Difference between revisions of "Structure of numbers"
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| − | + | {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%" | |
| − | + | |+ | |
| − | + | ! Digit || Chinese || Pinyin || English | |
| − | + | |- | |
| − | + | | 101 || 一百零一 ||<span class="spaced">yībǎi líng yī</span>|| <span class="spaced">one hundred and one</span> | |
| − | + | |- | |
| − | + | | 202 || 二百零二 ||<span class="spaced">èrbǎi líng èr</span>|| <span class="spaced">two hundred and two</span> | |
| − | + | |- | |
| − | + | | 206 || 二百零六 ||<span class="spaced">èrbǎi líng liù</span>|| <span class="spaced">two hundred and six</span> | |
| − | + | |- | |
| + | | 305 || 三百零五 ||<span class="spaced">sānbǎi líng wǔ</span>|| <span class="spaced">three hundred and five</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 407 || 四百零七 ||<span class="spaced">sìbǎi líng qī</span>|| <span class="spaced">four hundred and seven</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 504 || 五百零四 ||<span class="spaced">wǔbǎi líng sì</span>|| <span class="spaced">five hundred and four</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 602 || 六百零二 ||<span class="spaced">liùbǎi líng èr</span>|| <span class="spaced">six hundred and two</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 701 || 七百零一 ||<span class="spaced">qībǎi líng yī</span>|| <span class="spaced">seven hundred and one</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 803 || 八百零三 ||<span class="spaced">bābǎi líng sān</span>|| <span class="spaced">eight hundred and three</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 909 || 九百零九 ||<span class="spaced">jiǔbǎi líng jiǔ</span>|| <span class="spaced">nine hundred and nine</span> | ||
| + | |} | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
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<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
| − | + | {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%" | |
| − | + | |+ | |
| − | + | ! Digit || Chinese || Pinyin || English | |
| − | + | |- | |
| − | + | | 110 || 一百一 ||<span class="spaced">yībǎi yī</span>|| <span class="spaced">one hundred and one</span> | |
| − | + | |- | |
| − | + | | 111 || 一百一十一 ||<span class="spaced">yībǎi yīshí yī</span>|| <span class="spaced">two hundred and two</span> | |
| − | + | |- | |
| − | + | | 210 || 二百一十 ||<span class="spaced">èrbǎi yīshí</span>|| <span class="spaced">two hundred and six</span> | |
| − | + | |- | |
| + | | 350 || 三百五十 ||<span class="spaced">sānbǎi wǔshí</span>|| <span class="spaced">three hundred and five</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 460 || 四百六十 ||<span class="spaced">sìbǎi liùshí</span>|| <span class="spaced">four hundred and seven</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 550 || 五百五十 ||<span class="spaced">wǔbǎi wǔshí</span>|| <span class="spaced">five hundred and four</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 680 || 六百八 ||<span class="spaced">liùbǎi bā</span>|| <span class="spaced">six hundred and two</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 777 || 七百七十七 ||<span class="spaced">qībǎi qīshí qī</span>|| <span class="spaced">seven hundred and one</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 870 || 八百七 ||<span class="spaced">bābǎi qī</span>|| <span class="spaced">eight hundred and three</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 990 || 九百九 ||<span class="spaced">jiǔbǎi jiǔ</span>|| <span class="spaced">nine hundred and nine</span> | ||
| + | |} | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
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| − | + | {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%" | |
| − | + | |+ | |
| − | + | ! Digit || Chinese || Pinyin || English | |
| − | + | |- | |
| − | + | | 111 || 一百一十一 ||<span class="spaced">yībǎi yīshí yī</span>|| <span class="spaced">one hundred and eleven</span> | |
| − | + | |- | |
| − | + | | 123 || 一百二十 三 ||<span class="spaced">yībǎi èrshí sān</span>|| <span class="spaced">one hundred and twenty three</span> | |
| − | + | |- | |
| − | + | | 222 || 二百二十二 ||<span class="spaced">èrbǎi èrshí èr</span>|| <span class="spaced">two hundred and twenty two</span> | |
| − | + | |- | |
