{"id":182390,"date":"2018-05-10T03:57:37","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T07:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/plural-in-chinese\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T11:23:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T15:23:38","slug":"plural-in-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/plural-in-chinese\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Easy Ways to Use Plurals in Chinese"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may have heard that in Chinese, nouns are the same in both their singular and plural forms. You can’t just tack on an -s<\/em>, like we do in English<\/a>. It’s not that plurals don’t exist in Chinese. They just don’t manifest in the way you’d expect.<\/p>\n

Let me break down how exactly you can differentiate between the singular or plural forms of nouns and pronouns in Chinese.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc skip=4]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. Defining a Number<\/h2>\n

One of the most concrete ways to turn something from the singular to the plural would be identifying its specific number<\/strong>\u2014like saying “six cats” as opposed to “a cat.” Grammatical numbers must be followed by the appropriate measure word (more on that below) and then the noun, like so:<\/p>\n

Number + Measure Word + Noun<\/p>\n

Here’s the breakdown of that formula:<\/p>\n

Numbers<\/h3>\n

Before getting into the specifics of this plural form, let’s review our numbers<\/a>. You learned them as a beginner when you were taught how to count and how to tell time<\/a>. You might even know some Chinese number slang<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Whatever the case, here’s a list of numbers to refresh your memory. We’ll skip ahead to the bigger numbers to show you how those work in case you haven’t come across them yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Examples of Numbers in Chinese<\/th>English Translation<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\u5341\u00a0(sh\u00ed)<\/em><\/td>10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4e8c\u5341\u00a0(\u00e8r sh\u00ed)<\/em><\/td>20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4e94\u5341\u00a0(w\u01d4 sh\u00ed)<\/em><\/td>50<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4e00\u767e\u00a0(y\u012b b\u01cei)<\/em><\/td>100<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4e00\u767e\u96f6\u4e03\u00a0(y\u012b b\u01cei l\u00edng q\u012b)<\/em><\/td>107<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u56db\u767e\u4e5d\u5341\u4e5d\u00a0(s\u00ec b\u01cei ji\u01d4 sh\u00ed ji\u01d4)<\/em><\/td>499<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4e00\u5343 (y\u012b qi\u0101n)<\/em><\/td>1,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4e00\u4e07 (y\u012b w\u00e0n)<\/em><\/td>10,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4e00\u4ebf (y\u012b y\u00ec)<\/em><\/td>100,000,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Chances are that you won’t be using the bigger numbers for Chinese plurals, but a little more information never hurt anyone.<\/p>\n

One thing you need to note is when you’re using “two” as a grammatical number rather than a counting number<\/strong> in Chinese. When you’re indicating two of something<\/em>, you’re supposed to use \u4e24 (li\u01ceng)<\/em> instead of \u4e8c (\u00e8r)<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Measure Words<\/h3>\n

Also known as “classifiers,” Chinese measure words<\/a> are specific to what’s being quantified, like arguably the most well-known one: \u4e2a (ge)<\/em><\/strong>. It’s pretty much the English equivalent of “of,” like in “I’ll have two of<\/em> everything.”<\/p>\n

Here’s how it would look in a sentence:<\/p>\n

\u6211\u6709\u4e24\u4e2a\u5144\u5f1f\u3002 (w\u01d2 y\u01d2u li\u01ceng g\u00e8 xi\u014dng d\u00ec.)<\/em> \u2014 I have two brothers.<\/p>\n

As generic as \u4e2a is, try not to rely on it too much. Rather than studying a variety of measure words, Chinese learners often end up using \u4e2a for everything. While in many instances \u4e2a will work, it makes more sense to say “two cups of coffee” than “two of coffee.”<\/p>\n

