條

Classifier for Long Narrow Things

Level 1Sounds Like tiu4

條 (tiu4) is one of the most common Cantonese classifiers. Use it primarily for long, thin, winding, or flexible items like roads, ropes, fish, and trousers, as well as abstract items like rules or questions.

How It Works

1. Core Meaning & Physical Features
條 (tiu4) is a primary sortal classifier in Cantonese. Its core physical domain includes long, narrow, thin, or winding objects.

Common physical categories include:

  • Flexible, winding, or wooden elongated objects: Ropes (條繩 tiu4 sing4), hair/threads (條頭髮 tiu4 tau4 faat3), branches (條樹枝 tiu4 syu6 zi1), rivers (條河 tiu4 ho4).
  • Streets and infrastructure: Roads (條路 tiu4 lou6), streets (條街 tiu4 gaai1), bridges (條橋 tiu4 kiu4), and even villages (條村 tiu4 cyun1).
  • Lower-body garments & long accessories: Pants/trousers (條褲 tiu4 fu3), skirts (條裙 tiu4 kwan4), ties (條領呔 tiu4 ling5 taai1), belts (條皮帶 tiu4 pei4 daai3), towels (條毛巾 tiu4 mou4 gan1), scarves (條頸巾 tiu4 geng2 gan1).
  • Elongated animals & body parts: Fish (條魚 tiu4 jyu2 — note the spoken tone shift from base tone jyu4 to high-rising jyu2), snakes (條蛇 tiu4 se4), worms (條蟲 tiu4 cung4), tongues (條脷 tiu4 lei6).
  • Cantonese vs. Mandarin contrasts: Unlike Mandarin which uses 把 (baa2), Cantonese uses 條 for keys: 條鎖匙 (tiu4 so2 si4 — a key). Conversely, while Mandarin often uses 條 for boats/ships, Cantonese generally uses 隻 (zek3): 一隻船 (jat1 zek3 syun4 — a boat). However, 條 survives in the very common idiom 坐埋一條船 (co5 maai4 jat1 tiu4 syun4 — to be in the same boat).

2. Media, Abstract Nouns & Slang
Beyond physical objects, 條 (tiu4) extends into modern media, abstract concepts, idioms, and slang:

  • Media & Communications: 條 is the standard classifier for videos/clips (一條片 jat1 tiu4 pin2), and news clips, tickers, or headlines (一條新聞 jat1 tiu4 san1 man4). Note that for a news story or event, the classifier 單 (daan1) or 宗 (zung1) is used instead. While 一條短訊 (jat1 tiu4 dyun2 seon3) can be used for text messages in formal contexts, 個 (go3) is the standard and much more common classifier for messages in everyday spoken Cantonese (一個短訊 / 一個 message).
  • Numbers, Accounts & Debts: A crucial abstract use of 條 is for numbers, accounts, and debts (條數 tiu4 sou3). For example, 計錯條數 (gai3 co3 tiu4 sou3 - calculated the math problem wrong) or 找條數 (zaau2 tiu4 sou3 - settle the bill/debt).
  • Other Abstract items: Questions (一條題目 jat1 tiu4 tai4 muk6, 一條問題 jat1 tiu4 man6 tai4 — note that 一條問題 strictly means 'a question', whereas 一個問題 can mean both 'a question' and 'a problem/issue'), rules/laws (一條法例 jat1 tiu4 faat3 lai6), formulas (一條公式 jat1 tiu4 gung1 sik1), human life (一條命 jat1 tiu4 ming6), breath/mood (條氣 tiu4 hei3, e.g., 條氣唔順 tiu4 hei3 m4 seon6 - feeling disgruntled).
  • Informal human references & slang: In casual street slang, 條 is used to refer to people (條友 tiu4 jau5 'that guy', 條女 tiu4 neoi5 'girlfriend / that girl', 條仔 tiu4 zai2 'boyfriend / that guy'). It is also commonly used to mean 'alone' as in 一條友 (jat1 tiu4 jau5), e.g., 我一條友去睇戲 (ngo5 jat1 tiu4 jau5 heoi3 tai2 hei3 - I went to watch a movie alone). Another common slang phrase is 廢柴一條 (fai3 caai4 jat1 tiu4 - a useless person). You'll also hear emphatic slang expressions like 識條鐵咩 (sik1 tiu4 tit3 me1 — literally 'knows a strip of iron' = knows nothing at all!). Note: While bananas are long, the standard classifier is 隻 (zek3) for one or 梳 (so1) for a bunch. Using 條 for a banana (條蕉 tiu4 ziu1) is highly associated with vulgar street slang.
  • Classifier Reduplication: Reduplicating 條條 (tiu4 tiu4) means 'every single [item]': 條條題目都好難 (tiu4 tiu4 tai4 muk6 dou1 hou2 naan4 — Every single question is very difficult).

