Action measure words: 次/遍/趟/顿/场

Chinese grammar · HSK 4 · 动量词 · By Carson 木林森

Five key action measure words:

次 cì next in sequence 遍 biàn variant of 遍趟 tàng old variant of 趟顿 dùn to stop 场 chǎng classifier for events and happenings: spell… 动量词 dòng liàng cí

| Measure | Usage | Example |
|---------|-------|---------|
| 次 cì | general occurrences | 说了三次 |
| 遍 biàn | complete process, start→end | 读了两遍 |
| 趟 tàng | trips/visits to a place | 去了一趟 |
| 顿 dùn | meals or scoldings | 吃了一顿、骂了一顿 |
| 场 chǎng | events/performances/rain | 下了一场雨、看了一场戏 |

Object placement: object goes before the frequency phrase:
> 我看了那部电影两遍。✅ (not: 我看了两遍那部电影)

Worked examples

Chinese	Pinyin	English	What it shows
我今天做了一顿丰盛的晚饭。	Wǒ jīntiān zuò le yī dùn fēngshèng de wǎnfàn.	I cooked a hearty dinner today.	顿 = measure for a meal
昨晚下了一场大雨，地上都湿了。	Zuó wǎn xià le yī chǎng dà yǔ, dì shàng dōu shī le.	There was a heavy rain last night — everything on the ground got wet.	场 = measure for a rain event or performance
他被老板骂了一顿，心情很差。	Tā bèi lǎobǎn mà le yī dùn, xīnqíng hěn chà.	He got a tongue-lashing from the boss and was in a terrible mood.	顿 extended to verbal rebuke: 骂了一顿

Produce this pattern without stopping to think about it. GraphChinese drills Action measure words across 12 exercises and schedules the review that keeps it.

What you need first

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Frequency complement

Action measure words is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.

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