<p>你家有几口人? means "How many members in you family".Here "口" is a counting unit.Why use "口"? I guess because Chinese think hunger breeds discontentment.(民以食为天). And "几口人" is oral word, mostly.</p>

<p>人口 means the numbers of perple which include the unit "个".Mostly, it's written word or official word, such as "人口普查" or "人口调查".</p>

<p>So, you cann't say 三口人口 or 几口人口 because there are two counting units. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-21T00:16:56.343Z
2015-01-21T00:16:56.343Z
lqhcpsgbl
<p>There are 3 words:</p>

<ol>
<li>人, for both people (plural), person (single).</li>
</ol>

<p>For example,  屋里有一个人，院子里有五个人。Use 个 measure word in colloquial.</p>

<ol start="2">
<li>口 is the measure word for 人 (和猪)。</li>
</ol>

<p>For example,  我爷爷家有六口人，养了两口猪，一匹马，三头牛。</p>

<ol start="3">
<li>人口， for population report。 </li>
</ol>

<p>For example,  人口统计。Also，城市人口，家庭人口。</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-05T03:42:10.013Z
2015-02-05T03:42:10.013Z
PdotWang
<p>You're right that 口 is one of the measure words for 人, but 人 (people/person) and 人口 (population) are two different words. The word 人口 is mostly used for the population of a city or a country instead of a household.</p>

<p>You can say 几口人 (how many 'units' of people), 三口人 (three 'units' of people), but not 三口人口 (three 'units' of population). </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-21T01:14:14.527Z
Sometimes, <object> + <measure word> forms a word that describes a group of that object. Apart from 人口, 车辆, 马匹 also fit this pattern.
congusbongus
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-20T22:42:52.437Z
2015-01-20T22:42:52.437Z
NS.X.
<p>One of the first questions in my book is 你家有几<strong>口人</strong>？ But the book highlights the word "人口" as people. Why does it change? Is it because 口 is the measure word for 人? Could you say 三口人口? When do you use each form?</p>

<measure-word>
Why does the order of 人口 change?
# Why does the order of 人口 change?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-01-20)

One of the first questions in my book is 你家有几**口人**？ But the book highlights the word "人口" as people. Why does it change? Is it because 口 is the measure word for 人? Could you say 三口人口? When do you use each form?

**Tags:** measure-word


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-01-20. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

You're right that 口 is one of the measure words for 人, but 人 (people/person) and 人口 (population) are two different words. The word 人口 is mostly used for the population of a city or a country instead of a household.

You can say 几口人 (how many 'units' of people), 三口人 (three 'units' of people), but not 三口人口 (three 'units' of population).

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Sometimes, <object> + <measure word> forms a word that describes a group of that object. Apart from 人口, 车辆, 马匹 also fit this pattern.  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2015-01-21. Score: 2

你家有几口人? means "How many members in you family".Here "口" is a counting unit.Why use "口"? I guess because Chinese think hunger breeds discontentment.(民以食为天). And "几口人" is oral word, mostly.

人口 means the numbers of perple which include the unit "个".Mostly, it's written word or official word, such as "人口普查" or "人口调查".

So, you cann't say 三口人口 or 几口人口 because there are two counting units.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2015-02-05. Score: 1

There are 3 words:

1. 人, for both people (plural), person (single).

For example, 屋里有一个人，院子里有五个人。Use 个 measure word in colloquial.

2. 口 is the measure word for 人 (和猪)。

For example, 我爷爷家有六口人，养了两口猪，一匹马，三头牛。

3. 人口， for population report。

For example, 人口统计。Also，城市人口，家庭人口。


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