Correct measure word for passport

[Christa]

I normally use 個 / 个 with 護照 / 护照 but should it be 本?

 

Anyone know the answer to this one?

[889]

My first thought was 册 -- it even looks like a passport -- and a quick Google search shows at least some use it.

[anonymoose]

From the Chinese embassy UK website:

 

Quote

如您没有有效中国护照和有效在英签证或居留证件，也不能提供英内政部（HOME OFFICE）出具的您正在办理或即将获得合法签证或居留的材料，而想申请一本护照，需要您本人亲自前来使领馆递交申请，但取证时可委托他人凭取证单代取。

 

[Lu]

Now I wonder if there is a difference in measures words between 'there were two passports on the embassy employee's desk' and 'her mother is British and her father American, so she has two passports'.

[anonymoose]

38 minutes ago, Lu said:

I wonder if there is a difference in measures words between 'there were two passports on the embassy employee's desk' and 'her mother is British and her father American, so she has two passports'.

 

If you mean she physically has two passport books, then it should still be 本. If you mean she has two passports from different countries, then 国.

[stapler]

This is perhaps somewhat irrelevant, but I've noticed many quite well educated speakers using 个 even for things like 书 when speaking to me. I find this surprising because I use to think that using 个 instead of proper measure words was largely something associated with children.

[lips]

一个书 sounds really wrong to me.

[stapler]

I don't know if it changes your opinion, but I think it was actually "那个书". That said I merely wanted to point out some of habits of native speakers.

[Publius]

But 这个书 should be okay, even preferable in, say, 这个书有电子版下载吗？

[Lu]

14 hours ago, anonymoose said:

If you mean she has two passports from different countries, then 国.

I did a quick search on this, but as I read it, 两国护照 doesn't really look like number - measure word - noun, but rather like a shortening of 两个国家的护照. My paper dictionary doesn't list 国 as a measure word either.

[Jim]

Out of interest just did a search for 一张护照 and came up with quite a few uses, e.g: https://www.lszj.com/yeshiquwen/17889.html though the same article uses 本 as well.

[imron]

Not sure why, but 张 is the word that first came to mind for me too.  I can't recall if that's because I've seen/heard it used or because I thought 'rectangular and flat object' before I thought of 'booklet'.

[somethingfunny]

I canvassed some people and the consensus seems to be 本.  That's also the one provided in my dictionary.

 

(Obviously, in addition to 个, which is probably what I would use.)

[Christa]

1 hour ago, somethingfunny said:

I canvassed some people and the consensus seems to be 本.  That's also the one provided in my dictionary.

 

(Obviously, in addition to 个, which is probably what I would use.)

 

So, does that mean both are actually alright to use?

[evn108]

On 1/18/2018 at 12:08 PM, anonymoose said:

If you mean she physically has two passport books, then it should still be 本. If you mean she has two passports from different countries, then 国.

 

This makes a lot of sense to me, but I wonder if it is really a "measure word" in this case? 兩國護照 "feels" to me like an abbreviation of 兩個國家的護照. Is it still a measure word?

[anonymoose]

1 hour ago, evn108 said:

兩國護照 "feels" to me like an abbreviation of 兩個國家的護照. Is it still a measure word?

 

I'm not sure that fundamentally there is a difference.

[Lu]

9 hours ago, anonymoose said:

I'm not sure that fundamentally there is a difference.

I think there is a pretty clear distinction between nouns and measure words. Some nouns can be measure words and some measure words can be nouns, but in one phrase, a word is either a measure word or a noun, not both at the same time. I'm not a linguist and am perfectly willing to be convinced that I'm wrong in this, but this is how I see it.

[studychinese]

My first thought was 一张护照 

[889]

 

"I'm not sure that fundamentally there is a difference."

 

How would you complete this sentence:

 

”我哥哥有两国护照可是我只有一 . . .”

 

With 国？Really?

 

 

[dwq]

To me passports has always been booklets so it's always 本.  Perhaps in some other era / some countries I don't know of a passport could have been a piece of paper in which case 張 can apply.  But 個 does not sound right to me, it sounds like it is referring to 護照 as a concept (like to right to have a passport from a country) but not to the physical booklet (perhaps because, to me, 一個書 is completely unacceptable).

 

OTOH, 簽證 visas come in many forms: a stamp, a sticker, or a separate document and I use 一個簽證 most of the time, but I think 一張簽證 is also used.