Difference between revisions of "Big numbers in Chinese"

 
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{{Grammar Box}}  
 
{{Grammar Box}}  
  
The manner in which large numbers are broken down in Chinese is a little different from English. Unlike in English, where large numbers are broken down by the number of thousands they have, Chinese forms numbers between 10,000 and 100,000,000 based off of how many ''tens'' of thousands they have (with another set of rules for numbers 100,000,000 onwards that will be explained afterward). While the structure can be difficult to grasp for some learners, there are some easy ways to remember how to form these big numbers.
+
The manner in which large numbers are broken down in Chinese is a little different from English. Unlike in English, where large numbers are broken down by the number of ''thousands'' they have, Chinese forms numbers between 10,000 and 100,000,000 based off of how many ''tens'' of thousands they have (with another set of rules for numbers 100,000,000 onwards that will be explained later). While the structure can be difficult to grasp for some learners, there are some easy ways to remember how to form these big numbers.
  
== Different units ==
+
== Different Units ==
  
 
Mandarin has two units that English doesn't have (or at least, it has unique words for these units, whereas English describes them with combinations of other units). These are:
 
Mandarin has two units that English doesn't have (or at least, it has unique words for these units, whereas English describes them with combinations of other units). These are:
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* 亿 (yì): hundred million
 
* 亿 (yì): hundred million
  
== Ten Thousand - 万 ==
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== Ten Thousand - 万 (wàn) ==
  
 
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. 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" = yīwàn liǎngqiān) makes more sense.
 
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. 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" = yīwàn liǎngqiān) makes more sense.
  
One way to remember how to write out numbers 10,000 through 99,999 is that in Chinese, the comma is moved one digit to the left. Using the previous example, 11,000 would be written out in tens of thousands as "1,1000", with 万 (wàn) replacing the comma and four trailing zeroes: 一万 (yī wàn).
+
One way to remember how to write out numbers 10,000 through 99,999 in Chinese characters is that in Chinese, the comma is (mentally) moved one digit to the left. For example, 11,000 could be thought of in tens of thousands as "1,1000," with 万 (wàn) replacing the comma, and then what's left written as 一千 (yīqiān): 一万一千 (yīwàn yīqiān).
  
<table class="table table-striped table-bordered" style="font-size:120%">
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<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
<caption>Separating numbers</caption>
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<tr>
<tr><th>Typical split</th><th>Chinese split</th><th>Characters</th><th>Pinyin</th></tr>
+
<th style="width:15%">Typical split</th>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Chinese split</th>
 +
<th style="width:25%">Characters</th>
 +
<th style="width:35%">Pinyin</th>
 +
</tr>
 
<tr><td>10,000</td><td>1,0000</td><td>一万</td><td>yīwàn</td></tr>
 
<tr><td>10,000</td><td>1,0000</td><td>一万</td><td>yīwàn</td></tr>
 
<tr><td>12,000</td><td>1,2000</td><td>一万二</td><td>yīwàn èr</td></tr>
 
<tr><td>12,000</td><td>1,2000</td><td>一万二</td><td>yīwàn èr</td></tr>
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</table>
 
</table>
  
== One Hundred Million - 亿 ==
+
== One Hundred Million - 亿 (yì) ==
  
After 99,999,999, there is yet another new numerical unit, 亿 (yì), which is used to express "hundred million." A number like 1,101,110,000 would be written out as "十一亿一百一十一万 (shí-yī yì yībǎi yīshí-yī wàn)." Again, an easier way to translate between the two methods is to write the number out in English, move the comma one digit to the left, and inserting the appropriate character in their respective places for the commas.
+
After 99,999,999, there is yet another new numerical unit, 亿 (yì), which is used to express "hundred million." A number like 1,101,110,000 would be written out as "十一亿一百一十一万 (shíyī yì yībǎi yīshí-yī wàn)." Again, an easier way to translate between the two methods is to write the number out in English, move the comma one digit to the left, and then insert the appropriate characters in their respective places, replacing the commas.
  
== Mandarin number structure ==
+
== Mandarin Number Structure ==
  
<table class="table table-striped table-bordered" style="max-width=20em; font-size:120%">
+
<table class="table big-text big-text table-striped table-bordered">
<tr><th>Numerals</th><th>Characters</th><th>Pinyin</th><th>English</th></tr>
+
<tr>
 +
<th style="width:25%">Numerals</th>
 +
<th style="width:15%">Characters</th>
 +
<th style="width:20%">Pinyin</th>
 +
<th style="width:30%">English</th>
 +
</tr>
 