| + | | 249 || 二百四十九 ||<span class="spaced">èrbǎi sìshí jiǔ</span>|| <span class="spaced">two hundred and forty nine</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 365 || 三百六十五 ||<span class="spaced">sānbǎi liùshí wǔ</span>|| <span class="spaced">three hundred and sixty five</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 451 || 四百五十一 ||<span class="spaced">sìbǎi wǔshí yī</span>|| <span class="spaced">four hundred and fifty one</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 635 || 六百三十五 ||<span class="spaced">liùbǎi sānshí wǔ</span>|| <span class="spaced">six hundred and thirty five</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 832 || 八百三十二 ||<span class="spaced">bābǎi sānshí èr</span>|| <span class="spaced">eight hundred and thirty two</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 915 || 九百一十二 ||<span class="spaced">jiǔbǎi yīshí wǔ</span>|| <span class="spaced">nine hundred and fifteen</span> | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 999 || 九百九十九 ||<span class="spaced">jiǔbǎi jiǔshí jiǔ</span>|| <span class="spaced">nine hundred and ninety nine</span> | ||
| + | |} | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
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=== Examples === | === Examples === | ||
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<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%" | {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%" | ||
| − | |+ | + | |+ |
| − | |||
! Digit || Chinese || Pinyin || English | ! Digit || Chinese || Pinyin || English | ||
|- | |- | ||
| − | | | + | | 1001 || 一千零一 ||<span class="spaced">yīqiān líng yī</span>|| <span class="spaced">one thousand and one</span> |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | | + | | 1010 || 一千零一十 ||<span class="spaced">yīqiān líng yīshí</span>|| <span class="spaced">one thousand and ten</span> |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | | + | | 1019 || 一千零一十九 ||<span class="spaced">yīqiān líng yīshí jiǔ</span>|| <span class="spaced">one thousand and nineteen</span> |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | | + | | 1020 || 一千零二十 ||<span class="spaced">yīqiān líng èrshí</span>|| <span class="spaced">one thousand and twenty</span> |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | | + | | 1100 || 一千一百 ||<span class="spaced">yīqiān yībǎi</span>|| <span class="spaced">one thousand one hundred</span> |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | | + | | 1101 || 一千一百零一 ||<span class="spaced">yīqiān yībǎi líng yī</span>|| <span class="spaced">one thousand one hundred and one</span> |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | | + | | 1110 || 一千一百一十 ||<span class="spaced">yīqiān yībǎi yīshí</span>|| <span class="spaced">one thousand one hundred and ten</span> |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | | + | | 1234 || 一千二百三十四 ||<span class="spaced">yīqiān èrbǎi sānshí sì</span>|| <span class="spaced">one thousand two hundred and thirty four</span> |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | | + | | 8765 || 八千七百六十五 ||<span class="spaced">bāqiān qībǎi liùshí wǔ</span>|| <span class="spaced">eight thousand seven hundred and sixty five</span> |
|- | |- | ||
| − | | | + | | 9999 || 九千九百九十九 ||<span class="spaced">jiǔqiān jiǔbǎi jiǔshí jiǔ</span>|| <span class="spaced">nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine</span> |
|} | |} | ||
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| − | + | {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%" | |
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| + | ! Digit || Chinese || Pinyin || English | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | | 12,000 || 一万二 ||<span class="spaced">yīwàn èr</span>|| <span class="spaced">twelve thousand</span> | ||
| + | |} | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
In English, we split "twelve thousand" numerically into "12,000" (chunks of three digits). Split it the Chinese way, "1,2000," and the Chinese reading "一万两千" (one ''wan'' and two "thousand" = yī wàn liǎng qiān) becomes more logical. | In English, we split "twelve thousand" numerically into "12,000" (chunks of three digits). Split it the Chinese way, "1,2000," and the Chinese reading "一万两千" (one ''wan'' and two "thousand" = yī wàn liǎng qiān) becomes more logical. | ||
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Revision as of 07:29, 6 July 2015
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Keywords
Chinese handles numbers in a very consistent and logical way. The system does have any tricky parts, but once you've learned it, you will know how to read out any number in Chinese.
