Chinese Numbers | The Ultimate Guide (PLUS Free Quiz Inside)

The Most Comprehensive Online Guide for Counting in Chinese & Talking About Numbers

Chinese Numbers are an essential part of day-to-day life.

They are one of the first things you’ll study when learning Chinese.

So how can we help?

We’ve prepared this ultimate guide to Mandarin Chinese numbers which covers numbers in Chinese up to the heady heights of millions and billions. We’ve even gone as far as to create a little quiz for you at the end of this article once you’ve gotten to grips with the numbers!

Also included are important aspects such as saying your age in Chinese, your phone number, and introducing you to the two curious variations of 1 and 2…!

When learning Chinese numbers, the first approach is pretty basic:

A horizontal stroke 一 (yī) means 1, two horizontal strokes, 二 (èr), represents the number 2, three strokes, 三 (sān), as you can easily imagine, represents the number 3!

Then, of course, it’s not all about parallel horizontal strokes.

Once you’ve learned the characters that represent 4 (四 sì), 5 (五 wǔ), 6 (六 liù), 7 (七 qī), 8 ( 八 bā), 9 (九 jiǔ) and 10 (十 shí), Chinese numbers, up to 99 (九 十九 jiǔshíjiǔ), are quite easy to learn.

Let’s get stuck in

Chinese Numbers | 0-10

Chinese Numbers | 1-20

Chinese Numbers | 1-100

Chinese Numbers | Chinese Phone Numbers

Chinese Numbers | When Is Your Birthday in Chinese

Chinese Numbers | Your Age in Chinese

Chinese Numbers | Chinese Finger Counting

Chinese Numbers | The Curious Case of Liang

Chinese Numbers | What the Experts Say

Chinese Numbers | Big Chinese Numbers

Chinese Numbers | How to Pronounce the 0, 1 and 2 in Large Numbers

BONUS: Chinese Numbers Quiz


Chinese Numbers 0-10

The basics, the ones you need to know.

Notice how easy characters one, two and three are to remember!

From then in, it gets a bit more complex but with a bit of practice and you’ll be there in no time.

NumberHanziPinyin
0零 / 〇Líng
1
2Èr
3Sān
4
5
6Liù
7
8
9Jiǔ
10Shí

Chinese Numbers 1-20

So we already know numbers in Chinese up to 10, time to take that to the next level.

Here is 11-20 in Chinese:

NumberHanziPinyin
11十一Shí yī
12十二Shí èr
13十三Shí sān
14十四Shí sì
15十五Shí wǔ
16十六Shí liù
17十七Shí qī
18十八Shí bā
19十九Shí jiǔ
20二十Èr shí
Check out how much progress student Austin has made – as he explains in Chinese!

Chinese Numbers 1-100

You’ve now mastered the basics, so from 21-100 it should be pretty straightforward with the same theory applying for every number.

Numbers in Chinese from 21-100 are as follows:

NumberHanziPinyin
21二十一Èr shí yī
22二十二Èr shí èr
23二十三Èr shí sān
24二十四Èr shí sì
25二十五Èr shí wǔ
26二十六Èr shí liù
27二十七Èr shí qī
28二十八Èr shí bā
29二十九Èr shí jiǔ
30三十Sān shí
31三十一Sān shí yī
32三十二Sān shí èr
33三十三Sān shí sān
34三十四Sān shí sì
35三十五Sān shí wǔ
36三十六Sān shí liù
37三十七Sān shí qī
38三十八Sān shí bā
39三十九Sān shí jiǔ
40四十Sì shí
41四十一Sì shí yī
42四十二Sì shí èr
43四十三Sì shí sān
44四十四Sì shí sì
45四十五Sì shí wǔ
46四十六Sì shí liù
47四十七Sì shí qī
48四十八Sì shí bā
49四十九Sì shí jiǔ
50五十Wǔ shí
51五十一Wǔ shí yī
52五十二Wǔ shí èr
53五十三Wǔ shí sān
54五十四Wǔ shí sì
55五十五Wǔ shí wǔ
56五十六Wǔ shí liù
57五十七Wǔ shí qī
58五十八Wǔ shí bā
59五十九Wǔ shí jiǔ
60六十Liù shí
61六十一Liù shí yī
62六十二Liù shí èr
63六十三Liù shí sān
64六十四Liù shí sì
65六十五Liù shí wǔ
66六十六Liù shí liù
67六十七Liù shí qī
68六十八Liù shí bā
69六十九Liù shí jiǔ
70七十Qī shí
71七十一Qī shí yī
72七十二Qī shí èr
73七十三Qī shí sān
74七十四Qī shí sì
75七十五Qī shí wǔ
76七十六Qī shí liù
77七十七Qī shí qī
78七十八Qī shí bā
79七十九Qī shí jiǔ
80八十Bā shí
81八十一Bā shí yī
82八十二Bā shí èr
83八十三Bā shí sān
84八十四Bā shí sì
85八十五Bā shí wǔ
86八十六Bā shí liù
87八十七Bā shí qī
88八十八Bā shí bā
89八十九Bā shí jiǔ
90九十Jiǔ shí
91九十一Jiǔ shí yī
92九十二Jiǔ shí èr
93九十三Jiǔ shí sān
94九十四Jiǔ shí sì
95九十五Jiǔ shí wǔ
96九十六Jiǔ shí liù
97九十七Jiǔ shí qī
98九十八Jiǔ shí bā
99九十九Jiǔ shí jiǔ
100一百 Yì  bǎi
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Chinese Phone Numbers – How to Say Yours

