Chinese sorts its long-and-thin objects by one hidden property that English never marks: rigidity. A rope bends, so it takes 条; a pen does not bend, so it takes 支 (zhī). If you can picture the object as a stiff little rod — a pen, a stick of chalk, a lit cigarette, a candle — 支 is your measure word. Get this rigid-versus-flexible axis into your head and a large slice of the classifier system stops feeling random.
The core meaning: a thin rigid rod
支 originally depicted a hand holding a branch, and its job as a classifier flows from that: it counts things shaped like a straight, stiff stick. The prototype is 一支笔 (a pen), and everything else radiates out from that shape — anything roughly pen-shaped and non-bending qualifies.
你有多的笔吗？借我一支。
nǐ yǒu duō de bǐ ma? jiè wǒ yì zhī
Do you have a spare pen? Lend me one. (informal)
他点了一支烟，站在窗边发呆。
tā diǎn le yì zhī yān, zhàn zài chuāngbiān fādāi
He lit a cigarette and stood by the window, staring into space. (informal)
生日蛋糕上插着十支蜡烛。
shēngrì dàngāo shàng chāzhe shí zhī làzhú
There are ten candles stuck in the birthday cake. (informal)
Note the number's tone: before 支 (a first-tone syllable) the number 一 becomes yì (fourth tone) — 一支 is yì zhī, per the regular 一 tone-change rule.
The everyday 支 set
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 一支笔 | yì zhī bǐ | a pen |
| 一支烟 | yì zhī yān | a cigarette |
| 一支蜡烛 | yì zhī làzhú | a candle |
| 一支牙膏 | yì zhī yágāo | a tube of toothpaste |
| 一支枪 | yì zhī qiāng | a gun / rifle |
| 一支箭 | yì zhī jiàn | an arrow |
| 一支温度计 | yì zhī wēndùjì | a thermometer |
这支牙膏快用完了，得再买一支。
zhè zhī yágāo kuài yòng wán le, děi zài mǎi yì zhī
This tube of toothpaste is almost finished — I need to buy another. (informal)
博物馆里展出着一支老式手枪。
bówùguǎn lǐ zhǎnchūzhe yì zhī lǎoshì shǒuqiāng
An old-style pistol is on display in the museum. (informal)
支 vs 枝: when the wood radical matters
支 has a sister form, 枝 (also zhī), written with the wood radical 木. They overlap, but there is a clear tendency:
- 枝 points to things that grow on a plant — branches, twigs, and flowers on the stem: 一枝玫瑰 (a long-stemmed rose), 一枝梅花 (a spray of plum blossom), 一枝桃花 (a branch of peach blossom). The 木 radical is doing exactly what it looks like.
- 支 is the broader, everyday choice for manufactured rods — pens, cigarettes, candles, guns — and for the figurative uses below.
For a cut flower you will see both 一支花 and 一枝花; 枝 subtly foregrounds the stem or spray, so a florist's single rose is most often 一枝玫瑰.
情人节那天，他送了她一枝玫瑰。
qíngrén jié nà tiān, tā sòng le tā yì zhī méigui
On Valentine's Day he gave her a single rose. (informal) — 枝 highlights the long stem.
墙外伸出一枝桃花，开得正好。
qiáng wài shēnchū yì zhī táohuā, kāi de zhènghǎo
A branch of peach blossom reached out over the wall, in full bloom. (literary)
The figurative reach: songs, tunes, and teams
支 also carries an older sense of "a branch, a detachment," which survives in two very common figurative uses. It classifies songs and tunes (a "strand" of music) and teams or military units (a "branch" of forces):
给我们唱一支歌吧！
gěi wǒmen chàng yì zhī gē ba!
