When you want to say "a little water" or "some books," Chinese hands you two compact quantity words that do the whole job by themselves: (一)点儿 (yìdiǎnr, "a little / a bit") and (一)些 (yìxiē, "some / several"). The thing to understand from day one is that 点 and 些 are themselves measure words — indefinite ones. That is why 一点儿水 and 一些书 are already complete, and why adding the general measure word 个 to them is simply wrong. There is no 一些个书. Think of 点儿 and 些 as sitting in exactly the same slot as 本 or 张, just meaning "an unspecified small/plural amount" instead of "one volume" or "one flat sheet."
点儿: a little, a small amount
(一)点儿 means "a little," a small or slight quantity. It pairs most naturally with uncountable / mass things — water, time, money, salt — where you are not counting units but taking a modest portion.
给我一点儿时间，好吗？
gěi wǒ yìdiǎnr shíjiān, hǎo ma?
Give me a little time, okay? (informal)
菜太淡了，加点儿盐吧。
cài tài dàn le, jiā diǎnr yán ba
The dish is too bland — add a bit of salt. (informal) — the 一 is dropped after the verb 加.
我会说一点儿中文。
wǒ huì shuō yìdiǎnr Zhōngwén
I can speak a little Chinese. (informal) — 一点儿 modestly downplays the amount.
A note on the 儿 ending: 点儿 (diǎnr) carries the northern "erhua" 儿 suffix, standard in Beijing Mandarin and in the pinyin you'll see in textbooks. In much southern-Mainland and Taiwan speech it is simply 点 (diǎn), no 儿 (regional). Both are correct; the meaning is identical.
些: some, several
(一)些 means "some / several / a number of" — an unspecified plural. It pairs naturally with countable things (books, people, questions) and with larger, vaguer masses than 点儿 suggests.
我买了一些水果，你尝尝。
wǒ mǎi le yìxiē shuǐguǒ, nǐ chángchang
I bought some fruit — have a taste. (informal)
The difference in one line: how much
Both translate loosely as "some," so how do you choose? 点儿 = a small amount (and leans uncountable); 些 = an unspecified plural, generally more than 点儿 (and leans countable). If you can picture distinct items you can count, reach for 些; if you mean a bit of a substance, reach for 点儿.
喝点儿茶还是喝些咖啡？
hē diǎnr chá háishì hē xiē kāfēi?
Have a little tea, or some coffee? (informal) — both are drinks, so both work; 点儿 frames it as a small serving.
桌子上有些饼干，你拿点儿吧。
zhuōzi shàng yǒu xiē bǐnggān, nǐ ná diǎnr ba
There are some biscuits on the table — take a few. (informal) — 些 for the pile of biscuits, 点儿 for the modest amount you take.
A tiny bit and quite a few: 一点点 and 好些
Two colloquial variants are worth having ready. Reduplicating 点 into 一点点 (yìdiǎndiǎn) shrinks the amount even further — "a tiny little bit," often with a note of "only that much." And 好些 (hǎoxiē, "a good many / quite a few") pushes 些 in the opposite direction, up to a sizeable number.
我只喝了一点点，真的不多。
wǒ zhǐ hē le yìdiǎndiǎn, zhēn de bù duō
I only drank a tiny bit, really not much. (informal) — reduplicated 一点点 emphasizes how little.
他去过好些国家。
tā qù guo hǎoxiē guójiā
He's been to quite a few countries. (informal) — 好些 = a good many.
One structural limit to remember: 些 pairs only with 一 (or with a demonstrative, as in 这些). You cannot put another number in front of it — there is no 三些 for "three-some." When you want a definite count, you leave 些 behind and switch to a number plus the noun's proper measure word: 三本书 ("three books"), not 三些书.
They already contain the measure — never add 个
Because 点 and 些 occupy the measure-word slot, you attach them directly to the noun, with nothing extra in between. This is the single most important structural fact on this page. You would never insert a second measure word after 三本 (you don't say 三本个书), and the same holds here: 一些 and 一点儿 are complete quantifiers.
After 这 / 那 / 哪: 这些, 那些, 哪些
When you want "these / those / which" as plurals, you drop the 一 and attach 些 straight to the demonstrative: 这些 (zhèxiē, these), 那些 (nàxiē, those), 哪些 (nǎxiē, which ones). This is the plural counterpart to the singular 这个 / 那个 / 哪个 you met on the demonstratives + measure word page — 些 is doing the measure-word job there too.
这些照片是去年拍的。
zhèxiē zhàopiàn shì qùnián pāi de
These photos were taken last year. (informal)
那些人我一个都不认识。
nàxiē rén wǒ yí ge dōu bú rènshi
Those people — I don't know a single one of them. (informal)
哪些是你要的？
nǎxiē shì nǐ yào de?
Which ones are the ones you want? (informal) — 哪些 asks about a plural set; 哪个 would ask about one.