To get out of the habit of using \u4e2a as your go-to measure word, below are some other classifiers you’ll need to pluralize your nouns. Please take note that this list isn’t complete. There are plenty more measure words in Chinese<\/a>, but these are the ones you’d likely use on a regular basis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Basic Measure Words<\/th>English Translation<\/th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\u676f (b\u0113i)<\/em><\/td>cup [of coffee and tea]<\/td>\u4e24\u676f\u5496\u5561\u00a0(li\u01ceng b\u0113i k\u0101 f\u0113i)<\/em> \u2014 two cups of coffee<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u672c\u00a0(b\u0115n)<\/em><\/td>unit for books and magazines<\/td>\u56db\u672c\u6742\u5fd7\u00a0(s\u00ec b\u011bn z\u00e1 zh\u00ec)<\/em> \u2014 four magazines<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4efd\u00a0(f\u00e8n)<\/em><\/td>share, portion, order [of food], unit for newspapers<\/td>\u4e94\u4efd\u767d\u996d (w\u01d4 f\u00e8n b\u00e1i f\u00e0n)<\/em> \u2014 five portions of rice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u95f4 (ji\u0101n)<\/em><\/td>unit for any kind of room<\/td>\u516d\u95f4\u5367\u5ba4\u00a0(li\u00f9 ji\u0101n w\u00f2 sh\u00ec)<\/em> \u2014 six bedrooms<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u8f86 (li\u00e0ng)<\/em><\/td>unit for vehicles<\/td>\u4e09\u8f86\u5df4\u58eb\u00a0(s\u0101n li\u00e0ng b\u0101 sh\u00ec)<\/em> \u2014 three buses<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u74f6\u00a0(p\u00edng)<\/em><\/td>bottle<\/td>\u4e5d\u5341\u4e5d\u74f6\u5564\u9152\u00a0(ji\u01d4 sh\u00ed ji\u01d4 p\u00edng p\u00ed ji\u01d4)<\/em> \u2014 99 bottles of beer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u6761\u00a0(ti\u00e1o)<\/em><\/td>unit for long, winding objects like roads, rivers, snakes, fish, etc.<\/td>\u5341\u4e8c\u6761\u8def (sh\u00ed \u00e8r ti\u00e1o l\u00f9)<\/em> \u2014 12 roads<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u5f20 (zh\u0101ng)<\/em><\/td>sheet [of paper or bedsheets]; unit for rectangular objects like beds and tables<\/td>\u4e03\u5f20\u7eb8\u00a0(q\u012b zh\u0101ng zh\u01d0)<\/em> \u2014 seven sheets of paper<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u53ea\u00a0(zh\u012b)<\/em><\/td>unit for animals and one of a pair of hands, feet, ears or eyes<\/td>\u4e00\u53ea\u773c\u775b (y\u012b zh\u012b y\u01cen j\u012bng)<\/em> \u2014 one eye<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u652f\u00a0(zh\u012b)<\/em><\/td>unit for long, thin objects like pencils, pens and cigarettes<\/td>\u516b\u652f\u8721\u7b14\u00a0(b\u0101 zh\u012b l\u00e0 b\u01d0)<\/em> \u2014 eight crayons<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Some nouns are addressed as multiples, like a pair of socks, a pack of cigarettes, etc. In cases like these, we would use special measure words<\/strong>. Here are some of those,\u00a0along with their definitions and examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Special Measure Words<\/th>English Translation<\/th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\u53cc (shu\u0101ng)<\/em><\/td>pair, for items that always come in pairs<\/td>\u4e09\u53cc\u7b77\u5b50 (s\u0101n shu\u0101ng ku\u00e0izi)<\/em> \u2014 three pairs of chopsticks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u5bf9 (du\u00ec)<\/em><\/td>couple, for nouns that don't necessarily come in pairs<\/td>\u4e00\u5bf9\u5b66\u751f\u00a0(y\u012b du\u00ec xu\u00e9 sh\u0113ng)<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 a couple of students<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u6253\u00a0(d\u01ce)<\/em><\/td>dozen<\/td>\u4e94\u6253\u9e21\u86cb\u00a0(w\u01d4 d\u01ce j\u012b d\u00e0n)<\/em> \u2014 five dozen eggs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u5305\u00a0(b\u0101o)<\/em><\/td>pack or packet<\/td>\u4e24\u5305\u53e3\u9999\u7cd6\u00a0(li\u01ceng b\u0101o k\u01d2u xi\u0101ng t\u00e1ng)<\/em> \u2014 two packs of gum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u7fa4\u00a0(q\u00fan)<\/em><\/td>group of people or animals like crowds, flocks, herds or swarms<\/td>\u4e00\u7fa4\u4eba\u00a0(y\u012b q\u00fan r\u00e9n)<\/em> \u2014 a crowd\/group of people<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

You might be confused by some of these measure words, since they don’t indicate specific amounts, like a pack or group. Although they’re nonspecific in terms of the total number, these special classifiers can still be “modified” by a grammatical number<\/strong> (e.g., one group of students, five groups of students, etc.). It’s important that you understand this now before moving on to the ambiguous plurals.<\/p>\n

2. Using Ambiguous Plurals<\/h2>\n

Now that you know that “groups” and “packs” don’t count as ambiguous plurals, what does? An ambiguous plural in Chinese is anything that cannot be modified by a grammatical number, like “some” or “many.” Thus, the formula goes:<\/p>\n

