Measure Words with 这 / 那 / 每 | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

Most learners first meet the measure word behind a number — 三本书 (sān běn shū, "three books"). But the classifier slot is bigger than counting. The pointing words 这 (zhè, "this"), 那 (nà, "that") and the question word 哪 (nǎ, "which"), plus the "every" word 每 (měi), all open the exact same slot and demand a measure word before the noun. You say 这本书, 那位老师 (nà wèi lǎoshī, "that teacher"), 每个人 (měi ge rén, "everyone"), 哪张票 (nǎ zhāng piào, "which ticket?"). The single most useful mental model for the whole system: anything that specifies "which units or how many units" behaves like a number here, and Chinese never leaves the counting slot empty in front of the noun.

One slot, four kinds of filler

Chinese nouns don't inflect for number — 书 is "book" or "books" with no change (see nouns don't inflect). So the language needs a separate word to package the noun into countable units: the measure word. That packaging is triggered by any of four things landing in front of the noun:

Trigger	Structure	Example
Number	number + MW + noun	三本书 (three books)
这 / 那 "this / that"	这/那 + MW + noun	这本书 (this book)
哪 "which"	哪 + MW + noun	哪本书？(which book?)
每 "every"	每 + MW + noun	每本书 (every book)

English hides this because "this book," "which book," "every book" are all two-word phrases with nothing in between. Chinese forces the classifier into the gap every time.

这本书我看过三遍了。

zhè běn shū wǒ kàn guo sān biàn le

I've read this book three times. (informal) — 本 fills the slot after 这, just as it would after a number.

那位老师对学生特别好。

nà wèi lǎoshī duì xuésheng tèbié hǎo

That teacher is especially kind to the students. (polite) — 位 is the respectful classifier for people.

每个人都有自己的想法。

měi ge rén dōu yǒu zìjǐ de xiǎngfǎ

Everyone has their own ideas. (neutral) — 每个人 = 'every person'; note the 都 partner.

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Read 这/那/哪/每 to yourself with an invisible "one-of" attached: "this one-of book," "every one-of person," "which one-of ticket." The measure word is that "one-of," and the slot is never allowed to stay empty in front of a counted noun.

每 (every): the distinctive member

You already meet 这/那/哪 on the demonstratives page. The member worth extra attention here is 每 (měi, "every / each"), because it hides two traps that 这/那 do not.

Trap one: 每 still needs its measure word. "Every" feels like a quantity all by itself in English, so learners drop the classifier. But 每 is a specifier just like a number, and an ordinary countable noun after it must be packaged:

每本书都很贵。

měi běn shū dōu hěn guì

Every book is expensive. (neutral) — 每本书, not 每书.

每辆车都要交停车费。

měi liàng chē dōu yào jiāo tíngchēfèi

Every car has to pay a parking fee. (neutral) — 辆 is the vehicle classifier; 每辆车.

Trap two: some time words are already measure words, so 每 attaches directly. Words like 天 (tiān, day), 年 (nián, year) and 次 (cì, time/occasion) are themselves classifier-nouns — they don't take a second one. So it's 每天 (měi tiān, "every day") with no 个, and adding one is wrong.

我每天早上跑步。

wǒ měi tiān zǎoshang pǎobù

I go running every morning. (informal) — 每天, never 每个天.

他每次考试都是第一名。

tā měi cì kǎoshì dōu shì dì-yī míng

He comes first in every exam. (informal) — 次 is itself a measure word, so no extra classifier.

By contrast, 月 (yuè, month) and 星期 (xīngqī, week) usually do take 个: 每个月 (měi ge yuè, "every month"), 每个星期 (měi ge xīngqī, "every week"). There's no deep logic separating 每天 from 每个月 — you memorise that 天/年/次 stand alone while 月/星期/小时 take 个. The formal alternatives 每月 and 每周 exist in writing, but in speech the 个 versions are safer.

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每 almost always travels with 都 (dōu, "all / in every case") later in the sentence: 每个人都…, 每天都…. The 每…都… frame is the natural way to say "every X without exception." Leaving out 都 often sounds incomplete to a native ear.

