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    Chinese Grammar

    Using the classifier 篇 (piān) for articles and essays

    Numbers & Quantity

    Structure

    Number + 篇 + Noun (article/essay)

    Explanation

    The classifier (measure word) 篇 (piān) is used to count written works such as articles, essays, papers, and stories. Like all Chinese classifiers, it appears between a number or demonstrative and the noun it modifies.

    Examples

    • 我昨天读了一篇很有意思的文章。

      Wǒ zuótiān dú le yī piān hěn yǒu yìsi de wénzhāng.

      I read a very interesting article yesterday.

    • 老师让我们每周写一篇作文。

      Lǎoshī ràng wǒmen měi zhōu xiě yī piān zuòwén.

      The teacher asked us to write an essay every week.

    • 这篇论文的观点很新颖。

      Zhè piān lùnwén de guāndiǎn hěn xīnyǐng.

      The viewpoint of this thesis is very novel.

    Using the classifier 篇 (piān) for articles and essays | Chinese Grammar