<tr><td>1,000,000,000</td><td>十亿</td><td>shí yì</td><td>Billion</td></tr>
 
<tr><td>1,000,000,000</td><td>十亿</td><td>shí yì</td><td>Billion</td></tr>
 
<tr><td>100,000,000</td><td>亿</td><td>yì</td><td>Hundred million</td></tr>
 
<tr><td>100,000,000</td><td>亿</td><td>yì</td><td>Hundred million</td></tr>
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<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
* 一百万 <span class="expl">(frequently a useful number to know)</span><span class="pinyin">yībǎi wàn</span><span class="trans">1 million</span>
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* 一百万 <span class="expl">frequently a useful number to know</span><span class="pinyin">yībǎi wàn</span><span class="trans">1 million</span>
* 十三亿 <span class="expl">(this just happens to be the population of China)</span><span class="pinyin">shísān yì</span><span class="trans">1.3 billion</span>
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* 十四亿 <span class="expl">this just happens to be the population of China</span><span class="pinyin">shísì yì</span><span class="trans">1.4 billion</span>
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
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<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
* 52,152 = 五 <em>万</em> 二 千 一 百 五 十 二 <span class="pinyin"> wǔ <em>wàn</em> liǎngqiān yībǎi wǔshí èr </span>
+
* 五<em>万</em> 两千 一百 五十二 <span class="pinyin"> wǔ<em>wàn</em> liǎngqiān yībǎi wǔshí-èr </span><span class="trans">52,152</span>
* 108,360 = 十 <em>万</em> 八 千 三 百 六 十 <span class="pinyin"> shí <em>wàn</em> bāqiān  sānbǎi  liùshí </span>
+
* 二百 九十一 <em>万</em> 四千 六百 八十 <span class="pinyin">èrbǎi  jiǔshí-yī <em>wàn</em> sìqiān liùbǎi  bāshí </span><span class="trans">2,914,680</span>
* 854,320 = 八十 五 <em>万</em> 四 千 三 百 二 十<span class="pinyin"> bāshí wǔ <em>wàn</em> sìqiān sānbǎi èrshí </span>
+
* 七百 八十九 <em>万</em> 零 二百 九十八 <span class="pinyin">qībǎi bāshí-jiǔ <em>wàn</em> líng èrbǎi jiǔshí-</span><span class="trans">7,890,298</span>
* 2,914,680 =  二百九十一 <em>万</em> 四 千 六 百 八 十 <span class="pinyin"> èrbǎi  jiǔshí  yī <em>wàn</em> sìqiān liùbǎi  bāshí </span>
+
* 两千 七百 二十一 <em>万</em> 四千 八百 九十六<span class="pinyin">liǎngqiān qībǎi èrshí-yī <em>wàn</em> sìqiān bābǎi jiǔshí-liù</span><span class="trans">27,214,896</span>
* 7,890,298= 七 百 八 十 九 <em>万</em> 零 二 百 九 十 八 <span class="pinyin">qībǎi bāshí jiǔ <em>wàn</em> líng èrbǎi jiǔshí bā </span>
+
* 五 千三 百 七 十 九 <em>万</em> 八 千 两 百 五 十<span class="pinyin">wǔqiān sānbǎi qīshí-jiǔ <em>wàn</em> bāqiān liǎngbǎi wǔshí </span><span class="trans">53,798,250</span>
* 27,214,896 = 二 千 七 百 二 十 一 <em>万</em> 四 千 八 百 九 十 六<span class="pinyin">èrqiān qībǎi èrshí yī <em>wàn</em> sìqiān bābǎi jiǔshí liù</span>
+
* 四<em>亿</em> 一千 四百 二十九 <em></em> 四千 一百 八十二 <span class="pinyin">sì<em>yì</em> yīqiān sìbǎi èrshí-jiǔ <em>wàn</em> sìqiān yībǎi bāshí-èr </span><span class="trans">414,294,182</span>
* 53,798,250 = 五 千三 百 七 十 九 <em>万</em> 八 千 两 百 五 十<span class="pinyin">wǔqiān sānbǎi qīshí jiǔ <em>wàn</em> bāqiān liǎngbǎi wǔshí </span>
+
* 十三 <em>亿</em> 两千 六百 八十 <em></em><span class="pinyin">shísān <em>yì</em> liǎngqiān liùbǎi bāshí <em>wàn</em> </span><span class="trans">1,326,800,000</span>
* 414,294,182 = 四 <em>亿</em> 一 千 四 百 二 十 九 四 千 一 百 八 十 二 <span class="pinyin">sì <em>yì</em> yīqiān sìbǎi èrshí jiǔ wàn sìqiān yībǎi bāshí èr </span>
+
* 两百 五十一 <em>亿</em> 五千 八百 三十六 <em></em> 七千 二百<span class="pinyin">liǎngbǎi  wǔshí-yī <em>yì</em> wǔqiān bābǎi sānshí-liù <em>wàn</em> qīqiān èrbǎi</span><span class="trans">25,158,367,200</span>
*1,326,800,000= 十 三 <em>亿</em> 两 千 六 百 八 十 万 <span class="pinyin"> shísān <em>yì</em> liǎngqiān liùbǎi bāshí wàn </span>
 
*25,158,367,200= 两 百 五 十 一 <em>亿</em> 五 千 八 百 三 十 六 七 千 二 百 <span class="pinyin"> liǎngbǎi  wǔshí yī <em>yì</em> wǔqiān bābǎi sānshí liùwàn qīqiān èrbǎi </span>
 
