枚

• Pinyin: méi
• Hanzi breakdown: 枚 = 木 (wood/tree) + 攵 (action/strike) — originally a wooden peg or individual trunk; extended as a counter for small individual objects

Meaning

A measure word for small, individual objects such as coins, stamps, medals, badges, rockets, and bombs.

One of the more formal or literary measure words in Mandarin. 枚 is used for small, flat, or disc-shaped items, as well as certain technical objects like missiles and rockets. It is standard in military, philatelic, and numismatic contexts, and also appears in classical Chinese.

Examples

1. 博物馆展出了一枚汉代铜钱，保存完好，币面文字清晰可辨。 The museum is exhibiting a Han-dynasty copper coin in excellent condition, with the characters on its face still clearly legible.
2. 运动员在本届奥运会上共摘得三枚金牌，创下了个人参赛的最佳纪录。 At this Olympics, the athlete won a total of three gold medals, setting a personal best.
3. 他从抽屉里取出一枚珍贵的纪念邮票，小心翼翼地放入集邮册中保存。 He took a valuable commemorative stamp from the drawer and carefully placed it into his stamp album for safekeeping.

Usage Guide

Context: official, military, philately, numismatics

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 此次任务中，部队共发射了两枚精确制导导弹，成功摧毁了目标设施。(During this mission, the unit fired two precision-guided missiles and successfully destroyed the target facility.)
• 这套纪念币共发行十二枚，每枚面值不同，深受收藏爱好者的追捧。(This commemorative coin set was issued in twelve pieces of varying denominations, and has been eagerly sought after by collectors.)

Don't Say

• 用'枚'计量大型或不规则形状的物品 — 大件物品应选用相应的专用量词，如'辆'（车）或'台'（机器） (Don't use 枚 for large or irregularly shaped objects — use the appropriate classifier such as 辆 for vehicles or 台 for machines)

Origin & History

Classical Chinese measure word originally meaning a single tree trunk or branch. Extended over time to cover small, individual, countable objects.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal