just starting to learn the language where it can be forgiven, but it will just look wrong anywhere else.
going
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-11T18:59:45.300Z
My suggested algorithm: 1. Find nouns (assume you can do this, or that it is provided). 2. Look up the classifier for the noun (you can scrape a dictionary site for entries on all your nouns). If multiple classifiers, pick one. If no classifier available, use 个. 3. Insert <number><classifier> before the noun. 4. As to the preferable form of the number, I'd do something easy, like chinese numerals for n < 20 (and remembering 2 = 两) and arabic numerals for n >= 20.
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-11T19:01:39.820Z
@xiaohouzi79 Keep in mind that the question is about having a computer program insert numbers and classifiers before nouns. The asker has stated pretty explicitly they don't know and aren't really learning chinese (at least in the context of this project). It's really about coming up with an algorithm that's tractable and "good enough".
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-11T21:09:57.017Z
I concede that 个 is sub-optimal in some cases. However, if he doesn't know the nouns beforehand then it may just be a case of "close enough". The process that Stumpy Joe Pete laid out is what I would follow given a fixed list of known nouns.
Endre B.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-11T22:12:19.470Z
@StumpyJoePete - I don't buy it. Better off not displaying anything than being wrong. Who wants to read 3个猫? If it's not a Chinese reader then what's the point of the exercise? If it doesn't matter then why bother with the classifier in the first place. I can't see the point of reading through a text where all of the MW are wrong, seems a pointless exercise to me and as a software developer it sounds like a faulty piece of software.
going
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-12T00:20:32.167Z
@xiaohouzi79 1. As part of the algorithm I provided, you should use whatever classifier is listed in the dictionary (if available), _not_ `个` all the time. 2. If you can't find a classifier, using `个` is waayyy better than using nothing. For one, without a classifier, it's syntactically invalid. With one, at worst it's awkward or ugly. Also, the words which are most likely to lack a classifier in their entry are words where `个` would be more likely to be appropriate.
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-12T21:27:02.550Z
Please all stop worrying about the classifier. All forms can be given as input, just as I need numerus forms in other languages (PRINTCOUNTen($n,"man","men"); PRINTCOUNTru($n,"собак", "собаки", "собак")) I can be content with imposing a calling convention PRINTCOUNTzh($n,"个房子"). All the "noun stuff" will ultimately come from professionals, I just need to get the counting right :)
Hagen von Eitzen
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-10T11:24:02.297Z
2012-10-10T11:30:57.467Z
2017-04-13T12:48:06.457Z
Endre B.
<p>I need to write a program that can insert the count of objects into a text - without knowing virtually anything about the Chinese language. While for English this needs to distinguish between singular and plural, I don't know which special cases need to be handled for Chinese. Using an online translator to translate "one house, ..., thirteen houses", I obtained</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>一所房子，两个房屋、 三栋房子、 四个房屋、 五之家、 六套房子、 七个之家、 八个公司、 九个房屋、 十家、 十一间房屋、 12 间房、 十三个房子.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The same with cats:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>一只猫，两只猫、 三只猫，四只猫、 五只猫、 六只猫、 七只猫、 八猫、 九猫、 十猫、 11 个猫、 十二个猫，十三个猫</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Some of this may be caused by imperfections of the online translator used, but I wonder if some of the patterns should be observed by my program. And I need to provide it with suitably many "declination" forms to allow it to create the correct output:</p>

<ul>
<li>Arabic digits for 12 in the first test and 11 in the second test are <em>obviously</em> an artefact of the online translator. I assume that it is <em>never</em> customary to use arabic numbers in Chinese?</li>
<li>I wonder why "two" seems to be translated by 两 instead of 二. Is that correct? Or does it depend on something?</li>
<li>What follows the numeral seems to differ depending on the number. For example I see 所房子 with 1; 个房屋 with 2, 4, 9; 栋房子 with 3; and all remaining numbers seem to have their very individual signs, at least when it is about  "houses". For the cats I see 只猫 with 1-7, 猫 with 8-10, 个猫 with 11-13. While this looks less complicated, I wonder: Are the different forms required by grammar? Do they follow a specific pattern (e.g. for living versus dead things)? Which variants have to be used for which number? (Or is this just another translator artefact?)</li>
</ul>