Now you know Chinese numbers from 1-100, the phone number should be easy!

One important thing to note:

When referring to phone numbers the Number One is not spoken as Yì 一 but instead Yāo 幺 is used. The general belief is that One and Seven sound similar (yi and qi) when spoken quickly, hence the introduction of Yao.

Therefore if the start of your phone number reads 136 you will say:

Yao San Liu, not Yi San Liu.

In English, we have a habit of sometimes grouping numbers together, such as “0 Eight Hundred” for 0800 or “Twenty Two, Treble One, Nine” for 221119.

In Mandarin Chinese, this is not the case.

All individual numbers are spoken making it easy to remember.

Once you know the numbers 0-10 you are good to go. Just remember, Yao, not Yi!

Let’s practice, take a look at these:

13439191994

To say this number we simply say: Yao, San, Si, San, Jiu, Yao, Jiu, Yao, Jiu, Jiu, Si

13866889988

If this is your phone number, you are blessed. Why?

Take a look at our Chinese Lucky Numbers blog for the answer!

Anyway, the number: Yao, San, Ba, Liu, Liu, Ba, Ba, Jiu, Jiu, Ba, Ba

NOTE: In Taiwan, they do not use this practice of changing ‘yi’ to ‘yao’ and instead just use ‘yi’. Many Taiwanese don’t understand this system and if they do it’s probably because they’ve spent time in Mainland China.

ANOTHER NOTE: These days in China, when you’re making new friends, you probably won’t ask for their number, you’ll most likely ask for their WeChat. Here’s everything you need to know about the platform:

When Is Your Birthday in Chinese

Saying when your birthday is in Chinese is also quite comfortable once you know these key characters/words:

Year

Pinyin:nián

Meaning: year

Month

Pinyin: yuè

Meaning: month

Date

日 (formal Chinese)

Pinyin: rì

meaning: date

Date (Oral)

号 (oral Chinese)

Pinyin: hào

meaning: date

So here’s the deal:

My Birthday is November 24th.

In Chinese the order of speech is Year, Month, Date so on that basis…

11月24号 (Shi Yi Yue, Er Shi Si Hao) is how I’d say my birthday in Chinese!

If I want to add in the year you can just use the final two numbers of the year.

So for example if you were born in 1986 you can refer to your year of birth as:

86年 (Ba Liu Nian)

Easy!

Your Age in Chinese

Once you know the numbers, age is pretty elementary stuff. Before learning about Age, let’s learn some key vocab here:

HanziPinyinEnglish
suìyear; age
what number; which number
duōhow much
big; old

Before telling someone your age you’ll want to wait for them to ask you first!

Expect to hear one of these two questions:

nǐ duō dà – 你多大? 

nǐ jǐ suì – 你几岁?

The second question is most likely said to a younger person such as a teenager but expect to hear one of those two questions to which you can reply.

我二十九岁 – Wǒ Èr Shí Jiǔ Suì
I am 29 years old

Nice and simple.

You already know the number 29 so you simply add the word for “I” before and the word for “Age” after.