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
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[[Category:A2 grammar points]]
 
[[Category:A2 grammar points]]
{{Basic Grammar|万|A2|Number + 万/亿|五 <em>万</em>|grammar point|ASGIM3AX}}
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{{HSK|HSK3}}
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{{Basic Grammar|万|A2|Number + 万 / 亿|五 <em>万</em>|grammar point|ASGIM3AX}}
 +
{{Rel char|千}}
 
{{Rel char|亿}}
 
{{Rel char|亿}}
 
{{Similar|Indicating a Number in Excess}}     
 
{{Similar|Indicating a Number in Excess}}     
 
{{Similar|Approximating with sequential numbers}}
 
{{Similar|Approximating with sequential numbers}}
{{Structure|Numbers and Measure Words}}
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{{POS|Numbers}}
 
{{Used for|Expressing quantity}}
 
{{Used for|Expressing quantity}}

Latest revision as of 06:47, 10 April 2019

Chinese-grammar-wiki-千.jpg

The manner in which large numbers are broken down in Chinese is a little different from English. Unlike in English, where large numbers are broken down by the number of thousands they have, Chinese forms numbers between 10,000 and 100,000,000 based off of how many tens of thousands they have (with another set of rules for numbers 100,000,000 onwards that will be explained later). While the structure can be difficult to grasp for some learners, there are some easy ways to remember how to form these big numbers.

Different Units

Mandarin has two units that English doesn't have (or at least, it has unique words for these units, whereas English describes them with combinations of other units). These are:

  • 万 (wàn): ten thousand
  • 亿 (yì): hundred million

Ten Thousand - 万 (wàn)

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. 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" = yīwàn liǎngqiān) makes more sense.

One way to remember how to write out numbers 10,000 through 99,999 in Chinese characters is that in Chinese, the comma is (mentally) moved one digit to the left. For example, 11,000 could be thought of in tens of thousands as "1,1000," with 万 (wàn) replacing the comma, and then what's left written as 一千 (yīqiān): 一万一千 (yīwàn yīqiān).

Typical split Chinese split Characters Pinyin
10,0001,0000一万yīwàn
12,0001,2000一万二yīwàn èr
13,2001,3200一万三千两百yīwàn sānqiān liǎngbǎi
56,7005,6700五万六千七百wǔwàn liùqiān qībǎi

One Hundred Million - 亿 (yì)

After 99,999,999, there is yet another new numerical unit, 亿 (yì), which is used to express "hundred million." A number like 1,101,110,000 would be written out as "十一亿一百一十一万 (shíyī yì yībǎi yīshí-yī wàn)." Again, an easier way to translate between the two methods is to write the number out in English, move the comma one digit to the left, and then insert the appropriate characters in their respective places, replacing the commas.

Mandarin Number Structure

Numerals Characters Pinyin English
1,000,000,000十亿shí yìBillion
100,000,000亿Hundred million
10,000,000千万qiān wànTen million
1,000,000百万bǎi wànMillion
100,000十万shí wànHundred thousand
10,000wànTen thousand
1,000qiānThousand
100bǎiHundred
10shíTen
1One

A Shortcut

One more simple way to remember how to correctly write out large numbers is to pick one or two numbers and just memorize them. One million, for example, is 一百万 (yībǎi wàn). If you can memorize that, then going to 一千万 (yīqiān wàn) is way easier and faster, since you don't have to count all those zeroes.

The recommended shortcuts are:

  • 一百万 frequently a useful number to knowyībǎi wàn1 million
  • 十四亿 this just happens to be the population of Chinashísì yì1.4 billion

Examples

  • 两千 一百 五十二 wàn liǎngqiān yībǎi wǔshí-èr 52,152
  • 二百 九十一 四千 六百 八十 èrbǎi jiǔshí-yī wàn sìqiān liùbǎi bāshí 2,914,680
  • 七百 八十九 零 二百 九十八 qībǎi bāshí-jiǔ wàn líng èrbǎi jiǔshí-bā 7,890,298
  • 两千 七百 二十一 四千 八百 九十六liǎngqiān qībǎi èrshí-yī wàn sìqiān bābǎi jiǔshí-liù27,214,896
  • 五 千三 百 七 十 九 八 千 两 百 五 十wǔqiān sānbǎi qīshí-jiǔ wàn bāqiān liǎngbǎi wǔshí 53,798,250
  • 亿 一千 四百 二十九 四千 一百 八十二 yīqiān sìbǎi èrshí-jiǔ wàn sìqiān yībǎi bāshí-èr 414,294,182
  • 十三 亿 两千 六百 八十 shísān liǎngqiān liùbǎi bāshí wàn 1,326,800,000
  • 两百 五十一 亿 五千 八百 三十六 七千 二百liǎngbǎi wǔshí-yī wǔqiān bābǎi sānshí-liù wàn qīqiān èrbǎi25,158,367,200

See also

Sources and further reading

Books