Chinese word

个儿

Pronunciation

Pinyingèr

Meaning

  • nounheight

Example

他个儿很高。tā gèr hěn gāo

He is tall.

Illustration for 个儿 (height)

More examples

孩子们的个儿差不多。hái zi men de gèr chà bu duō

The children are about the same height.

Core concept

An overall sense of how much physical presence a person or thing has when seen from the outside.

Common phrases

  • 个儿不高gèr bù gāo

    not tall

  • 个儿差不多gèr chà bu duō

    about the same height

Similar words

身高shēn gāo: The exact height of a person, usually measured and stated numerically.
个头gè tóu: The rough height or overall size of a person or object as seen from the outside.
身材shēn cái: The shape, proportions, and fleshiness of a person's body.
体型tǐ xíng: A person's general body shape based on bone structure and muscle development.

Definition in Chinese

表示人或物的大小、尺寸或占据空间的口语名词，强调外观或占有的量感。biǎo shì rén huò wù de dà xiǎo chǐ cùn huò zhàn jù kōng jiān de kóu yǔ míng cí qiáng diào wài guān huò zhàn yǒu de liàng gǎn

Word origin

个儿 (gèér, "size or stature") developed in northern colloquial speech from 个 (gè, "individual") plus the 儿 (ér, "r-suffix") ending and came to name an individual's apparent scale.

Usage tips

  • The noun can describe people and objects alike, so the surrounding adjective or context determines whether the focus is a person's stature or an object's bulk.

Other meanings

  • buildnoun
  • sizenoun

Opposites

  • 小个子xiǎo gè zishort personnoun

Word lists with this word