Ambiguous Plural + Noun<\/p>\n

Let’s take a look at those ambiguous plurals and their usages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Ambiguous Plurals<\/th>English Translation<\/th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\u51e0\u00a0(j\u01d0)<\/em><\/td>some, several<\/td>\u51e0\u9053\u83dc (j\u01d0 d\u00e0o c\u00e0i)<\/em> \u2014 some dishes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4e00\u4e9b\u00a0(y\u012b xi\u0113)<\/em><\/td>a few, some*
\n
\n*Despite there being a number in\u00a0\u4e00\u4e9b, meaning \"a few,\" it doesn't function as a grammatical number. Besides, no one would ever say, \"two fews.\"<\/td>		\u4e00\u4e9b\u9519\u8bef\u00a0(y\u012b xi\u0113 cu\u00f2 w\u00f9)<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 a few mistakes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u6570 (sh\u00f9)<\/em><\/td>several<\/td>\u6570\u661f\u671f\u00a0(sh\u00f9 x\u012bng q\u00ed)<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 several weeks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4e0d\u5c11 (b\u00f9 sh\u01ceo)<\/em><\/td>quite a few; literally translates as \"not a few\"<\/td>\u4e0d\u5c11\u9ad8\u6821\u00a0(b\u00f9 sh\u01ceo g\u0101o xi\u00e0o)<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 quite a few universities<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u5f88\u591a\u00a0(h\u011bn du\u014d)<\/em><\/td>a lot; literally translates as \"very many\"<\/td>\u5f88\u591a\u732b (h\u011bn du\u014d m\u0101o)<\/em> \u2014 a lot of cats<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

3. Adding \u4eec (men)<\/em><\/h2>\n

When it comes to Chinese nouns and pronouns specifically pertaining to people, you can simply attach \u4eec (men)<\/em> to them, so they’d look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Singular Pronouns<\/th>Plural Pronouns<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\u6211\u00a0(w\u01d2)<\/em> \u2014 I\/me<\/td>\u6211\u4eec (w\u01d2 men)<\/em> \u2014 we\/us<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4ed6\u00a0(t\u0101)<\/em> \u2014 he\/him<\/td>\u4ed6\u4eec (t\u0101 men)<\/em> \u2014 they\/them [male and mixed gender]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u5979 (t\u0101)<\/em> \u2014 she\/her<\/td>\u5979\u4eec (t\u0101 men)<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 they [female]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u5b83\u00a0(t\u0101)<\/em> \u2014 it<\/td>\u5b83\u4eec (t\u0101 men)<\/em> \u2014 they [animals]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

In turn, adding \u4eec “conjugates” the verb when used in a sentence. And I use quotations because the verb itself doesn’t actually change in Chinese\u2014it’s just the meaning that’s altered in the verb’s plural version. (Ah, the nuances of the Chinese language.)<\/p>\n

You can also add \u4eec to nouns like “teacher,” “student,” “police officer,” etc. However, when a noun is the object of a sentence, \u4eec isn’t completely necessary<\/strong> to make it plural. Some think it sounds strange to add it,\u00a0so it’s normally omitted in everyday speech<\/a>.\u00a0It’s a personal preference, really, as the rest of the sentence usually provides enough contextual evidence to indicate a plural noun.<\/p>\n

Check out these two sentences:<\/p>\n

\u4ed6\u7ed9\u5b66\u751f\u4eec\u4f5c\u4e1a\u3002\u00a0(t\u0101 g\u011bi xu\u00e9 sh\u0113ng men zu\u00f2 y\u00e8.)<\/em> \u2014 He gives the students homework.<\/p>\n

\u4ed6\u7ed9\u5b66\u751f\u4f5c\u4e1a\u3002\u00a0(t\u0101 g\u011bi xu\u00e9 sh\u0113ng zu\u00f2 y\u00e8.)<\/em> \u2014 He gives the students homework.<\/p>\n

From the context above, \u4eec doesn’t do much to contribute to the overall meaning, so why include it?<\/p>\n

When Not to Use \u4eec<\/h3>\n

When there’s a grammatical number:<\/h4>\n

Like the ambiguous plurals in the previous section, \u4eec doesn’t precisely define how many of the associated nouns or pronouns are involved. If the sentence specifies the number, adding to the human noun or pronoun would be redundant.<\/p>\n

When the noun or pronoun is non-human:<\/h4>\n

As previously stated, \u4eec is only applicable to human nouns and pronouns. The only time you’d see \u4eec used with animals is when they’re being personified in stories<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When you’re using\u00a0\u60a8 (n\u00edn)<\/em>:<\/h4>\n

There’s a bit of debate about using \u4eec with \u60a8 (n\u00edn)<\/em>, the polite way of addressing “you.”<\/a> If you think about it, there’s not really a formal way of saying “you all” or “you guys,” is there?<\/p>\n

