Breakdown of péngyou yào yí gè shuāngrénjiān.
Used when counting nouns or when specifying a specific instance of a noun.
There are also classifiers for people, for bound items such as books and magazines, for cups/glasses, etc.
The classifier 个 is a general one that can be used for any of these.
Questions & Answers about péngyou yào yí gè shuāngrénjiān.
This is because of a common tone-change rule for 一.
- 一 is normally yī when said by itself or when counting.
- Before a 4th-tone syllable, it changes to yí.
- Before a 1st-, 2nd-, or 3rd-tone syllable, it usually changes to yì.
Here it comes before 个 gè, which is 4th tone, so 一个 is pronounced yí gè.
个 is a measure word or classifier.
In Mandarin, when you count nouns, you usually say:
number + classifier + noun
So:
- 一个双人间 = one double room
English learners often want to say just one room, but Mandarin normally needs that extra classifier word in between.
It is understandable, but for hotel rooms, 间 is usually more natural than 个.
So native speakers often say:
- 一间双人间
instead of:
- 一个双人间
Why?
- 间 is the usual classifier for rooms.
- 个 is the very general classifier, so beginners learn it early and use it a lot.
So the sentence is easy to understand, but 一间双人间 sounds more idiomatic in many real-life situations.