Adding a number: "these three," "every three days"

Because 这/那/哪 sit in the counting slot, you can drop a number between the demonstrative and the measure word to point at several units at once — the parallel with numbers made visible:

这三个学生是我们班最努力的。

zhè sān ge xuésheng shì wǒmen bān zuì nǔlì de

These three students are the hardest-working in our class. (neutral) — the number 三 slots between 这 and 个.

那两位客人还在等。

nà liǎng wèi kèrén hái zài děng

Those two guests are still waiting. (polite) — use 两 (liǎng), not 二, before a measure word.

每 does something subtler and very useful: 每 + number + MW = "every N units," a repeating interval. 每三天 (měi sān tiān) is not "these three days" but "every three days":

这种药每四个小时吃一次。

zhè zhǒng yào měi sì ge xiǎoshí chī yí cì

Take this medicine every four hours. (neutral) — 每 + 四 + 个小时 = a recurring four-hour interval.

我们每两个星期开一次会。

wǒmen měi liǎng ge xīngqī kāi yí cì huì

We have a meeting every two weeks. (neutral) — 每两个星期, a distributive interval.

Match the measure word to the noun

The classifier after a demonstrative or 每 is not free choice — it must be the right one for that noun, the same one you'd use to count it. If you count "three books" as 三本书, then "this book" is 这本书 and "every book" is 每本书, all with 本. When you genuinely don't know the specific classifier, the general-purpose 个 (ge) will be understood, but the specific ones sound native. See choosing the right measure word for the shape logic.

哪张票是你的？

nǎ zhāng piào shì nǐ de?

Which ticket is yours? (informal) — 张 for flat things like tickets; 哪张 asks 'which flat one'.

每条河都有名字。

měi tiáo hé dōu yǒu míngzi

Every river has a name. (neutral) — 条 for long, winding things like rivers.

Common Mistakes

1. Dropping the measure word after 每 — the number-one error. "Every" is one word in English, so learners write one word in Chinese. But 每 modifying a countable noun needs the classifier, exactly like a number.

❌ 每人有一本书。（meaning 'every person'）

Marginal — 每人 exists as a set phrase, but for ordinary counting the classifier is expected: say 每个人.

✅ 每个人都有一本书。

měi ge rén dōu yǒu yì běn shū

Everyone has a book. — 每个人 with the obligatory 个, plus the 都 partner.

2. Inserting 个 after a time word that already is a measure word. 天, 年 and 次 are classifiers themselves; 每天 takes no 个.

❌ 我每个天都喝咖啡。

Incorrect — 天 is already a measure word, so no 个 is added.

✅ 我每天都喝咖啡。

wǒ měi tiān dōu hē kāfēi

I drink coffee every day. — 每天, never 每个天.

3. Using 二 instead of 两 before the measure word. For the quantity "two" in the number slot, Chinese uses 两 (liǎng), never 二 (èr).

❌ 这二本书都是我的。

Incorrect — before a measure word, 'two' is 两, not 二.

✅ 这两本书都是我的。

zhè liǎng běn shū dōu shì wǒ de

These two books are both mine. — 两本, not 二本.

4. Forgetting the 都 partner with 每. A 每 phrase almost always needs 都 to complete the "every … without exception" idea.

❌ 每个孩子喜欢这个游戏。

Incomplete — a 每 subject normally needs 都 before the verb.

✅ 每个孩子都喜欢这个游戏。

měi ge háizi dōu xǐhuan zhège yóuxì

Every child likes this game. — 每…都… is the natural frame.

Key Takeaways

Numbers, 这 / 那, 哪, and 每 all open the same obligatory measure-word slot: 这本书, 哪张票, 每个人.
每 (every) needs its classifier before ordinary nouns (每本书, 每辆车) but attaches directly to time words that are already measure words: 每天, 每年, 每次 — while 月/星期/小时 take 个 (每个月).
每 almost always pairs with 都 later in the clause: 每…都… ("every X without exception").
Slot a number between the specifier and the measure word for plurals (这三个) or, with 每, for repeating intervals (每三天 = "every three days").
Use 两, not 二, for "two" in front of any measure word.

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