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Pinyin | běn (third tone) |
| English | [measure word for books] | |
| Pronounce like the 'ben' in 'bend' | ||
The pictogram is that of a tree with the root emphasised. It is used as the measure word for such things as books and magazines you can't just say 'I have three books' you need a word like 'I have three bundles of books'. In English the closest we have are special collective nouns ('a pride of lions; a bunch of keys') but they are optional, in Chinese they are always needed.
| wǒ | yǒu | sān | běn | shū |
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| I | have | three | [of] | books |