Chinese word

副

Pronunciation

Pinyinfù

Meaning

  • measure wordpair

Example

我买了一副手套。wǒ mǎi le yí fù shǒu tào

I bought a pair of gloves.

Illustration for 副 (pair)

More examples

他戴着一副眼镜，专心地看书。tā dài zhe yí fù yǎn jìng zhuān xīn dì kàn shū

He is wearing a pair of glasses and reading attentively.

Core concept

Two corresponding items, or several parts that belong together, form one countable whole.

Common phrases

  • 一副眼镜yí fù yǎn jìng

    a pair of glasses

  • 一副手套yí fù shǒu tào

    a pair of gloves

  • 一副嘴脸yí fù zuí liǎn

    a face

Similar words

双shuāng: Counts two matching items that belong together as a left and right pair.
对duì: Counts two items that form a pair or are linked as a couple.
套tào: Counts a complete set of several items or parts designed to be used together.

Definition in Chinese

用作量词，指成对或成套的两件为一组的物品单位，常用于配件类名词前。yòng zuò liàng cí zhǐ chéng duì huò chéng tào de liǎng jiàn wèi yì zǔ de wù pǐn dān wèi cháng yòng yú pèi jiàn lèi míng cí qián

Word origin

副 (fù, "pair or set") developed its counting sense from the idea of matching or accompanying things, linking separate objects into a single coordinated unit.

Usage tips

  • In everyday speech, this classifier comes after the number and directly before the item noun, so the counting unit sits inside the noun phrase.

Other meanings

  • setmeasure word

Related words

Word lists with this word