All measure words

把 bǎ

The Chinese measure word for things with a handle; chairs.

把 counts things you hold by a handle: knives, umbrellas, keys, scissors and guitars, and also chairs. It counts a handful of something, too, such as rice or sand. The 把 that comes before an object (把门关上, “close the door”) is grammar, not counting.

  • 一把伞yì bǎ sǎnan umbrella
  • 一把钥匙yì bǎ yàoshia key
  • 一把椅子yì bǎ yǐzia chair

68 nouns that take 把

Most common first
枪qiānggun; firearm花huāflower; blossom钥匙yào shikey锁suǒto lock; to lock up; a lock刀dāoknife; blade年纪nián jìage椅子yǐ zichair剑jiàndouble-edged sword; classifier for blows of a sword剪jiǎnscissors; shears粉丝fěn sībean vermicelli; mung bean starch noodles年龄nián líng(a person's) age劲jìnstrength; energy吉他jí tāguitar (loanword)尺chǐa Chinese foot; one-third of a meter手枪shǒu qiāngpistol火炬huǒ jù(flaming) torch香蕉xiāng jiāobanana剪刀jiǎn dāoscissors刀子dāo ziknife锯jùa saw; to saw沙子shā zisand; grit锤子chuí zihammer步枪bù qiāngrifle伞sǎnumbrella; parasol嗓子sǎng zithroat; voice铲子chǎn zishovel; spade牙刷yá shuātoothbrush勺子sháo ziscoop; ladle叉子chā zifork火把huǒ bǎtorch大提琴dà tí qíncello; violoncello斧子fǔ ziaxe; hatchet剪子jiǎn ziclippers; scissors小刀xiǎo dāoknife勺sháospoon; ladle梳子shū zicomb筷子kuài zichopsticks手杖shǒu zhàngcane钳子qián zipliers; pincers宝剑bǎo jiàn(double-edged) sword刷子shuā zibrush; scrub雨伞yǔ sǎnumbrella螺丝刀luó sī dāoscrewdriver汤匙tāng chísoup spoon; tablespoon锯子jù zia saw长矛cháng máopike; lance茶壶chá húteapot算盘suàn pánabacus; plan扇子shàn zifan掸dǎnto brush away; to dust off提琴tí qíninstrument of the violin family (violin, viola, cello or double bass)菜刀cài dāovegetable knife; kitchen knife锄头chú touhoe卷尺juǎn chǐtape measure; tape rule尺子chǐ ziruler (measuring instrument)笤帚tiáo zhouwhisk broom; small broom扳子bān zispanner; wrench锥子zhuī ziawl掸子dǎn ziduster墩布dūn bùswab; mop改锥gǎi zhuīscrewdriver水果刀shuǐ guǒ dāoparing knife; fruit knife铁锨tiě xiāniron shovel; spade二胡èr húerhu (Chinese 2-string fiddle); alto fiddle小葱xiǎo cōngshallot; spring onion捶子chuí zidrum stick; bass drum mallet管龠guǎn yuèflute; pipe铅笔刀qiān bǐ dāopencil sharpener

More measure words

The nouns come from the measure-word notes in CC-CEDICT, ordered by how often each word appears in film and TV subtitles. Many nouns take more than one measure word, and 个 often works in casual speech.