Chinese Finger Counting

You might be wondering what this chapter is about but hear us out:

In many cultures, we gesture numbers with our fingers but we normally just hold up the number of fingers to communicate the number.

For 1-5 this is OK but for 6-10 this is a bit more troublesome if one of our hands is holding our phone or a bag of shopping.

Well, the Chinese are one step ahead of us.

Every number in Chinese can be communicated by using just one hand!

Want to know the best part?

When you’ve learned them, you will see them everywhere and they are incredibly useful in day to day life! Let’s reveal them:

Chinese Numbers - Count to 10
Chinese Numbers – Count to 10

Learn these, and rather than have to shout over the busy crowds, you’ll be able to communicate from afar with these useful hand gestures in Mandarin Chinese!

The Curious Case of Liang 两

Number 2 in Chinese
Number 2 in Chinese

We touched on how One can be spoken in two ways earlier. Well, the same applies for Two!

It’s not so complex though, remember in English we use Nought and Zero for 0.

Two is Er 二 in Chinese but in certain situations this switches to Liang 两.

Here are a couple of those reasons:

  • (liǎng) is used when counting people or things
    • 两个人(liǎng gè rén) is two people
  • is also used as the first digit in two hundred (两百), two thousand (两千)
    • Note for 221, only the first digit is changed to liang meaning 221 reads Liang Bai Er Shi Yi
Chinese Vs Japanese // Counting and Numbers (What's The Story?) Thumbnail

Chinese Vs Japanese // Counting and Numbers (What’s The Story?)

Are Chinese and Japanese Numbers the same? This article might surprise you. We focus on Chinese Numbers vs Japanese Numbers and debunk some myths.

What The Experts Say

Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages
Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages

When starting out, or maybe at a brick wall, it’s always good to take the advice of someone who made it!

Step forward Lindsay from Lindsay Does Languages.

Lindsay is a fluent Mandarin speaker and has her own website to showcase her knack for languages.

Here is what she has to say about learning Chinese numbers…

Numbers are surprisingly easy in Chinese – and logical! Within a matter of just a couple of hours, you’ll be able to count really high because it all connects together so well. One thing that is worth learning in addition, especially if you’ll be visiting China any time soon, is how people indicate numbers with their fingers because this is different from the expected…!

QUICK TIP – Another great way to learn Chinese is through music… which music you ask? We got your back!

BONUS – Big Chinese Numbers

This section is kindly brought to you by former LTL Student and Intern who now works for LTL on a freelance basis – Marie Fornabaio

Beyond the number 99, when counting in Chinese, you need to use characters that represent hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, etc… as this might seem confusing.

Because of this we have a couple of tricks for counting BIG CHINESE NUMBERS!

Firstly, check out our simple How To video series to find out how to say the biggest numbers in Chinese!

#1 Trick for Counting in Chinese

The first trick to learn Chinese numbers quickly is to change the way you consider them

EASY – When we write the number 23 (二十 三 èr shí sān) in Chinese, for example, we literally have a 2-10-3.

It is very elementary to understand, but, if you consider 10 十 (shí) as a “measure word for tens”, learning Chinese numbers over hundreds and thousands gets a way easier indeed.

In fact, if you stick to this line of thinking, you consider:

百 (bǎi) as a “measure word” for hundreds

Example: 999 = 九百 九 十九 – 9 hundreds – 9 tens – 9 (units)

千 (qiān) as a “measure word” for thousands

Learning Chinese Numbers
Learn Chinese Numbers with Lex The Lion

Example. 9999 = 九千 九百 九 十九 – 9 thousand – 9 hundreds – 9 tens – 9 (units)

All clear?

Eventually, we could now add the character 万 wàn to this series of “numeral measure words” to be able to read most of the numbers that you commonly see newspapers, TV, etc.

So, let’s consider…

万 (wàn) as a”measure word” for tens of thousands

Example. 99999 = 九万 九千 九百 九 十九 – 9 tens of thousands – 9 thousand – 9 hundreds – 9 tens – 9 (units)

Learning the sequence from thousands 千, hundreds 百, to tens 十 and units (simple numbers) should make it easier for you to read numbers beyond tens of thousands.

Generally, when teachers start to explain how to count beyond 10000, many of those students who have decided to study a foreign language to stay away from numbers start to feel dismayed. But … here comes our magic ….

