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一个 (yī gè) — a; an; one (indefinite article or number one before a noun); the whole (used before time periods to emphasize the entire duration)

Definition

一个 is the everyday numeral 'one' + the general-purpose measure word 个, used as 'a/an' before any countable noun. With time words like 下午 or 暑假 it means 'the whole', emphasizing the full duration.

quantifier
aanone (indefinite article or number one before a noun)the whole (used before time periods to emphasize the entire duration)

Examples

  • 一个。
    Wǒ mǎi le yī gè píng guǒ.
    I bought an apple.
  • 一个，。
    Tā děng le yī gè xià wǔ, tā dōu méi lái.
    He waited the whole afternoon, and she never came.
  • 一个。
    Zhè yī gè wèn tí hěn nán huí dá.
    This question is hard to answer.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 個; 个 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
固
固gù個ge
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 个, the form 個 pairs 亻 (person) with 固 as a sound part.

Open 个 →
Appears in
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