yo3u
to have
ji3?
how many?
[NB: for fewer than ten]
tā yo3u…
(s)he/it has…
wo3men yo3u…
we have…
ni3 (de) jiā yo3u ji3 ko3u rén?
how many do you have in your family?
[NB: the ‘de’ is an optional possession marker]
wo3 (de) jiā yo3u liù ko3u rén
my family has six people
[NB: the ‘de’ is an optional possession marker]
gè
measure word for general use
be3n
measure word for volumes/bound items, e.g. books, magazines
[NB: newspapers have a separate measure word]
ko3u
measure word for people
lia3ng
two
[NB: used before measure words]