 It was not always the case that every noun required a count @-@ classifier . In many historical varieties of Chinese , use of classifiers was not mandatory , and classifiers are rare in writings that have survived . Some nouns acquired classifiers earlier than others ; some of the first documented uses of classifiers were for inventorying items , both in mercantile business and in storytelling . Thus , the first nouns to have count @-@ classifiers paired with them may have been nouns that represent " culturally valued " items such as horses , scrolls , and intellectuals . The special status of such items is still apparent today : many of the classifiers that can only be paired with one or two nouns , such as 匹 pǐ for horses and 首 shǒu for songs or poems , are the classifiers for these same " valued " items . Such classifiers make up as much as one @-@ third of the commonly used classifiers today . 
