艘 and 栋: counting big things

Big items have counters of their own: 艘 for ships (船, 轮船), 栋 for buildings (楼, 房子): 一艘船, 一栋楼. Like the 件, 辆, 条 of the earlier levels, only for large objects. 一个楼 will be understood, but it sounds like a mistake; every big word has its own counter.

Examples

• 湖面上有一艘小船，慢慢地向岸边划来。 Húmiàn shàng yǒu yì sōu xiǎochuán, mànman de xiàng ànbiān huá lái. There is a small boat on the lake, slowly rowing toward the shore.
• 我家住的那栋楼有二十层。 Wǒ jiā zhù de nà dòng lóu yǒu èrshí céng. The building where my family lives has twenty floors.
• 港口停着几艘大船。 Gǎngkǒu tíngzhe jǐ sōu dà chuán. Several big ships are moored in the port.

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