家 (jiā) is the classifier for businesses and establishments — restaurants, shops, companies, banks, hospitals, factories, hotels. What makes it easy to remember is that it is the very same 家 you already know as "home / family." Chinese repurposes that word to count places of business, and the image is exactly what it sounds like: each shop or company is a kind of "house" — a premises where an enterprise lives. For English speakers this is a small but high-value habit, because these are words you use constantly ("I found a great restaurant," "she works at a company"). Saying 一家饭馆 and 一家公司 instead of the flat 个 is one of the quickest upgrades to natural-sounding Chinese, and 家 shows up already at HSK2.
Businesses as "houses" of commerce
Any place that operates as an enterprise — somewhere you can walk in as a customer, or somewhere people are employed — is at home with 家:
| Noun | With 家 | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 饭馆 (fànguǎn) | 一家饭馆 (yì jiā fànguǎn) | a restaurant |
| 公司 (gōngsī) | 一家公司 (yì jiā gōngsī) | a company |
| 商店 (shāngdiàn) | 一家商店 (yì jiā shāngdiàn) | a shop |
| 银行 (yínháng) | 一家银行 (yì jiā yínháng) | a bank |
| 医院 (yīyuàn) | 一家医院 (yì jiā yīyuàn) | a hospital |
| 超市 (chāoshì) | 一家超市 (yì jiā chāoshì) | a supermarket |
| 酒店 (jiǔdiàn) | 一家酒店 (yì jiā jiǔdiàn) | a hotel |
| 工厂 (gōngchǎng) | 一家工厂 (yì jiā gōngchǎng) | a factory |
我们公司楼下新开了一家饭馆，味道特别好。
wǒmen gōngsī lóuxià xīn kāi le yì jiā fànguǎn, wèidào tèbié hǎo
A new restaurant just opened downstairs from our office — the food's really good. (informal) — 饭馆 is a classic 家 noun.
他在一家很大的公司上班。
tā zài yì jiā hěn dà de gōngsī shàngbān
He works at a big company. (neutral) — a company is 一家公司.
这附近有没有一家银行？我要取点钱。
zhè fùjìn yǒu méiyǒu yì jiā yínháng? wǒ yào qǔ diǎn qián
Is there a bank near here? I need to take out some cash. (informal).
From single shop to a street of them
Because 家 is the everyday classifier for places you visit and locate — often with a localizer like 旁边 (next to) or 附近 (nearby) — it appears whenever you give directions, make plans, or describe a neighbourhood:
街角有一家二十四小时营业的便利店。
jiējiǎo yǒu yì jiā èrshísì xiǎoshí yíngyè de biànlìdiàn
There's a 24-hour convenience store on the corner. (neutral).
我们约在那家咖啡馆见面吧。
wǒmen yuē zài nà jiā kāfēiguǎn jiànmiàn ba
Let's meet at that café. (informal) — the demonstrative 那 pairs with 家: 那家咖啡馆.
这条街上一连开了好几家奶茶店。
zhè tiáo jiē shang yìlián kāi le hǎo jǐ jiā nǎichádiàn
Several bubble-tea shops have opened in a row on this street. (informal) — 几家 for 'several' businesses.
The family root: 家 for households
Since 家 is literally "home," it doubles as the classifier for families and households — a completely everyday use that sits right beside the business one:
我们一家人下个月要一起去旅游。
wǒmen yì jiā rén xià ge yuè yào yìqǐ qù lǚyóu
Our whole family is going on a trip together next month. (informal) — 一家人 = one (whole) family.
这条老街上住着二十几家人。
zhè tiáo lǎo jiē shang zhù zhe èrshí jǐ jiā rén
Some twenty-odd households live on this old street. (neutral) — 家 counts households too.
家 vs 座 — institution vs building
A hospital or a hotel can be counted two ways, and the classifier picks the meaning. 家 frames it as a working institution; 座 frames it as a physical building planted on the ground:
这家医院的医生水平很高。
zhè jiā yīyuàn de yīshēng shuǐpíng hěn gāo
The doctors at this hospital are highly skilled. (neutral) — 家 = the institution.
For the massive physical structure itself — and for things that are only buildings, like a mountain or a bridge — you want 座 instead (see 座 for large fixed structures). Pure businesses with no monument in view — shops, companies, banks — are almost always 家.
Common Mistakes
1. Defaulting to 个 for a company. 个 is understood but sounds unpolished; a company is idiomatically 一家公司.
❌ 他开了一个公司。
Marginal — a company is a business establishment: 一家公司.
✅ 他开了一家公司。
tā kāi le yì jiā gōngsī
He started a company. — 家 for a business.
2. Using 个 for a restaurant or shop. These are establishments; the natural classifier is 家.
❌ 楼下有一个饭馆。
Marginal — a restaurant is an establishment and takes 家: 一家饭馆.
✅ 楼下有一家饭馆。
lóuxià yǒu yì jiā fànguǎn
There's a restaurant downstairs. — 家 for an eatery.
3. Overusing 座 for a business. After learning 座 for buildings, learners sometimes apply it to a shop or company — but a business as an enterprise is 家, not 座.
❌ 这条街上有一座超市。
Incorrect — as a business the supermarket takes 家: 一家超市 (座 would frame only a monumental building).
✅ 这条街上有一家超市。
zhè tiáo jiē shang yǒu yì jiā chāoshì
There's a supermarket on this street. — 家 for the business.
4. Using 二 instead of 两 before 家. For "two" before a measure word, use 两, never 二.
❌ 二家银行
Incorrect — before a measure word 'two' is 两, not 二.
✅ 两家银行
liǎng jiā yínháng
two banks — 两家, not 二家.
Key Takeaways
- 家 (jiā) classifies businesses and establishments: 饭馆 (restaurants), 公司 (companies), 商店 (shops), 银行 (banks), 医院 (hospitals), 超市 (supermarkets), 酒店 (hotels), 工厂 (factories).
- It is the same 家 as "home / family," and the image is each business as a "house" of its trade.
- It also counts households / families: 一家人 (one whole family), 几家人 (several households).
- Contrast with 座: 一家医院 is the institution, 一座医院 is the physical building (座); pure businesses stay 家.
- Tone: 家 is first tone, so it is yì jiā; and use 两, not 二, for "two": 两家银行.
Now practice Chinese
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- 座 (Large Fixed Structures)HSK 3 — 座 (zuò) is the measure word for large, immovable, imposing things that sit massively on the ground — mountains, bridges, buildings, cities and temples: 一座山, 一座桥, 一座城市.
- Choosing the Right ClassifierHSK 2 — A decision procedure for picking the right Chinese measure word: default to 个 when stuck, otherwise match the noun by shape, category, or the respect it deserves — plus a reference table of the ~15 classifiers that cover most everyday nouns.
- The Default 个HSK 1 — 个 (gè, usually neutral-toned ge) is the general-purpose measure word — the safe fallback when you don't know the specific classifier — and it correctly covers people, many everyday objects, and abstract nouns; the goal is to graduate to specific classifiers while keeping 个 for the nouns that genuinely take it.
- Localizers 方位词: Turning Nouns into PlacesHSK 1 — Localizers (方位词) — 上 (on), 下 (under), 里 (in), 外 (out), 前 (front), 后 (back) — attach AFTER a noun to make a place: 桌子上 'on the table', 房间里 'in the room'. Chinese needs them where English uses a preposition.