Dropping the 一 after a verb
In everyday speech the 一 in front of 点儿 / 些 is regularly dropped once a verb comes right before it — 买点儿, 喝点儿, 吃些, 加点儿. The quantity meaning survives untouched; dropping 一 just makes the phrase lighter and more colloquial. You will hear this constantly.
你多吃点儿，别客气。
nǐ duō chī diǎnr, bié kèqi
Have some more to eat, don't be shy. (informal) — 一 dropped after 吃.
周末我想买点儿东西。
zhōumò wǒ xiǎng mǎi diǎnr dōngxi
I want to buy a few things this weekend. (informal) — 买点儿东西, 一 dropped.
Don't confuse 一点儿 (noun) with 有点儿 (adjective)
Here is the trap that catches almost every learner. 一点儿 + noun means "a little (of a thing)": 一点儿水. But 有点儿 + adjective means "somewhat / a bit too," usually with a mild note of complaint: 有点儿贵 ("a bit expensive"), 有点儿累 ("a bit tired"). They look similar and both translate as "a bit," but 一点儿 quantifies a noun while 有点儿 grades an adjective.
这件衣服有点儿贵。
This piece of clothing is a bit (too) expensive. (informal) — 有点儿 + adjective, with a hint of complaint.
There is a mirror-image pattern where 一点儿 sits after an adjective to mean "a bit more X" — 便宜一点儿 (piányi yìdiǎnr, "a bit cheaper"). That comparative use, and the full 有点儿 vs 一点儿 contrast, are handled on the choosing 一点儿 vs 有点儿 page; keep them separate in your mind from the "a little + noun" use taught here.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding 个 (or any measure word) after 一些 / 一点儿. They already are the measure word.
❌ 我买了一些个书。
Wrong — 些 is itself the measure word, so 个 is redundant and ungrammatical.
✅ 我买了一些书。
wǒ mǎi le yìxiē shū
I bought some books. (informal)
2. Using 这点儿 / 那点儿 to mean "these / those." For a plural set, "these/those" is 这些 / 那些. 这点儿 means "this little bit (this small amount)," a quantity, not a plural group.
❌ 这点儿人都是我的同事。
Wrong for 'these people' — 这点儿 means 'this small amount', not a plural group of people.
✅ 这些人都是我的同事。
zhèxiē rén dōu shì wǒ de tóngshì
These people are all my colleagues. (informal)
3. Using 一点儿 before an adjective for "a bit too." For "somewhat + adjective," you need 有点儿, not 一点儿.
❌ 这个菜一点儿咸。
Wrong for 'a bit too salty' — 一点儿 quantifies nouns, not adjectives.
✅ 这个菜有点儿咸。
zhège cài yǒudiǎnr xián
This dish is a bit too salty. (informal) — 有点儿 + adjective.
4. Using 点儿 for a set of countable items. For distinct countable things, prefer 些 (or a number + measure word); 点儿 implies a mere trace and sounds off with count nouns like "friends."
❌ 我有一点儿朋友。
Off — 点儿 suggests a tiny undifferentiated amount, which clashes with countable people.
✅ 我有一些朋友。
wǒ yǒu yìxiē péngyou
I have some friends. (informal) — 些 (or 几个) for countable people.
Key Takeaways
- 点儿 = "a little" (small amount, leans uncountable); 些 = "some/several" (unspecified plural, leans countable).
- Both are measure words — attach them straight to the noun and never add 个.
- Plural "these/those/which" = 这些 / 那些 / 哪些 (些 as the measure word), versus singular 这个/那个/哪个.
- The 一 commonly drops after a verb: 买点儿东西, 吃点儿.
- Keep 一点儿 + noun ("a little water") apart from 有点儿 + adjective ("a bit too expensive").
Related Topics
- 些 and 点儿 (Some / A Little)HSK 1 — 些 (xiē) and 点儿 (diǎnr) are indefinite measure words that fill the classifier slot — Number/Demonstrative + 些/点儿 + Noun — so they never take 个 and never follow a bare number above 一: 一些书, 这些人, 一点儿水.
- 一点儿 vs 有点儿 — 'A Bit'HSK 2 — Two 'a bit's that English blurs but Chinese keeps apart by slot and attitude. 有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr) goes BEFORE an adjective or verb and leans negative — a low-key complaint (有点儿贵 'a bit too pricey'). 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) quantifies a noun (喝一点儿水 'drink a little water') or follows an adjective to ask for more or less (便宜一点儿 'a bit cheaper'). The slot tells you which, and the slot carries the attitude.
- 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.
- 有点儿 + Adjective (Slightly, with a Complaint)HSK 2 — 有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr) sits BEFORE an adjective to mean 'a bit / somewhat' — and it almost always carries a complaint: 有点儿贵 'a bit (too) pricey', 有点儿累 'kind of tired', 有点儿难 'a little hard'.