Instead, native Chinese speakers use \u5404\u4f4d (g\u00e8 w\u00e8i)<\/em> for “everybody” and \u5973\u58eb\u4eec\u5148\u751f\u4eec (n\u01da sh\u00ec men xi\u0101n sh\u0113ng men)<\/em> for “ladies and gentlemen,” so you can use those as the plural for \u60a8.<\/p>\n

\u5927\u5bb6 (d\u00e0 ji\u0101)<\/em> wouldn’t be considered a plural for \u60a8 since it’s an informal way of addressing “everyone.”<\/p>\n

\u5404\u4f4d and \u5973\u58eb\u4eec\u5148\u751f\u4eec are saved for formal settings and addressing large groups of people. You’d normally hear them as a greeting during the opening remarks at an event or in a speech, or read them in an email.<\/p>\n

\u5973\u58eb\u4eec\u5148\u751f\u4eec\u665a\u4e0a\u597d\u3002 (n\u01da sh\u00ec men xi\u0101n sh\u0113ng men w\u01cen sh\u00e0ng h\u01ceo.)<\/em> \u2014 Good evening, ladies and gentleman.<\/p>\n

\u5404\u4f4d\u5bb6\u957f\u3001\u540c\u5b66\u4eec\u597d\u3002 (g\u00e8 w\u00e8i ji\u0101 zh\u01ceng, t\u00f3ng xu\u00e9 men h\u01ceo.)<\/em> \u2014 Hello, parents and teachers.<\/p>\n

Note that \u5404\u4f4d needs to be followed by a human noun.<\/p>\n

When you’re using \u8c01 (sh\u00e9i)<\/em>:<\/h4>\n

The reason behind this one is unknown, but it might have to do with the fact that \u8c01 (sh\u00e9i)<\/em> means “who,” which refers to an individual rather than a group\u2014though that’s just my guess.<\/p>\n

When you’re using\u00a0\u8fd9 (zh\u00e8)<\/em> and \u90a3 (n\u00e0)<\/em>:<\/h4>\n

\u8fd9 (zh\u00e8)<\/em> and \u90a3 (n\u00e0)<\/em> mean “this” and “that” respectively, and because there’s no uncertainty in the amount, both are followed by a measure word and a noun:<\/p>\n

This\/That + Any Measure Word + Noun<\/p>\n

But the plural is where it gets a little weird. To say “these” and “those,” you’d say \u8fd9\u4e9b (zh\u00e8 xi\u0113)<\/em> and \u90a3\u4e9b (n\u00e0 xi\u0113)<\/em> and then the noun, with no measure word in between. “These” and “those” are actually “this” or “that” combined with \u4e00\u4e9b, which you may recall means “a few.”<\/p>\n

So what we’re really seeing are the shortened versions of \u8fd9\u4e00\u4e9b (zh\u00e8 y\u012b xi\u0113)<\/em> and \u90a3\u4e00\u4e9b (n\u00e0 y\u012b xi\u0113)<\/em>, with the rough translation being “a few of this” and “a few of that.” It makes sense that an ambiguous plural would be needed to describe a vague quantity.<\/p>\n

This\/That + \u4e9b (xi\u0113)<\/em> + Noun<\/p>\n

Let’s take a look at a couple of examples to compare “this” and “these,” or \u8fd9 and \u8fd9\u4e9b:<\/p>\n

\u4f60\u5728\u54ea\u91cc\u4e70\u8fd9\u672c\u4e66\uff1f (n\u01d0 z\u00e0i n\u01ce l\u01d0 m\u01cei zh\u00e8 b\u011bn sh\u016b?)<\/em> \u2014 Where did you buy this book?<\/p>\n

\u4f60\u5728\u54ea\u91cc\u4e70\u8fd9\u4e9b\u4e66\uff1f (n\u01d0 z\u00e0i n\u01ce l\u01d0 m\u01cei zh\u00e8 xi\u0113 sh\u016b?)<\/em> \u2014 Where did you buy these books?<\/p>\n

Now for “that” and “those,” or \u90a3 and \u90a3\u4e9b:<\/p>\n

\u5979\u8981\u4e70\u90a3\u8f86\u8f66\u3002 (t\u0101 y\u0101o m\u01cei n\u00e0 li\u00e0ng ch\u0113.)<\/em> \u2014 She wants to buy that car.<\/p>\n

\u5979\u8981\u4e70\u90a3\u4e9b\u8f66\u3002\u00a0(t\u0101 y\u0101o m\u01cei n\u00e0 xi\u0113 ch\u0113.)<\/em> \u2014 She wants to buy those cars.<\/p>\n

For more examples of the proper usage of \u4eec and other Chinese plural indicators, check out the videos on the language learning platform FluentU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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