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The character們 can also be used to make a noun plural, similar to a final “s” for countable regular nouns in English, but this generally only applies to human nouns in Chinese. For instance, the word 同學 (classmate; ''tóng xué'') can become 同學們 (classmates; ''tóng xué men''), 同事 (colleague; ''tóng shì'') becomes 同事們 (colleagues; tóng ''shì men''), 女士 (lady; ''nǚ shì'') becomes 女士們 (ladies; ''nǚ shì men''), and so forth. <br> | The character們 can also be used to make a noun plural, similar to a final “s” for countable regular nouns in English, but this generally only applies to human nouns in Chinese.<ref>Chinese Language, StackExchange, https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/6802/when-to-use-%E4%BB%AC, accessed 1 February 2018.</ref> For instance, the word 同學 (classmate; ''tóng xué'') can become 同學們 (classmates; ''tóng xué men''), 同事 (colleague; ''tóng shì'') becomes 同事們 (colleagues; tóng ''shì men''), 女士 (lady; ''nǚ shì'') becomes 女士們 (ladies; ''nǚ shì men''), and so forth. <br> | ||
Beyond the occasional use of 們, the plural in Chinese is generally either inferred from context or designated by the placement of a number.<ref>''Chinese Plural, MyLanguages'', http://mylanguages.org/chinese_plural.php, accessed 1 February 2018.</ref> When quantifying a noun in Chinese, classifiers are placed between the number and the noun, similar to the way in which uncountable nouns are designated in English (e.g. One '''cup''' of milk, a '''kernel''' of corn, a '''sum''' of money, etc.). Some examples of Chinese classifiers are as follows: | Beyond the occasional use of 們, the plural in Chinese is generally either inferred from context or designated by the placement of a number.<ref>''Chinese Plural, MyLanguages'', http://mylanguages.org/chinese_plural.php, accessed 1 February 2018.</ref> When quantifying a noun in Chinese, classifiers are placed between the number and the noun, similar to the way in which uncountable nouns are designated in English (e.g. One '''cup''' of milk, a '''kernel''' of corn, a '''sum''' of money, etc.). Some examples of Chinese classifiers are as follows: | ||
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