Malcolm: Chinese term (2020-12-07 15:41) [#11611]

The parent, Group page has this about the Chinese term:

The Chinese term, 块（塊）kuài, is not a noun, but a measure word (aka classifier, counter), i.e. it acts as a unit in which a noun is counted. The noun used in this context is 棋 qí, here meaning "stones“. Measure words must be combined with a numeral, or a demonstrative pronoun, or both. E.g.: 一块棋 yí kuài qí, "a group (of) stones, one group (of) stones", 这两块死棋 zhè liǎng kuài sǐ qí, "these two dead groups". Primary meaning of kuài is "a chunk of (something)", but also "a piece (e.g. of land)".

However 块 can also be a noun, meaning piece/lump/chunk. For instance "how many groups are there?" could be translated as "有几块儿？".

The discussion of measure words is correct but I'm not sure how relevant it is here.

So I think the above may well be slightly wrong/misleading. I have decided to remove it from the main page, for now.