<p>Thanks for any hints on this, but please remember to keep them understandable for someone who knows no Chinese and will handle Chinese texts with a mere "pattern substitution" technique.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-10T21:53:55.113Z
As stated in the answer, there is no such thing as a plural in Chinese. It's not an agglutinative language, which mutates depending on the context. I really think some knowledge of Chinese grammar is necessary here. Otherwise you will run into a lot of unforeseen issues.
deutschZuid
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-11T20:45:26.877Z
My suggested algorithm: 1. Find nouns (assume you can do this, or that it is provided). 2. Look up the classifier for the noun (you can scrape a dictionary site for entries on all your nouns). If multiple classifiers, pick one. If no classifier available, use 个. 3. Insert <number><classifier> before the noun. 4. As to the preferable form of the number, I'd do something easy, like chinese numerals for n < 20 (and remembering 2 = 两) and arabic numerals for n >= 20.
Stumpy Joe Pete
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-12T00:21:30.837Z
Oh, totally forgot! Some words don't take classifiers, but there are very few of them. `年` and `天` are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.
Stumpy Joe Pete
<grammar><number>
Grammar for counting in Chinese (for non-native speakers of Chinese)
# Grammar for counting in Chinese (for non-native speakers of Chinese)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-10-10)

I need to write a program that can insert the count of objects into a text - without knowing virtually anything about the Chinese language. While for English this needs to distinguish between singular and plural, I don't know which special cases need to be handled for Chinese. Using an online translator to translate "one house, ..., thirteen houses", I obtained

> 一所房子，两个房屋、 三栋房子、 四个房屋、 五之家、 六套房子、 七个之家、 八个公司、 九个房屋、 十家、 十一间房屋、 12 间房、 十三个房子.

The same with cats:

> 一只猫，两只猫、 三只猫，四只猫、 五只猫、 六只猫、 七只猫、 八猫、 九猫、 十猫、 11 个猫、 十二个猫，十三个猫

Some of this may be caused by imperfections of the online translator used, but I wonder if some of the patterns should be observed by my program. And I need to provide it with suitably many "declination" forms to allow it to create the correct output:

* Arabic digits for 12 in the first test and 11 in the second test are *obviously* an artefact of the online translator. I assume that it is *never* customary to use arabic numbers in Chinese?
* I wonder why "two" seems to be translated by 两 instead of 二. Is that correct? Or does it depend on something?
* What follows the numeral seems to differ depending on the number. For example I see 所房子 with 1; 个房屋 with 2, 4, 9; 栋房子 with 3; and all remaining numbers seem to have their very individual signs, at least when it is about "houses". For the cats I see 只猫 with 1-7, 猫 with 8-10, 个猫 with 11-13. While this looks less complicated, I wonder: Are the different forms required by grammar? Do they follow a specific pattern (e.g. for living versus dead things)? Which variants have to be used for which number? (Or is this just another translator artefact?)

Thanks for any hints on this, but please remember to keep them understandable for someone who knows no Chinese and will handle Chinese texts with a mere "pattern substitution" technique.

**Tags:** grammar, number
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: As stated in the answer, there is no such thing as a plural in Chinese. It's not an agglutinative language, which mutates depending on the context. I really think some knowledge of Chinese grammar is necessary here. Otherwise you will run into a lot of unforeseen issues.  
> **username_2**: My suggested algorithm: 1. Find nouns (assume you can do this, or that it is provided). 2. Look up the classifier for the noun (you can scrape a dictionary site for entries on all your nouns). If multiple classifiers, pick one. If no classifier available, use 个. 3. Insert <number><classifier> before the noun. 4. As to the preferable form of the number, I'd do something easy, like chinese numerals for n < 20 (and remembering 2 = 两) and arabic numerals for n >= 20.  
> **username_2**: Oh, totally forgot! Some words don't take classifiers, but there are very few of them. `年` and `天` are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2012-10-10. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

Regarding arabic numerals: I think modern usage sees arabic numbers to be generally acceptable. However the context of the material, or even the region, may influence whether they're commonly used or not. For example, in metropolitan areas you might commonly see phone numbers or prices expressed in digits, whereas in more traditional material you probably wouldn't. You may or may not be able to get away with this in your project.

Regarding 两 vs 二: 两 is generally used as "two" for specifying a number of objects, whereas 二 is used as the digit, such as in a phone number. See [this question](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/755/number-two-in-chinese-%E4%BA%8C-vs-%E4%B8%A4?rq=1) for more on this distinction.

Regarding the classifier: As far as I'm aware, there's no such rule as 1-6 uses this classifier, 7-9 uses this, etc. The classifier is determined by the noun. In your example, the classifier for cats (猫） is 只. For house (房子) you can use 栋.

The classifier for people is (usually) 个. Perhaps more importantly, 个 can be used as the catch-all classifier in casual language, or when an obscure noun has a classifier that you simply cannot remember. Again, whether you can use this "shortcut" will depend on the specifications of your project. In more formal situations, the correct classifier is preferred.

If you have a finite list of nouns in your project, you could spend some time looking up the relevant classifier for each noun.