Sing us a song! (informal)
学校派出了一支很强的篮球队。
xuéxiào pàichū le yì zhī hěn qiáng de lánqiú duì
The school sent out a very strong basketball team. (informal)
这支曲子听起来有点忧伤。
zhè zhī qǔzi tīng qǐlái yǒudiǎn yōushāng
This tune sounds a little melancholy. (informal)
支 vs 个, and the rigidity axis vs 条
Against the general classifier 个 (ge), 支 is the native choice for anything pen-shaped: say 一支笔, not 一个笔. But the more instructive contrast is with 条 (tiáo), the classifier for long flexible things — ropes, rivers, snakes, ribbons, trousers. The single question that separates them is: does it bend?
| Rigid rod → 支 | Flexible strand → 条 |
|---|---|
| 一支笔 (a pen) | 一条绳子 (a rope) |
| 一支蜡烛 (a candle) | 一条围巾 (a scarf) |
| 一支箭 (an arrow) | 一条蛇 (a snake) |
A pen is stiff, so 支; a rope hangs limp, so 条. The learner who internalizes "rigid = 支, floppy = 条" will almost never pick wrong.
Common Mistakes
1. Using 个 for a pen or cigarette. Understood, but plainly non-native. Reach for 支 for anything rod-shaped.
❌ 我要买一个笔。
Marginal — 个 is understood but wrong for a pen; a pen is a rigid rod.
✅ 我要买一支笔。
wǒ yào mǎi yì zhī bǐ
I want to buy a pen.
2. Confusing 支 with its homophone 只. The animal classifier 只 (zhī) sounds identical but counts animals and one of a pair, never rigid objects.
❌ 桌上有一只笔。
Incorrect — 只 (same sound, zhī) is for animals; a pen takes 支.
✅ 桌上有一支笔。
zhuō shàng yǒu yì zhī bǐ
There's a pen on the desk. — 支, not the homophone 只.
3. Using flexible 条 for a rigid pen. Both 条 and 支 handle long, thin things, but 条 is for things that bend. A pen does not bend.
❌ 他手里拿着一条笔。
Incorrect — 条 is for flexible strands; a pen is rigid and takes 支.
✅ 他手里拿着一支笔。
tā shǒu lǐ názhe yì zhī bǐ
He's holding a pen in his hand.
4. Using rigid 支 for a floppy rope or scarf. The mirror error: a rope is flexible, so it takes 条, not 支.
❌ 给我一支绳子。
Incorrect — a rope bends, so it takes 条, not 支.
✅ 给我一条绳子。
gěi wǒ yì tiáo shéngzi
Give me a rope.
Key Takeaways
- 支 (zhī) counts long, thin, rigid rod-shaped things: 笔, 烟, 蜡烛, 牙膏, 枪, 箭, 温度计.
- The variant 枝 (with 木) belongs to things that grow — branches and stemmed flowers: 一枝玫瑰, 一枝桃花.
- Figuratively 支 also counts songs/tunes and teams/units: 一支歌, 一支队伍.
- The decisive contrast is rigid 支 vs flexible 条 — does it bend? — and 支 beats the generic 个 for anything pen-shaped.
- Do not confuse 支 with its homophone 只 (animals); before 支 the number 一 is yì.
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- 条 (Long & Thin)HSK 1 — 条 (tiáo) is the measure word for long, thin, flexible or winding things — fish, roads, rivers, trousers, scarves, snakes, dogs and even a piece of news: 一条鱼, 一条路, 一条裤子.
- 只 (Animals & One of a Pair)HSK 1 — 只 (zhī) is the default measure word for most animals and for one member of a natural pair: 一只猫 (a cat), 三只鸟 (three birds), 一只手 (one hand), 一只鞋 (one shoe of a pair). Read it zhī, not zhǐ.
- 把 (Handled Objects)HSK 2 — 把 (bǎ) is the measure word for things you grasp — objects with a handle or a graspable part (umbrellas, chairs, knives, keys, toothbrushes) and, by extension, a handful of something: 一把伞, 一把椅子, 一把刀, 一把米.
- 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.