Level 3 · Lesson 3

一张桌子，一把椅子
A table, a chair

一张桌子，一把椅子，一张床。

张 for flat things, 把 for things you grip — and why the measure word belongs to the noun.

听 · Listen

桌子和椅子
 安娜 —  李明，这是什么？ 
Li Ming, what is this?  
 李明 —  这是一张桌子。 
This is a table.  
 安娜 —  那也是桌子吗？ 
Is that a table too?  
 李明 —  不是，那是一把椅子。 
No, that is a chair.  
 安娜 —  一张桌子，四把椅子。 
One table, four chairs.  
 李明 —  不错！那是一张床。 
Not bad! And that is a bed.  
 安娜 —  一张床，一张桌子，一张纸。 
A bed, a table, a sheet of paper — all with 张.  
 李明 —  是！很好！ 
Yes! Very good!  

讲解 · Explanation

一张桌子，一张纸，一张床。

张 counts flat open surfaces: a table top, a sheet of paper, a map, a bed. If you can picture the thing spread out in front of you, 张 is very likely right. The picture behind a measure word is not decoration — it is what makes the pairing memorable.

一把椅子，四把椅子。

把 counts things the hand takes hold of: a chair (you grip it by the back), and later an umbrella, a knife, a key. Careful with this character. 把 turns up again much later in the course as a completely different word with a completely different job; here it is nothing but a measure word. It is read bǎ either way.

一张桌子。一把椅子。一张床。

Which measure word a noun takes is a fact about that noun, not something you work out fresh each time. A table is 张 and a chair is 把, though they stand side by side in the same room. So store the pair: never learn 桌子 alone, learn 一张桌子. Note the sounds too — 桌子 and 椅子 both end in a light, toneless 子.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
张	measure word for flat surfaces	一张桌子, 一张纸, 一张床
桌子	table, desk	一张桌子 yì zhāng zhuōzi
椅子	chair	一把椅子 yì bǎ yǐzi
把（量词）	measure word for things with a handle or a back	一把椅子 yì bǎ yǐzi
床	bed	一张床 yì zhāng chuáng

练习 · Practice

那是三 ______ 椅子。 Which measure word goes with 椅子?

我买一 ______ 床。 A bed is flat and open. Which one?

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'That is a table.'

张、把、本、支、个 Match each measure word to what it counts.

用一用 · Use it

这是一张桌子。那是一把椅子。那是一张床。

Stand in one room of your home and name the furniture out loud, one piece at a time, always with its measure word. Then count what there is more than one of: 四把椅子，三张桌子。 Say each phrase twice — the second time is where the pairing starts to stick.