bookstore; bookshop
书店
Common Usage & Traps
- 去书店 — go to a bookstore
- 书店里 — inside the bookstore
- 一家书店 — a bookstore (using the shop counting word)
- 在书店买书 — buy books in a bookstore
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一个书店一家书店Stores and businesses usually take 家, not 个. 个 is not broken, but it sounds like you are counting generic objects.
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书店是很多书书店有很多书有 says what a place has. 是 says one thing is another, so 书店是很多书 sounds like 'the bookstore is many books'.
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去一个书店去书店For a general plan, Chinese drops the counting word. Add 一个 only when the number or a specific one matters.
Why do Chinese people say 一家书店, not 一个书店?
Use 家 for bookstores and shops; 个 sounds like you're counting generic blobs.
Chinese uses 家 as the counting word for stores, restaurants, and hotels. It treats them like businesses or homes. 个 is fine for many objects, but shops usually take 家. Say 一家书店 when you mean one bookstore. Use 这家书店 or 那家书店 when pointing to a specific one.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Counting a bookstore | 一家书店 | 一个书店 |
Why does 书店有好书 use 有, not 是?
有 means 'has/exists'; 是 means 'equals', so a bookstore has books.
有 means a place contains or has something. 是 links two things and says one equals the other. A bookstore is not a book, so 书店是书 is odd. You say 书店有很多书 for what it has. Use 是 for identity: 这是书店 means this is a bookstore. “书店有好书, 饭店吃和住, 酒店没有酒。” (A bookstore has good books; a restaurant offers food and lodging; a hotel doesn't have wine.) ── [《三星在哪里?》](/read/where-is-samsung#s5)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| A place has things | 书店有很多书 | 书店是很多书 |
Why do people just say 去书店 instead of 去一个书店?
Drop the counting word for generic places; use 一个 only when counting or pointing.
Chinese often drops 一个 when you talk about a general destination. 去书店 means you are going to a bookstore, any bookstore. Add 一个 when the number matters or you are telling a story. If you mean a particular one, 我想去一个书店买书 can work. For daily plans, 去书店 is the normal choice.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| General destination | 去书店 | 去一个书店 |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
Ever noticed how similar Chinese words can be? This rhyme plays with place names and homophones, from schools to hotels, even throwing in Samsung's origin. A lighthearted way to boost your word power.
- Scene #1
书店 有好书,饭店吃和住,酒店没有酒。
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