Hokkien counter word explained

Counter word
Hanji:量詞
Poj:Liōng-sû
Tl:liōng-sû

Table of the traditional numerals

See main article: Hokkien numerals. For counter word, the colloquial set of Hokkien numerals system is used with the exception of 1 and 2 when the number is greater than 10; for example, one should say cha̍p-it (十一) and jī-cha̍p-jī (二十二) for 11 and 22 instead of cha̍p-chi̍t (十蜀) and nn̄g-cha̍p-nn̄g (兩十兩) with no actual meaning. For 0, (無, means "nothing") is sometimes used, but usually it is needless to count 0.

NumeralHokkien
Hàn-jīPe̍h-ōe-jī
Literary systemVernacular system
0零 / 空lêngkhòng
1一 / 蜀it / etchi̍t / che̍t
2二 / 兩jī / lī / gīnn̄g / nňg / nō͘
3samsaⁿ
4sù / sìr / sì
5ngó͘ / gó͘ / gúgō͘ / gǒ͘ / ňg
6lio̍kla̍k
7chhitchhit
8patpoeh / peh / piē
9kiúkáu
10si̍p / se̍pcha̍p

Common counters by category

Pe̍h-ōe-jīHàn-jīUse examples
êThe Hokkien counter word ê is available for most of countable nouns.
People and Things
bué/bé/bérFish (//hîr)
chângTree, plant
chiahAnimals, bicycles (thih-bé), boats (chûn)
hāngEvents (tāi-chì), things (mi̍h-kiāⁿ)
kengRooms (pâng-keng), classrooms (kàu-sek), houses (chhù), schools (ha̍k-hāu), companies (kong-si)
kiPen (pit), branch (chhiū-ki), leg (kha), arm (chhiú), strand of hair (thaû-mňg, chhiu), mouth (chhuì)
lângPeople
lia̍pFruits, mountains (soaⁿ)
púnBooks (chheh), comic books (ang-á-chheh), magazines (cha̍p-chì)
tâiBicycles (kha-ta̍h-chhia), cars (chhia), machines (ki-khì), mechanical devices, household appliances
tiâuLines (soàⁿ), songs (koa), railway (thih-lō͘)
tíngHat (bō-á), cars (chhia) in some variants
ūiPeople (polite)
Time, Calendar, etc.
bióSeconds
goe̍h / ge̍h / ge̍rh / gǒe / gōe / gērMonths of the year (see also: kò-goe̍h)
hunMinutes
hun-cheng分鐘Minutes
li̍t / le̍t / ji̍t / gi̍tDays
kangDays
kò-goe̍h / kò-ge̍h個月Months
lé-pài禮拜Weeks
/ Nights
Years
tangYears
tiám-cheng點鐘Hours

Extended list of counters

Pe̍h-ōe-jīHàn-jīUse examples
aucup[1]
ba̍ksection[2]
goe̍h-ji̍t月日Months
hôeEvents, behaviors, times, frequency, novels paragraphs
hō͘Families
ia̍hPages
keFamilies
keⁿ / kiⁿ1 keⁿ equals 2 hours
kiāⁿBaggages (hêng-lí), events (tāi-chì)
kńgRoll stuffs
kûnGroups, people (lâng)
khu[3] Paddy fields (chhân)
pakdrawings (tô͘)
pa̍kBundles, bunches
Bunchs of banana (keng-chio), mullets (o͘-hî-chí), cluster-like items[4]
pō͘Departments (pō͘-bûn) of a company or a government
pōng1 pōng equals 0.454 kilogram.
phiⁿArticles (bûn-chiuⁿ)
phōBooks, especially for a "set" of books
phoa̍hNecklace (phoa̍h-liān), chain items (liān-á)
se̍kSeats in a conference or parliament
sianDeities (sîn-bêng), puppets (ang-á), silkworm (niû-á)
siánCent
sió-sî小時Hours (written)
tha̍h疊 or 沓Stacked-like items
thia̍pStacked-like items, bricks (chng-á)
thongTelephone calls (tiān-ōe)

See also

Notes and References

  1. https://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/result_detail.jsp?n_no=11811&curpage=1&sample=甌&radiobutton=1&querytarget=1&limit=20&pagenum=1&rowcount=5 Dictionary result
  2. https://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/result_detail.jsp?n_no=1864&curpage=1&sample=目&radiobutton=1&querytarget=1&limit=20&pagenum=6&rowcount=106 Dictionary result
  3. https://twblg.dict.edu.tw/holodict_new/result_detail.jsp?n_no=3769&curpage=1&sample=坵&radiobutton=1&querytarget=1&limit=20&pagenum=1&rowcount=3 Dictionary result
  4. Web site: 枇 pî. dictionary.