The plural form
In Chinese, nouns are the same in both singular and plural forms. For example, 苹果 is both “an apple” and “apples”. However sometimes it is important to emphasize the plural form (复数). There are several ways to do this.
The particle 们
For the plural form of nouns and pronouns specifically pertaining to people or animals use the particle .
Scheme
pronoun/noun
denoting people or animals
Examples
us
wǒmen
老师
teachers
lǎoshīmen
dogs
gǒumen
Pay attention
The exception is the pronoun . We cannot use the particle 们 with it.
We should not use 们 with inanimate nouns and pronouns. It is also not used when there’s a grammatical number.
Specific quantity
The plural can be expressed by a specific number of objects. Between a numeral and a noun there must be a special word that connects them — measure word.
Scheme
numeral
measure word
noun
Examples
three dogs
sān zhĭ gŏu
我有
I have two books
wŏ yŏu liăng bĕn shū
To indicate a quantity of 2, we should use the word . cannot be used.
Examples
个苹果
two apples
liǎng ge píngguǒ
Words like “much”, “little”
Another way to express plurality is to use words which indicate an indeterminate number. For example:
Examples
个人
few people
jǐ ge rén
中国人喜欢红色
All Chinese people like the colour red
zhōngguórén dōu xǐhuan hóngsè
You can read more about indeterminate numbers here ↓
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