Learn Hardcore Chinese: zhèngfǔ yǒu yí gè xīn jìhuà.

Breakdown of zhèngfǔ yǒu yí gè xīn jìhuà.

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.

Why is 一 written yī in pinyin, but shown here as yí?

This is because of tone change (tone sandhi).

一 is normally pronounced yī when said by itself or when counting: 一，二，三.

But in connected speech, its tone often changes:

Here, 个 is pronounced gè and has a 4th tone, so 一个 is pronounced yí gè.

So:

What does 个 mean here?

个 is a measure word (also called a classifier).

In Chinese, when you say a / one + noun, you usually need:

So 一个计划 literally follows this pattern:

English does not usually need this extra word, but Chinese does.

个 is the most common general-purpose measure word, and it is often used with many nouns, especially in beginner Chinese.

Why is the word order 政府有一个新计划?