<http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php> specifies the classifier in the dictionary entries, denoted by the "CL:" text.

Hope that helps!

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I'm ok with classifiers as I can simply require them as part of zhe input. However, I am concerned with the classifier *changing* depending on the number. As I understand you, however, this change should not happen and Chinese really has no such things as singular, dual, plural (or the funny variants used in Russain)?  
> **username_6**: @HagenvonEitzen There is no such thing like classifier changing in Chinese. In a consistent context you should always use the same classifier for the same noun (otherwise it seems weird). And Chinese nouns don't reflect, in other words, they remain the same almost all the time.  
> **username_6**: 个 suits most nouns, but not all. 一个人 is perfect, 一个房子 not perfect yet acceptable, but *一个猫 sounds weird.  
> **username_7**: @HagenvonEitzen a large proportion of the online translation results you've cited is wrong or inconsistent; what is said in this answer is right. Just stick with the answer and ignore those translations.  
> **username_3**: @HagenvonEitzen - Just to confirm what was said by Nihil. This answer is mostly correct, except for using 个 as a catch all. This might be acceptable for someone just starting to learn the language where it can be forgiven, but it will just look wrong anywhere else.  
> **username_2**: My suggested algorithm: 1. Find nouns (assume you can do this, or that it is provided). 2. Look up the classifier for the noun (you can scrape a dictionary site for entries on all your nouns). If multiple classifiers, pick one. If no classifier available, use 个. 3. Insert <number><classifier> before the noun. 4. As to the preferable form of the number, I'd do something easy, like chinese numerals for n < 20 (and remembering 2 = 两) and arabic numerals for n >= 20.  
> **username_2**: @xiaohouzi79 Keep in mind that the question is about having a computer program insert numbers and classifiers before nouns. The asker has stated pretty explicitly they don't know and aren't really learning chinese (at least in the context of this project). It's really about coming up with an algorithm that's tractable and "good enough".  
> **username_5**: I concede that 个 is sub-optimal in some cases. However, if he doesn't know the nouns beforehand then it may just be a case of "close enough". The process that Stumpy Joe Pete laid out is what I would follow given a fixed list of known nouns.  
> **username_3**: @StumpyJoePete - I don't buy it. Better off not displaying anything than being wrong. Who wants to read 3个猫? If it's not a Chinese reader then what's the point of the exercise? If it doesn't matter then why bother with the classifier in the first place. I can't see the point of reading through a text where all of the MW are wrong, seems a pointless exercise to me and as a software developer it sounds like a faulty piece of software.  
> **username_2**: @xiaohouzi79 1. As part of the algorithm I provided, you should use whatever classifier is listed in the dictionary (if available), _not_ `个` all the time. 2. If you can't find a classifier, using `个` is waayyy better than using nothing. For one, without a classifier, it's syntactically invalid. With one, at worst it's awkward or ugly. Also, the words which are most likely to lack a classifier in their entry are words where `个` would be more likely to be appropriate.  
> **username_0**: Please all stop worrying about the classifier. All forms can be given as input, just as I need numerus forms in other languages (PRINTCOUNTen($n,"man","men"); PRINTCOUNTru($n,"собак", "собаки", "собак")) I can be content with imposing a calling convention PRINTCOUNTzh($n,"个房子"). All the "noun stuff" will ultimately come from professionals, I just need to get the counting right :)  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2012-10-11. Score: 3

For classifiers there are actually a large range and, contrary to the answer above, there doesn't exist a catch-all classifier which can be used in all situations.

The classifier 个 is the most common one and is used by new learners when they cannot remember which one to use, but it is important that the correct classifier is used in each case.

What is tricky is that sometimes different classifiers can be used with the same item (as you saw with 房子. This is usually region specific or dependent on what the object itself looks like. Some examples for this include the word for dog, you can use 一只狗 which is used for many animals or 一条狗 "条" is used for something that is elongated.

As per your question, when counting from 1 to 10 the classifier is not going to change. However if you asked different people to type in 3 houses, you may get 5 or 6 different inputs. How you hand someone typing 3 or 三 into your program will need to be handled by the program as some people may type it differently. However, I think more than likely although 3 is acceptable, you will find more people would type 三个房子 than 3个房子.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2012-10-21. Score: 1

Head(n.) --- Measure Word / Quantifier

房子 --- 间(for Room)；栋or幢(for House/Building)；所(for the abstract)

房屋 --- 间(for Room)；套(for the abstract esp. real estate property right)

家 --- 户（for Family） e.g. 一户人家(a family)

公司 --- 家(more formal)；间

猫 --- 只(always use this word only but not else!)

That's *natural* Chinese:)


---

