<p>It is a quantifier, used to count or to express times and frequency.</p>

<p>一洗把脸 means wash my face once. Here the 把 is not a verb but a quantifier. You can view it as an idiom. </p>

<p>Similarly, you can use 把 to express how many times you play(usually video or PC games), such as: I am gonna play a round of PUBG ~ 来一把"吃鸡"（PUBG has a Chinese name called 吃鸡, originated from Winner winner, chicken dinner, so we call it 吃鸡，literally eat chicken (dinner)).</p>

<p>If you ask why do we use 把 to express quantities in this situation, I don't even know, that's why it is idiom, so try play with it, maybe you'll make mistakes, but it's fine.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-10T02:04:00.973Z
2018-07-10T02:04:00.973Z
RiffRaffCat
<p><a href="http://youdao.com/w/eng/%E6%88%91%E5%8E%BB%E6%B4%97%E6%8A%8A%E8%84%B8" rel="noreferrer">YouDao</a> has an example of 我去洗把脸:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>知道了，妈。我去洗把脸，让自己清醒一些。<br>
  <sup>Zhīdàole, mā. Wǒ qù xǐ bǎ liǎn, ràng zìjǐ qīngxǐng yīxiē.</sup><br>
  I see, Mummy. I'm going to wash my face and wake myself up.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>and I just encountered it in the Chinese TV series 如果蜗牛有爱情, with the English title <em>When a Snail Falls in Love</em> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_a_Snail_Falls_in_Love" rel="noreferrer">Wikipedia</a>), in <a href="https://v.qq.com/x/cover/avuik2dix9zqv8p/l002228mydt.html" rel="noreferrer">the first episode</a> on QQ about 15 minutes, 49 seconds in:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>　<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ZcCrh.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ZcCrh.png" alt="我去洗把脸 in subtitles"></a></p>
</blockquote>

<p>There's similar examples at YouDao for <a href="http://youdao.com/w/%E6%B4%97%E6%8A%8A%E8%84%B8" rel="noreferrer">洗把脸</a>.</p>

<p>It seems weird to me to put 把 in 洗把脸.  I would expect 我去洗脸 or 我洗脸去.  YouDao indicates <a href="http://dict.youdao.com/w/%E6%88%91%E8%A6%81%E5%8E%BB%E6%B4%97%E8%84%B8%E4%BA%86" rel="noreferrer">我要去洗脸了</a> and <a href="http://dict.youdao.com/w/%E6%8A%8A%E8%84%B8%E6%B4%97" rel="noreferrer">把脸洗</a> are good choices.</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong>: Why is 把 in 我去洗把脸?</p>

<p>I see no real reason for 把 to be in there.  My guess is that it's a variation on 把脸洗.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-07-09T10:01:29.143Z
Note that 把脸洗 on its own is **not** valid. As a preposition, 把 requires that the object have some kind of complement, and also that the object undergo some kind of perceptible change, in order to be grammatical. That makes it impossible for 我去洗把脸 to be a variation of 我去把脸洗: the latter is simply ungrammatical as it stands.
Janus Bahs Jacquet
<word-choice><usage>
Why is 把 in 我去洗把脸 (wǒ qù xǐ bǎ liǎn) = I'm going to wash my face?
# Why is 把 in 我去洗把脸 (wǒ qù xǐ bǎ liǎn) = I'm going to wash my face?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-07-09)

[YouDao](http://youdao.com/w/eng/%E6%88%91%E5%8E%BB%E6%B4%97%E6%8A%8A%E8%84%B8) has an example of 我去洗把脸:

> 知道了，妈。我去洗把脸，让自己清醒一些。  
> Zhīdàole, mā. Wǒ qù xǐ bǎ liǎn, ràng zìjǐ qīngxǐng yīxiē.  
> I see, Mummy. I'm going to wash my face and wake myself up.

and I just encountered it in the Chinese TV series 如果蜗牛有爱情, with the English title *When a Snail Falls in Love* ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_a_Snail_Falls_in_Love)), in [the first episode](https://v.qq.com/x/cover/avuik2dix9zqv8p/l002228mydt.html) on QQ about 15 minutes, 49 seconds in:

> [![我去洗把脸 in subtitles](https://i.sstatic.net/ZcCrh.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/ZcCrh.png)

There's similar examples at YouDao for [洗把脸](http://youdao.com/w/%E6%B4%97%E6%8A%8A%E8%84%B8).

It seems weird to me to put 把 in 洗把脸. I would expect 我去洗脸 or 我洗脸去. YouDao indicates [我要去洗脸了](http://dict.youdao.com/w/%E6%88%91%E8%A6%81%E5%8E%BB%E6%B4%97%E8%84%B8%E4%BA%86) and [把脸洗](http://dict.youdao.com/w/%E6%8A%8A%E8%84%B8%E6%B4%97) are good choices.

**Question**: Why is 把 in 我去洗把脸?

I see no real reason for 把 to be in there. My guess is that it's a variation on 把脸洗.

**Tags:** word-choice, usage

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Note that 把脸洗 on its own is **not** valid. As a preposition, 把 requires that the object have some kind of complement, and also that the object undergo some kind of perceptible change, in order to be grammatical. That makes it impossible for 我去洗把脸 to be a variation of 我去把脸洗: the latter is simply ungrammatical as it stands.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-07-10. Score: 2

It is a quantifier, used to count or to express times and frequency.

一洗把脸 means wash my face once. Here the 把 is not a verb but a quantifier. You can view it as an idiom.

Similarly, you can use 把 to express how many times you play(usually video or PC games), such as: I am gonna play a round of PUBG ~ 来一把"吃鸡"（PUBG has a Chinese name called 吃鸡, originated from Winner winner, chicken dinner, so we call it 吃鸡，literally eat chicken (dinner)).

If you ask why do we use 把 to express quantities in this situation, I don't even know, that's why it is idiom, so try play with it, maybe you'll make mistakes, but it's fine.


---

