Example sentences
lái来wǎn碗niú牛ròu肉miàn面。
A bowl of beef noodles.
zhè这miàn面tiáo条yǒu有jiáo嚼jìn劲。
These noodles are chewy.
About this word
面 means "wheat flour" and 条 means "strip", so 面条 is literally flour strips, named for the shape rather than the ingredients. 条 is the classifier for anything long and thin, which is why noodles, fish, roads and trousers all get counted with it: 一条鱼, 一条路, 一条裤子. In the north, 面 on its own usually means noodles, as in 吃面, while 面粉 is the flour you buy at the shop. Adding 包 gives 面包, bread.
The story behind the character
面
面 is a face with an eye in the middle. Xu Shen wrote 面, 颜前也. The front of the head. Only later did it stretch to mean "side" or "noodle."
条
条 began as a twig. The traditional 條 is 木 (tree) with 攸 giving the sound, and Xu Shen wrote 條，小枝也, a small branch. From there it stretched to mean anything long and thin. That is why noodles are 面条: 面 for the flour, 条 for the strands hanging like twigs.