Long, Flat & Small Things

Many measure words describe the shape of a thing, so once you know the shape you can guess the word:

• 条 long and flexible: trousers, skirts, scarves, towels, roads, rivers
• 张 flat: tickets, business cards, stamps, even a face
• 根 thin and stick-like: chopsticks, matches, needles, cucumbers
• 支 pens and tubes: pencils, brushes, lipstick, toothpaste (管 also works for tubes)
• 块 solid chunks: stones, soap, a blackboard, a watch (一只手表 is also said)
• 片 thin, flat pieces: leaves, petals, snowflakes, and a wide stretch such as a forest
• 颗 small and round: teeth, stars, pearls, and a heart

Compare 一条河 (a river) with 一根针 (a needle): both are long, but a river bends and flows, while a needle is a stiff little stick.