What happens if you incorrectly use the wrong ‘measure word‘? Well, for one of my students, it meant getting less than expected for desert. Let me explain.
One of my students was eating a fancy banana desert at a hotel in Hanzhou, and her friend decided to order the same thing. She told the waiter that she wanted “yi ge 一个”. About five minutes later, the waiter returned with a big plate, which was covered with chocolate and other delicious toppings, and one single little slice of banana. Both the waiter and my student laughed. Why did this happen?
Well, actually, I cannot imagine this is a common mistake. Maybe the waiter thought it would be funny, or maybe she did actually think my student only wanted one little peice. Had she just said “yi fen 一份”, it would have been avoided all together…
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