Contents
One to one hundred
Structure for the first ten
These are handled the same way as in English, nothing tricky there.
| Digit | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | yī | one |
| 2 | 二 | èr | two |
| 3 | 三 | sān | three |
| 4 | 四 | sì | four |
| 5 | 五 | wǔ | five |
| 6 | 六 | liù | six |
| 7 | 七 | qī | seven |
| 8 | 八 | bā | eight |
| 9 | 九 | jiǔ | nine |
| 10 | 十 | shí | ten |
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).
| Digit | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 十一 | shíyī | eleven |
| 12 | 十二 | shí'èr | twelve |
| 13 | 十三 | shísān | thirteen |
| 14 | 十四 | shísì | fourteen |
| 15 | 十五 | shíwǔ | fifteen |
| 16 | 十六 | shíliù | sixteen |
| 17 | 十七 | shíqī | seventeen |
| 18 | 十八 | shíbā | eighteen |
| 19 | 十九 | shíjiǔ | nineteen |
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 (èrshíyī), thirty four is 三十四 (sānshísì), and ninety-nine is 九十九 (jiǔshíjiǔ). All very logical and consistent.
x + 十
x + 十 + y
Examples
| Digit | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 二十 | èrshí | twenty |
| 23 | 二十三 | èrshísān | twenty three |
| 30 | 三十 | sānshí | thirty |
| 39 | 三十九 | sānshíjiǔ | thirty nine |
| 40 | 四十 | sìshí | forty |
| 44 | 四十四 | sìshísì | forty four |
| 50 | 五十 | wǔshí | fifty |
| 73 | 七十三 | qīshísān | seventy three |
| 82 | 八十二 | bāshíèr | eighty two |
| 97 | 九十七 | jiǔshíqī | ninety seven |
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
Structure for 101
Note: when there's a "0" in the middle of a number, you read it as 零 (líng), and don't put a number after it.
x + 百 + 零 + y
Examples
| Digit | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | 一百零一 | yībǎi líng yī | one hundred and one |
| 202 | 二百零二 | èrbǎi líng èr | two hundred and two |
| 206 | 二百零六 | èrbǎi líng liù | two hundred and six |
| 305 | 三百零五 | sānbǎi líng wǔ | three hundred and five |
| 407 | 四百零七 | sìbǎi líng qī | four hundred and seven |
| 504 | 五百零四 | wǔbǎi líng sì | five hundred and four |
| 602 | 六百零二 | liùbǎi líng èr | six hundred and two |
| 701 | 七百零一 | qībǎi líng yī | seven hundred and one |
| 803 | 八百零三 | bābǎi líng sān | eight hundred and three |
| 909 | 九百零九 | jiǔbǎi líng jiǔ | nine hundred and nine |
Structure for 110
x + 百 + y
The only tricky thing here is that sometimes the number 250, or "二百", is pronounced "èrbǎi," and sometimes it's pronounced "liǎngbǎi." Both are OK.
