Chinese word

杯

Pronunciation

Pinyinbēi

Meaning

  • measure wordcup

Example

请给我两杯咖啡。qǐng gěi wǒ liǎng bēi kā fēi

Please give me two cups of coffee.

Illustration for 杯 (cup)

More examples

桌子上有一杯水。zhuō zi shàng yǒu yì bēi shuǐ

There is a cup of water on the table.

Core concept

One drinking vessel provides a natural measure for the liquid inside it.

Common phrases

  • 一杯水yì bēi shuǐ

    a cup of water

  • 一杯茶yì bēi chá

    a cup of tea

  • 一杯牛奶yì bēi niú nǎi

    a cup of milk

  • 两杯咖啡liǎng bēi kā fēi

    two cups of coffee

Similar words

个gè: A common measure word for counting people or things.
瓶píng: A measure word for counting bottled liquids.
碗wǎn: A measure word for counting servings of food or soup in bowls.

Definition in Chinese

杯既可指盛液体的器皿，也可作量词用于表示以杯为单位的一份液体，常与数字、指示词连用，适用于茶、咖啡、酒等饮料的计量。bēi jì kě zhǐ shèng yè tǐ de qì mǐn yě kě zuò liàng cí yòng yú biǎo shì yǐ bēi wèi dān wèi de yí fèn yè tǐ cháng yǔ shù zì zhǐ shì cí lián yòng shì yòng yú chá kā fēi jiǔ děng yǐn liào de jì liàng

Word origin

杯 (bēi, "cup") is formed from 木 (mù, "wood"), which points to a wooden object, and 不 (bù, "not"), which mainly supplies the sound; the serving sense develops from what the vessel contains.

Usage tips

  • In English, "two cups" can mean either containers or servings, and Chinese uses the same word in both roles, making the surrounding number and noun especially useful clues to its meaning.

Related words

Word lists with this word