ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

(measure word); item

jiàn
6 strokes · 亻(person radical) + 牛 (ox) — a person dividing an ox · HSK 2

Where 件 comes from

A person 亻 beside an ox 牛: the act of butchering divided one animal into countable pieces. 件 became the word for 'a piece of' anything separable — clothes, luggage, documents, events. The ox disappeared; the counting stayed.

件 in Chinese culture

件 is the measure word of adult life: 一件衣服 a piece of clothing, 一件事 a matter, 一件快递 a package. E-commerce reports speak of 亿件包裹 — hundreds of millions of 件 moving through couriers every day.

Example

一件 yí jiàn — one (item)

我买了一件毛衣。
Wǒ mǎi le yí jiàn máoyī.
I bought a sweater.

How to remember it

A person 亻 splitting an ox 牛 into pieces — each piece is one ITEM.

邮件 'mail-item' became email's Chinese name — every message you send is technically one butchered-ox unit of correspondence.

Same sound, different tones

1st jiān
room
3rd jiǎn
simple
4th jiàn
item

Words unlocked by 件

一件事 yí jiàn shì
one matter
邮件 yóujiàn
email
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