How to use the indefinite article in Chinese

How to use the indefinite article in Chinese

You want to learn how to use the indefinite article in Chinese? You've come to the right place! Scroll down and see the short Chinese lessons complete with useful examples. An apple, a house, a book... we explain it all to you in short, easy to follow lessons.

The Chinese indefinite article

The indefinite article is what we call the words 'a' and 'an' in English. The English indefinite article 'a' is '' in Chinese. Nouns in Chinese are usually accompanied by a socalled classifier or measure word. A classifier (or measure word) is a word which accompanies the noun. It is similar to the use in English in phrases like 'a flock of birds' or 'a head of cattle'.

Examples

yī tiáo māo
a cat
yí gè nánrén
a man
yí gè nŭér
a daughter
yí gè nánhái
a boy
yī pī mă
a horse
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About Chinese

About Chinese

Mandarin is spoken mainly in China, but also in Singapore and Taiwan. If you are planning on doing some travelling, learning Chinese would be a great way to make the most of your trip.

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Basic words and phrases in Chinese

Learn to get by in Chinese with these useful words and phrases. We'll begin by learning some basic Chinese phrases which you can use for everyday communication.

zhè zhāng zhuōzi
this table
zhè gè nánrén
this man
zhè zuò fángzi
this house
zhè gè nŭrén
this woman
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Step 3 : The indefinite article in Chinese

The indefinite article is what we call the word a in English. The indefinite article is used with nouns. To learn to use the indefinite article in Chinese, pick just 3 important nouns. We suggest you learn the nouns shū, yĭzì and mén (book, chair, door). Then learn how to use each noun with the indefinite article. The nouns together with the indefinite article are yī bĕn shū, yí bă yĭzì and yī shàn mén (a book, a chair, a door). You can scroll to the top of this page to see a short lesson about the indefinite article in Chinese including useful examples. Once you have learned to use the indefinite article with the Chinese nouns shū, yĭzì and mén, you're ready to move on to Step 4 (the definite article in Chinese).

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