Difference between revisions of "Structure of numbers"
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{{Grammar Box}}
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Chinese handles numbers in a very consistent and logical way. Once you've mastered just a few tricky parts, you will know how to read out any number in Chinese.
 +
 +
== One to One Hundred ==
 +
 +
=== Structure for the First Ten ===
 +
 +
You just have to memorize these ten; nothing tricky there.
 +
 +
<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
 +
<tr>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Numeral</th>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Character</th>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Pinyin</th>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr><td>1</td><td>一</td><td>yī</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>2</td><td>二</td><td>èr</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>3</td><td>三</td><td>sān</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>4</td><td>四</td><td>sì</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>5</td><td>五</td><td>wǔ</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>6</td><td>六</td><td>liù</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>7</td><td>七</td><td>qī</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>8</td><td>八</td><td>bā</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>9</td><td>九</td><td>jiǔ</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>10</td><td>十</td><td>shí</td></tr>
 +
</table>
 +
 +
=== Phone Numbers ===
 +
 +
Like in American English, Chinese phone numbers are given as a string of individual numbers, using the digits 0-9. The only trick is that the number 1 is often pronounced "yāo" instead of "yī" to avoid confusion with number 7, which is pronounced "qī."
 +
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
−
{| class="wikitable"
+
* 110<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">Number for the police in the PRC</span><span class="pinyin">yāo yāo líng</span>
−
|+Mandarin numbers examples
+
* 120<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">Number for an ambulance in the PRC</span><span class="pinyin">yāo èr líng</span>
−
|-
+
* 119<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">Number to report a fire in the PRC</span><span class="pinyin">yāo yāo jiǔ</span>
−
! Digit || Chinese || English
+
* 13501200120<span class="expl pdf-simple-expl">Cell phone numbers are 11 digits in the PRC</span><span class="pinyin">yāo sān wǔ, líng yāo èr líng, líng yāo èr líng</span>
−
|-
+
 
−
| 1 || 一 || one
+
</div>
−
|-
+
 
−
| 10 || 十 || ten
+
=== Structure for Teens===
−
|-
+
 
−
| 13 || 一三 || thirteen
+
<div class="jiegou">
−
|-
+
 
−
| 20 || 二十 || twenty
+
十 + x
−
|-
+
 
−
| 21 || 二十一 || twenty-one
+
</div>
−
|-
+
 
−
| 99 || 九十九 || ninety-nine
+
Eleven, twelve and the teens are handled very logically. They're formed with 十 (shí) followed by a digit 一 (yī) to 九 (jiǔ). So eleven is 十一 (shíyī), twelve is 十二 (shí'èr), thirteen is 十三 (shísān), and so on up to nineteen, which is 十九 (shíjiǔ).
−
|-
+
 
−
| 100 || 一百 || one hundred0
+
<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
−
|-
+
<tr>
−
| 101 || 一百零一 || one hundred and one
+
<th style="width:15%">Numeral</th>
−
|}
+
<th style="width:15%">Character</th>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Pinyin</th>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr><td>11</td><td>十一</td><td>shíyī</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>12</td><td>十二</td><td>shí'èr</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>13</td><td>十三</td><td>shísān</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>14</td><td>十四</td><td>shísì</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>15</td><td>十五</td><td>shíwǔ</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>16</td><td>十六</td><td>shíliù</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>17</td><td>十七</td><td>shíqī</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>18</td><td>十八</td><td>shíbā</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>19</td><td>十九</td><td>shíjiǔ</td></tr>
 +
</table>
 +
 
 +
=== Structure for Tens ===
 +
 
 +
All the tens are also formed very logically. Twenty is 二十 (èrshí), thirty is 三十 (sānshí), and so on. Units in the tens are simply added on the end. So twenty one is 二十一 (èrshí-yī), thirty four is 三十四 (sānshí-sì), and ninety-nine is 九十九 (jiǔshí-jiǔ). All very logical and consistent.
 +
 
 +
<div class="jiegou">
 +
 
 +
x + 十
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
<div class="jiegou">
 +
 
 +
x + 十 + y
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
−
Chinese handles numbers in a slightly different way to English. The differences occur around different units in the two languages, and the way zeros are used when reading out numbers in Chinese.
+
=== Examples ===
 +
 
 +
<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
 +
<tr>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Numeral</th>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Character</th>
 +
<th style="width:20%">Pinyin</th>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr><td>20</td><td>二十</td><td>èrshí</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>23</td><td>二十三</td><td>èrshí-sān</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>30</td><td>三十</td><td>sānshí</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>39</td><td>三十九</td><td>sānshí-jiǔ</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>40</td><td>四十</td><td>sìshí</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>44</td><td>四十四</td><td>sìshí-sì</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>50</td><td>五十</td><td>wǔshí</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>73</td><td>七十三</td><td>qīshí-sān</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>82</td><td>八十二</td><td>bāshí-èr</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>97</td><td>九十七</td><td>jiǔshí-qī</td></tr>
 +
</table>
  
−
== Different units ==
+
And one hundred is simply 一百 (yībǎi), as in English. So you now know how to count to one hundred in Chinese.
  
