支
zhī
The straight stick your fingers close around: 支
The picture One straight, thin, long rod held between the fingers. 支 counts one straight rod you grip; 条 counts one long thing that droops and bends.
Where the picture shows up in 支
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a rod between the fingers
借我一支笔。
jiè wǒ yì zhī bǐ
Lend me a pen.
Picking up one pen and passing it across the desk.
-
a rod you set alight
他点了一支烟。
tā diǎn le yì zhī yān
He lit a cigarette.
One cigarette held between two fingers with a flame brought to its tip.
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a tool on a handle
我买了两支牙刷。
wǒ mǎi le liǎng zhī yáshuā
I bought two toothbrushes.
Unwrapping two toothbrushes and standing them side by side in a cup.
-
a rod stood upright
生日蛋糕上插了十支蜡烛。
shēngrì dàngāo shang chā le shí zhī làzhú
We put ten candles on the birthday cake.
Pressing candles one by one straight down into the icing.
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one branch split off
这支队伍刚到。
zhè zhī duìwu gāng dào
This unit has just arrived.
One column peeling away from the main body and marching in on its own.
Used of groups, troops or teams, it keeps the picture of one branch off the main stem.
All of it in one picture
The pen you ask to borrow is 支, the cigarette being lit is 支, the two new toothbrushes are 支. The ten candles pushed into the cake are 支, and so is a detachment split off from the main body. 支 counts neither thickness nor length but 'one straight shaft your hand can close around'. A unit of troops takes 支 for the same picture: one branch grown off a larger stem.