Examples
| Digit | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 110 | 一百一 | yībǎi yī | one hundred and one |
| 111 | 一百一十一 | yībǎi yīshí yī | two hundred and two |
| 210 | 二百一十 | èrbǎi yīshí | two hundred and six |
| 350 | 三百五十 | sānbǎi wǔshí | three hundred and five |
| 460 | 四百六十 | sìbǎi liùshí | four hundred and seven |
| 550 | 五百五十 | wǔbǎi wǔshí | five hundred and four |
| 680 | 六百八 | liùbǎi bā | six hundred and two |
| 777 | 七百七十七 | qībǎi qīshí qī | seven hundred and one |
| 870 | 八百七 | bābǎi qī | eight hundred and three |
| 990 | 九百九 | jiǔbǎi jiǔ | nine hundred and nine |
Structure for 111
x + 百 + y + 十 + z
Examples
| Digit | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 111 | 一百一十一 | yībǎi yīshí yī | one hundred and eleven |
| 123 | 一百二十 三 | yībǎi èrshí sān | one hundred and twenty three |
| 222 | 二百二十二 | èrbǎi èrshí èr | two hundred and twenty two |
| 249 | 二百四十九 | èrbǎi sìshí jiǔ | two hundred and forty nine |
| 365 | 三百六十五 | sānbǎi liùshí wǔ | three hundred and sixty five |
| 451 | 四百五十一 | sìbǎi wǔshí yī | four hundred and fifty one |
| 635 | 六百三十五 | liùbǎi sānshí wǔ | six hundred and thirty five |
| 832 | 八百三十二 | bābǎi sānshí èr | eight hundred and thirty two |
| 915 | 九百一十二 | jiǔbǎi yīshí wǔ | nine hundred and fifteen |
| 999 | 九百九十九 | jiǔbǎi jiǔshí jiǔ | nine hundred and ninety nine |
After one thousand
千 (qiān) means "thousand" in Chinese. The rules are similar with ”hundred." Just note that no matter how many zeros between the number, you just say 零 (líng) once.
Examples
| Digit | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 | 一千零一 | yīqiān líng yī | one thousand and one |
| 1010 | 一千零一十 | yīqiān líng yīshí | one thousand and ten |
| 1019 | 一千零一十九 | yīqiān líng yīshí jiǔ | one thousand and nineteen |
| 1020 | 一千零二十 | yīqiān líng èrshí | one thousand and twenty |
| 1100 | 一千一百 | yīqiān yībǎi | one thousand one hundred |
| 1101 | 一千一百零一 | yīqiān yībǎi líng yī | one thousand one hundred and one |
| 1110 | 一千一百一十 | yīqiān yībǎi yīshí | one thousand one hundred and ten |
| 1234 | 一千二百三十四 | yīqiān èrbǎi sānshí sì | one thousand two hundred and thirty four |
| 8765 | 八千七百六十五 | bāqiān qībǎi liùshí wǔ | eight thousand seven hundred and sixty five |
| 9999 | 九千九百九十九 | jiǔqiān jiǔbǎi jiǔshí jiǔ | nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine |
Different units
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:
- 万 - wàn - ten thousand
- 亿 - yì - hundred million
万 (wàn) 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 (wàn), it's easier to break numbers up into groups of four in Mandarin. For example:
| Digit | Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12,000 | 一万二 | yīwàn èr | twelve thousand |
In English, we split "twelve thousand" numerically into "12,000" (chunks of three digits). Split it the Chinese way, "1,2000," and the Chinese reading "一万两千" (one wan and two "thousand" = yī wàn liǎng qiān) becomes more logical.
| English split | English reading | Chinese split | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 000 | ten thousand | 1 0000 | 一万 | yī wàn |
| 13 200 | thirteen thousand two hundred | 1 3200 | 一万三千两百 | yī wàn sānqiān liǎng bǎi |
| 56 700 | fifty six thousand seven hundred | 5 6700 | 五万六千七百 | wǔ wàn liùqiān qībǎi |
Mandarin number structure
| 亿 | 千万 | 百万 | 十万 | 万 | 千 | 百 | 十 | 一 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yì | qiān wàn | bǎi wàn | shí wàn | wàn | qiān | bǎi | shí | yī |
| One hundred millions | Ten millions | Millions | Hundred thousands | Ten thousands | Thousands | Hundreds | Tens | Ones |
See also
Sources and further reading
Websites
- East Asia Student: Mandarin numbers grammar summary
Books
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 70-1) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 273-4) →buy
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 15-6) →buy
- New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (p. 104) →buy
- New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1)(2nd ed) (p. 122) →buy
- New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (p. 18) →buy
- New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (p. 81) →buy