−
Mandarin has two units that English doesn't have (or at least, it has unique words for these units whilst English describes them with combinations of other units. These are:
+
== After One Hundred ==
  
 +
=== Dealing with Zeroes ===
  
−
* 万 - ten thousand
+
Note: when there's a "0" in the middle of a number, you read it as 零 (líng), and don't put a unit (like "ten" or "hundred") after it. In the following examples, we'll show what happens when the "tens" place is a zero in a three-digit number.
−
* 亿 - hundred million
 
  
−
万 comes up the most often and is the largest stumbling block for most people learning Mandarin numbers. In English, numbers are usually broken up into chunks of three digits. Because of 万, it's easier to break numbers up into groups of four in Mandarin. For example:
+
==== Structure ====
  
−
<div class="liju">
+
<div class="jiegou">
  
−
* 12000
+
x + 百 + 零 + y
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
−
Would be split into 12 000 in English (chunks of three digits), and the English reading "twelve thousand" would become more obvious. Split it the Chinese way, 1 2000, and the Chinese reading "一万两千" becomes more obvious.
+
==== Examples ====
  
−
== Zeros ==
+
<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
 +
<tr>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Numeral</th>
 +
<th style="width:30%">Character</th>
 +
<th style="width:30%">Pinyin</th>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr><td>101</td><td>一百零一</td><td>yībǎi líng yī</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>202</td><td>二百零二</td><td>èrbǎi líng èr</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>206</td><td>二百零六</td><td>èrbǎi líng liù</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>305</td><td>三百零五</td><td>sānbǎi líng wǔ</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>407</td><td>四百零七</td><td>sìbǎi líng qī</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>504</td><td>五百零四</td><td>wǔbǎi líng sì</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>602</td><td>六百零二</td><td>liùbǎi líng èr</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>701</td><td>七百零一</td><td>qībǎi líng yī</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>803</td><td>八百零三</td><td>bābǎi líng sān</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>909</td><td>九百零九</td><td>jiǔbǎi líng jiǔ</td></tr>
 +
</table>
  
−
<div class="liju">
+
=== For Numbers 110 and Greater ===
 +
 
 +
For numbers greater than 100, if the number ends in zero (110, 230, 370, 450, etc.), a number like 150 can be read as 一百五十 (yībǎi wǔshí), but is often read as 一百五 (yībǎi wǔ). In fact, reading it as 一百五 (yībǎi wǔ) ''always'' means 150, never 105. As described above, 105 would be read as 一百零五 (yībǎi líng wǔ).
 +
 
 +
For numbers greater than 100 that end in a number in the teens, it's normal to pronounce the ten as "yīshí" rather than just "shí" (see the examples below).
 +
 
 +
Also, sometimes the number "200" is read as 二百 (èrbǎi), but often it is read as 两百 (liǎngbǎi). Both are OK. (This is an [[Comparing "er" and "liang"|二 (èr) vs. 两 (liǎng) issue]] which you may or may not have encountered before.)
 +
 
 +
==== Structure ====
 +
 
 +
<div class="jiegou">
  
−
{| class="wikitable"
+
x + 百 + y + 十 + z
−
|+Mandarin number structure
 
−
|-
 
−
! 亿 !! 千万 !! 百万 !! 十万 !! 万 !! 千 !! 百 !! 十 !! 一
 
−
|-
 
−
! One hundred millions !! Ten millions !! Millions !! Hundred thousands !! Ten thousands !! Thousands !! Hundreds !! Tens !! Ones
 