3. Syntactic Structures
Like other Cantonese classifiers, 條 (tiu4) can appear in several standard patterns:

Examples (5)

  1. 呢條路直通去地鐵站。

    This road leads straight to the MTR station.

    Word by Word: this - CL - road - straight - lead - go - MTR - station

    Here 條 (tiu4) is used with the demonstrative 呢 (ni1) to specify 'this road'.

  2. 我琴日買咗兩條褲。

    I bought two pairs of trousers yesterday.

    Word by Word: I - yesterday - buy - PERFECTIVE - two - CL - trousers

    Lower-body garments like pants take 條 (tiu4). Note that 'two' before a classifier is 兩 (loeng5), not 二 (ji6).

  3. 條魚好新鮮，你可以蒸嚟食。

    The fish is very fresh; you can steam it to eat.

    Word by Word: CL - fish - very - fresh, you - can - steam - to - eat

    Demonstrates the bare classifier structure (條 + Noun) to mean 'the fish' in Cantonese.

  4. 老師，我有一條問題想問。

    Teacher, I have a question I want to ask.

    Word by Word: Teacher, I - have - one - CL - question - want - ask

    Demonstrates the abstract usage of 條 (tiu4) with questions (問題 man6 tai4). Note that 一條問題 strictly means 'a question', whereas 一個問題 can mean both 'a question' and 'a problem/issue'.

  5. 你睇吓，地下有一條蛇！

    Look, there is a snake on the ground!

    Word by Word: you - look - a - bit, ground - on - have - one - CL - snake

    Elongated animals like snakes (蛇 se4) and fish (魚 jyu4) take 條 (tiu4) instead of the general animal classifier 隻 (zek3).

Common Mistakes

  • Using 件 (gin6) for pants or trousers instead of 條 (tiu4).

    我買咗一件褲。
    我買咗一條褲。

    In Cantonese, 件 (gin6) is for upper-body clothing (shirts, coats), while 條 (tiu4) is strictly required for lower-body clothing (trousers, skirts).

  • Using 條 (tiu4) for dogs in Cantonese due to Mandarin influence.

    嗰度有一條狗。
    嗰度有一隻狗。

    In Mandarin, '一条狗' is common, but Cantonese requires the classifier 隻 (zek3) for dogs (一隻狗 jat1 zek3 gau2). Using 條 for dogs in Cantonese sounds like an unnatural direct translation.

  • Confusing flexible long items (條 tiu4) with rigid stick-like items (支 zi1).

    我有一條筆。
    我有一支筆。

    Rigid, straight objects like pens, umbrellas, or chopsticks take 支 (zi1). Flexible, soft, or winding objects take 條 (tiu4).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

條Level 1Classifier for Long Narrow Things

Learn This First

To understand '條', you first need to grasp the basic concept of classifiers in Cantonese and how they fit into the 'Number + Classifier + Noun' word order. Familiarity with the general classifier '個' is also helpful to understand why specific classifiers like '條' are used for certain shapes.

Words in This Pattern

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