Standard units of measurement — kilos, meters, liters — behave grammatically exactly like measure words in Chinese. There is no separate "unit" grammar to learn: a unit of weight or length drops straight into the familiar Number + Measure + Noun frame, the same slot 个 or 张 occupies. "Three kilos of apples" is 三公斤苹果 — no "of," and crucially no extra classifier. This is good news, because it means the pattern you already know for counting objects transfers wholesale to shopping, cooking, and measuring. The one genuinely new thing is cultural, not grammatical: the everyday Chinese market unit is not the kilogram but the 斤 (jīn), equal to 500 grams.
Weight: 斤 is king at the market
Chinese weights come in a small, tidy system. The unit you will hear most in daily life — at markets, fruit stalls, butcher counters — is 斤 (jīn), a "catty" of 500 grams (half a kilo). Prices are quoted per 斤. The metric 公斤 (gōngjīn, kilogram = 2 斤) shows up on scales and packaging, while 两 (liǎng, 50 g, one-tenth of a 斤) is used for small quantities like tea, nuts, or dumplings by weight, and 克 (kè) is the gram.
| Unit | Pinyin | Value | Everyday use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 斤 | jīn | 500 g (½ kg) | the default market unit — fruit, veg, meat |
| 公斤 | gōngjīn | 1 kg = 2 斤 | scales, packaging, official weights |
| 两 | liǎng | 50 g = ⅒ 斤 | tea, seeds, dumplings, small amounts |
| 克 | kè | 1 gram | recipes, precise weights |
老板，这肉多少钱一斤？
lǎobǎn, zhè ròu duōshao qián yì jīn?
Boss, how much is this meat per jin? (informal) — prices are quoted per 斤, the market default.
我要一斤苹果，再来半斤葡萄。
wǒ yào yì jīn píngguǒ, zài lái bàn jīn pútao
I'd like half a kilo of apples, and another 250 grams of grapes. (informal) — 一斤 and 半斤 (half a jin).
这个西瓜差不多五公斤。
zhège xīguā chàbuduō wǔ gōngjīn
This watermelon is about five kilos. (neutral) — 公斤 for the metric kilogram.
请给我称二两瓜子。
qǐng gěi wǒ chēng èr liǎng guāzǐ
Please weigh me out 100 grams of melon seeds. (informal) — 两 (50 g) for a small quantity.
Length and volume
Length and volume units work the same way. 米 (mǐ) is the meter, 公里 (gōnglǐ, also 千米 qiānmǐ) the kilometer, 厘米 (límǐ) the centimeter; 升 (shēng) is the liter. Each slots directly before the noun with no classifier.
我买了两米布，准备做窗帘。
wǒ mǎi le liǎng mǐ bù, zhǔnbèi zuò chuānglián
I bought two meters of cloth to make curtains. (neutral) — 两米布, no 'of,' no extra classifier.
从这儿到火车站大概三公里。
cóng zhèr dào huǒchēzhàn dàgài sān gōnglǐ
It's about three kilometers from here to the train station. (informal) — 公里 for distance.
这瓶油是五升的，够用很久。
zhè píng yóu shì wǔ shēng de, gòu yòng hěn jiǔ
This bottle of oil is five liters — it'll last a long time. (informal) — 升 for volume.
Money is a unit too
Currency counts by the same logic. The formal names are 元 (yuán) / 角 (jiǎo) / 分 (fēn), but in speech almost everyone uses the colloquial 块 (kuài) / 毛 (máo) / 分, where 1 块 = 10 毛 = 100 分. The unit slots in exactly like a weight or a classifier.
一共三十五块钱，微信还是支付宝？
yígòng sānshíwǔ kuài qián, wēixìn háishi zhīfùbǎo?
That's 35 yuan in total — WeChat or Alipay? (informal) — 块钱 in everyday speech, not 元.
这个才两块五，很便宜。
zhège cái liǎng kuài wǔ, hěn piányi
This is only 2.5 yuan — really cheap. (informal) — 两块五 = 2 块 5 毛.
For the full price-reading pattern and how to handle decimals, see prices and shopping. Note that 块 (colloquial) and 元 (formal, printed on receipts and used in writing) are register variants of the same unit — say 块 when you speak, write 元.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding a classifier after the unit. The unit is the measure word — nothing else goes between it and the noun.
❌ 我买了三公斤个苹果。
Incorrect — 公斤 already fills the measure slot; delete 个.
✅ 我买了三公斤苹果。
wǒ mǎi le sān gōngjīn píngguǒ
I bought three kilos of apples. — Number + Unit + Noun, nothing extra.
2. Treating 斤 as a pound. 斤 = 500 g, a hair over an English pound, and it's the everyday unit — expect prices per 斤, not per kilo.
❌ 一斤等于一磅。
Incorrect — a 斤 is 500 g, not the English pound (磅, 454 g).
✅ 一斤是五百克，等于半公斤。
yì jīn shì wǔbǎi kè, děngyú bàn gōngjīn
A jin is 500 grams, equal to half a kilo. — the correct conversion.
3. Using 两 (the number) when you mean the unit — or vice versa. Before most units, "two" is 两 (两公斤, 两米). But the weight unit 两 itself takes 二, because 两两 is unsayable: "100 grams" is 二两, not 两两.
❌ 请给我两两茶叶。
Incorrect — you can't stack 两 on 两; the weight unit 两 takes 二.
✅ 请给我二两茶叶。
qǐng gěi wǒ èr liǎng cháyè
Please give me 100 grams of tea. — 二两 for the unit 两.
4. Writing 块 in a formal document. In speech 块/毛 are universal; in writing and on invoices the units are 元/角.
❌ 发票上写着「三十五块」。
Wrong register — receipts and invoices use the formal 元, not the colloquial 块.
✅ 发票上写着「三十五元」。
fāpiào shang xiě zhe sānshíwǔ yuán
The invoice says 35 yuan. — 元 in writing, 块 in speech.
Key Takeaways
- Standard units of weight, length, volume, and money are measure words: Number + Unit + Noun, with no "of" and no extra classifier (三公斤苹果).
- 斤 (jīn, 500 g) is the everyday market unit — prices are quoted per 斤; 公斤 = 1 kg = 2 斤; 两 = 50 g; 克 = gram.
- Length: 米 (meter), 公里/千米 (km), 厘米 (cm). Volume: 升 (liter).
- Money: colloquial 块/毛/分 in speech, formal 元/角/分 in writing; 1 块 = 10 毛 = 100 分.
- Use 两 for "two" before units (两米, 两公斤), but the unit 两 itself takes 二 (二两).
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- 杯 / 瓶 / 碗 / 盘 (Containers)HSK 1 — Container words measure their contents by the vessel: 一杯水 (a glass of water), 一瓶啤酒 (a bottle of beer), 一碗饭 (a bowl of rice), 一盘菜 (a plate of food) — they map neatly onto English 'a cup/bottle/bowl/plate of'.
- Container vs Standard Measure (一杯 vs 一杯的)HSK 3 — The same word can measure contents or name the container-object, and grammar tells them apart: 一杯水 (a cup of water, measuring the liquid) vs 一个杯子 (a cup, the empty vessel counted with 个).
- Saying Prices (多少钱, 三块五)HSK 1 — To ask a price, use 多少钱 (duōshao qián) — never 几. Prices are stated in spoken money units, often per measure: 三块五一斤, 三块钱一个. Totals use 一共, and discounts use 打折 (打八折 = 20% off).
- 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.