−
|}
 
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
 +
 +
==== Examples ====
 +
 +
<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
 +
<tr>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Numeral</th>
 +
<th style="width:30%">Character</th>
 +
<th style="width:30%">Pinyin</th>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr><td>110</td><td>一百一十</td><td>yībǎi yīshí</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>111</td><td>一百一十一</td><td>yībǎi yīshí-yī</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>210</td><td>二百一十</td><td>èrbǎi yīshí</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>350</td><td>三百五十</td><td>sānbǎi wǔshí</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>480</td><td>四百八十</td><td>sìbǎi bāshí</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>550</td><td>五百五十</td><td>wǔbǎi wǔshí</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>635</td><td>六百三十五</td><td>liùbǎi sānshí-wǔ</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>777</td><td>七百七十七</td><td>qībǎi qīshí-qī</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>832</td><td>八百三十二</td><td>bābǎi sānshí-èr</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>999</td><td>九百九十九</td><td>jiǔbǎi jiǔshí-jiǔ</td></tr>
 +
</table>
 +
 +
== After One Thousand ==
 +
 +
千 (qiān) means "thousand" in Chinese. Its rules of usage are similar to the rules for "hundred." Just note that no matter how many zeroes are in the middle of the number, you just say 零 (líng) once.
 +
 +
=== Examples ===
 +
 +
<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
 +
<tr>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Numeral</th>
 +
<th style="width:30%">Character</th>
 +
<th style="width:50%">Pinyin</th>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr><td>1001</td><td>一千零一</td><td>yīqiān líng yī</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>1010</td><td>一千零一十</td><td>yīqiān líng yīshí</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>1019</td><td>一千零一十九</td><td>yīqiān líng yīshí-jiǔ</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>1020</td><td>一千零二十</td><td>yīqiān líng èrshí</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>1100</td><td>一千一百</td><td>yīqiān yībǎi</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>1101</td><td>一千一百零一</td><td>yīqiān yībǎi líng yī</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>1234</td><td>一千二百三十四</td><td>yīqiān èrbǎi sānshí-sì</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>2345</td><td>两千三百四十五</td><td>liǎngqiān sānbǎi sìshí-wǔ</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>8765</td><td>八千七百六十五</td><td>bāqiān qībǎi liùshí-wǔ</td></tr>
 +
<tr><td>9999</td><td>九千九百九十九</td><td>jiǔqiān jiǔbǎi jiǔshí-jiǔ</td></tr>
 +
</table>
 +
 +
== 10,000 and beyond ==
 +
 +
Things get a little trickier once you get to 10,000. If you're ready for it, you can move on to [[Big numbers in Chinese|big numbers]].
 +
 +
==See also==
 +
 +
* [[Big numbers in Chinese]]
 +
* [[Structure of dates]]
 +
* [[Structure of days of the week]]
 +
* [[Measure word]]s
 +
* [["Er" and "liang"]]
  
 
== Sources and further reading ==
 
== Sources and further reading ==
  
−
* East Asia Student: [http://eastasiastudent.net/144/china/mandarin/cmn-grammar/mandarin-numbers-grammar-summary/ Mandarin numbers grammar summary]
+
=== Books ===
 +
 
 +
{{Source|HSK Standard Course 1|32, 100}}
 +
{{Source|Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)|70-1}}
 +
{{Source|Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed)|273-4}}
 +
{{Source|Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition|15-6}}
 +
{{Source|New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)|104}}
 +
{{Source|New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed)|122}}
 +
{{Source|New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2)|18}}
 +
{{Source|New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3)|81}}
 +
{{Source|A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) |58-73}}
 +
{{Source|Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册) |188-98}}
 +
 
 +
[[Category:A1 grammar points]]
 +
{{HSK|HSK1}}{{2021-HSK|HSK1}}
 +
[[Category:Table]]
 +
{{Basic Grammar|一|A1|Number + Unit|三 百 五 十 九。|grammar point|ASGCRH6P}}
 +
{{Rel char|二}}
 +
{{Rel char|三}}
 +
{{Rel char|四}}
 +
{{Rel char|五}}
 +
{{Rel char|六}}
 +
{{Rel char|七}}
 +
{{Rel char|八}}
 +
{{Rel char|九}}
 +
{{Rel char|十}}
 +
{{Rel char|百}}
 +
{{Rel char|千}}
 +
{{Similar|Big Numbers}}
 +
{{Similar|Structure of dates}}
 +
{{Similar|Structure of days of the week}}
 +
{{Similar|Structure of times}}
 +
{{Similar|Er and liang}}
 +
{{Similar|Approximating with sequential numbers}}   
 +
{{POS|Numbers}}
 +
{{Used for| Expressing quantity}}

Latest revision as of 09:22, 20 April 2021

Chinese handles numbers in a very consistent and logical way. Once you've mastered just a few tricky parts, you will know how to read out any number in Chinese.

One to One Hundred

Structure for the First Ten

You just have to memorize these ten; nothing tricky there.

Numeral Character Pinyin
1一yī
2二èr
3三sān
4四sì
5五wǔ
6六liù
7七qī
8八bā
9九jiǔ
10十shí

Phone Numbers

Like in American English, Chinese phone numbers are given as a string of individual numbers, using the digits 0-9. The only trick is that the number 1 is often pronounced "yāo" instead of "yī" to avoid confusion with number 7, which is pronounced "qī."

  • 110Number for the police in the PRCyāo yāo líng
  • 120Number for an ambulance in the PRCyāo èr líng
  • 119Number to report a fire in the PRCyāo yāo jiǔ
  • 13501200120Cell phone numbers are 11 digits in the PRCyāo sān wǔ, líng yāo èr líng, líng yāo èr líng

Structure for Teens

十 + x

Eleven, twelve and the teens are handled very logically. They're formed with 十 (shí) followed by a digit 一 (yī) to 九 (jiǔ). So eleven is 十一 (shíyī), twelve is 十二 (shí'èr), thirteen is 十三 (shísān), and so on up to nineteen, which is 十九 (shíjiǔ).

Numeral Character Pinyin
11十一shíyī
12十二shí'èr
13十三shísān
14十四shísì
15十五shíwǔ
16十六shíliù
17十七shíqī
18十八shíbā
19十九shíjiǔ

Structure for Tens

All the tens are also formed very logically. Twenty is 二十 (èrshí), thirty is 三十 (sānshí), and so on. Units in the tens are simply added on the end. So twenty one is 二十一 (èrshí-yī), thirty four is 三十四 (sānshí-sì), and ninety-nine is 九十九 (jiǔshí-jiǔ). All very logical and consistent.

x + 十

x + 十 + y

Examples

Numeral Character Pinyin
20二十èrshí
23二十三èrshí-sān
30三十sānshí
39三十九sānshí-jiǔ
40四十sìshí
44四十四sìshí-sì
50五十wǔshí
73七十三qīshí-sān
82八十二bāshí-èr
97九十七jiǔshí-qī

And one hundred is simply 一百 (yībǎi), as in English. So you now know how to count to one hundred in Chinese.

After One Hundred

Dealing with Zeroes

Note: when there's a "0" in the middle of a number, you read it as 零 (líng), and don't put a unit (like "ten" or "hundred") after it. In the following examples, we'll show what happens when the "tens" place is a zero in a three-digit number.

Structure

x + 百 + 零 + y

Examples

Numeral Character Pinyin
101一百零一yībǎi líng yī
202二百零二èrbǎi líng èr
206二百零六èrbǎi líng liù
305三百零五sānbǎi líng wǔ
407四百零七sìbǎi líng qī
504五百零四wǔbǎi líng sì
602六百零二liùbǎi líng èr
701七百零一qībǎi líng yī
803八百零三bābǎi líng sān
909九百零九jiǔbǎi líng jiǔ

For Numbers 110 and Greater

For numbers greater than 100, if the number ends in zero (110, 230, 370, 450, etc.), a number like 150 can be read as 一百五十 (yībǎi wǔshí), but is often read as 一百五 (yībǎi wǔ). In fact, reading it as 一百五 (yībǎi wǔ) always means 150, never 105. As described above, 105 would be read as 一百零五 (yībǎi líng wǔ).

For numbers greater than 100 that end in a number in the teens, it's normal to pronounce the ten as "yīshí" rather than just "shí" (see the examples below).

Also, sometimes the number "200" is read as 二百 (èrbǎi), but often it is read as 两百 (liǎngbǎi). Both are OK. (This is an 二 (èr) vs. 两 (liǎng) issue which you may or may not have encountered before.)

Structure

x + 百 + y + 十 + z

Examples

Numeral Character Pinyin
110一百一十yībǎi yīshí
111一百一十一yībǎi yīshí-yī
210二百一十èrbǎi yīshí
350三百五十sānbǎi wǔshí
480四百八十sìbǎi bāshí
550五百五十wǔbǎi wǔshí
635六百三十五liùbǎi sānshí-wǔ
777七百七十七qībǎi qīshí-qī
832八百三十二bābǎi sānshí-èr
999九百九十九jiǔbǎi jiǔshí-jiǔ

After One Thousand

千 (qiān) means "thousand" in Chinese. Its rules of usage are similar to the rules for "hundred." Just note that no matter how many zeroes are in the middle of the number, you just say 零 (líng) once.

Examples

Numeral Character Pinyin
1001一千零一yīqiān líng yī
1010一千零一十yīqiān líng yīshí
1019一千零一十九yīqiān líng yīshí-jiǔ
1020一千零二十yīqiān líng èrshí
1100一千一百yīqiān yībǎi
1101一千一百零一yīqiān yībǎi líng yī
1234一千二百三十四yīqiān èrbǎi sānshí-sì
2345两千三百四十五liǎngqiān sānbǎi sìshí-wǔ
8765八千七百六十五bāqiān qībǎi liùshí-wǔ
9999九千九百九十九jiǔqiān jiǔbǎi jiǔshí-jiǔ

10,000 and beyond

Things get a little trickier once you get to 10,000. If you're ready for it, you can move on to big numbers.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books






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