#2 Trick for Counting in Chinese

Why don’t Chinese people directly count from thousands to millions just like Westerners do? The answer to this question is the key to read all kinds of numbers in Chinese!

For the ease of the reader, when writing big numbers, Westerners normally separate them with a comma, in groups of 3 digits, from right to left (eg 99,999).

When counting in Chinese, numbers are generally separated (from right to left) in groups of 4 digits: 99,999 ⇒ 9,9999

All that clear?

To sum up, when counting big numbers in Chinese, it would be better to separate them into groups of 4 digits and to keep in mind that each group of 4 contains the sequence “千 – 百 – 十 – unit” (thousands-hundreds-tens-units).

Now that you know the 3 characters needed to count up to 10,000, one last little effort is needed:

You only need to learn 2 more characters in order to be able to read numbers up to the trillions in Chinese.

Oh yes, only 2 more characters are needed!

亿 (yì) “measure word” for hundreds of millions

兆 (zhào) “measure word” for trillion.

If the explanation you had in class about “Counting beyond 10,000 in Chinese” seemed a way more complicated than this, remember that it is only a matter of perspectives.

Once you divide a big number into groups of 4 digits with a comma, all you have to do is to replace every comma you added with the relative “numeral measure word” and you’re done!

For example, if we take this number – 9,999,999,999,999

(nine trillion nine hundred ninety-nine billion nine hundred ninety-nine million nine hundred ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine)

According to the Chinese way it will be divided as follows

9,9999,9999,9999

As we learned, you should read every 4-digit group as 9999 九千 九百九十九 (Jiǔqiān jiǔbǎi jiǔshí jiǔ). The only and last thing you need to do now is to replace our so-called “numeral measure word” with commas, as follows:

9 兆 9 亿 9 万

Numbers in Chinese

And now, from left to right we will read:

九兆 九千九百九十九亿九千九百九十九万九千九百九十九

This reads – Jiǔ zhào jiǔqiān jiǔbǎi jiǔshíjiǔ yì jiǔqiān jiǔbǎi jiǔshíjiǔ wàn jiǔqiān jiǔbǎi jiǔshíjiǔ

Not so bad right…?!

How to Pronounce the Digits 0, 1 and 2 in Large Numbers?

When studying the Chinese numbers, one of the first characters you learn is 零 líng (zero). Everything seems super easy with it until you learn big numbers in Chinese and you start doubting about whether to pronounce it or not.

There are 3 simple rules to pronounce the digit zero in big numbers so… let’s study them all!

REMEMBER – As you already learned above, the easiest way for counting in Chinese is to divide big numbers into groups of 4 digits and to match each digit the corresponding “numeral measure word” (千 for thousands,百 for hundreds, 十for tens, and nothing for units).

When there is one or more 0 in a group of 4 digits, all you have to keep in mind are these 3 simple rules:

  • 1) Do not pronounce the “numeral measure word” when it corresponds to 0

3,038 = 三千零三十八 sānqiān líng sānshíbā (as 百 corresponds to 0, there’s no need to pronounce it).

308三百零八 sānbǎi líng bā  (as 十 corresponds to 0 there’s no need to pronounce it).

  • 2) Pronounce just one zero when there is more than one 0 in a group of 4 digits

00 = 零零 => 零

3,008三千零八 sānqiān líng bā

  • 3) Do not pronounce 0 (or a group of 0) when it is at the end of a number (just ignore the 0)

8,000 八千 bāqiān

8,300 八千三百  bāqiān sānbǎi

Numbers in Chinese

800 八百 bābǎi

830 八百三十 bābǎi sānshí

80 八十 bāshí

BONUS – did you know Chinese use numbers for slang also! Check it out… find out and download the 2nd image on our Chinese slang blog linked below!

How to Pronounce the Digit 1 in Large Numbers?

As the easiest Chinese character to draw, the number one “一” (yī) is also very easy to use.

What many Chinese students don’t know, is that the pronunciation of the character 一 may vary from yī to yì according to its position in a number.

Therefore, there are two rules to keep in mind:

  • When 1 is in the position of thousands or hundreds it is pronounced as yì, when in tens or units it is pronounced as yī

1,111  | 一千一百一十一  ( yì qiān yì bǎi yī shí yī )

1,831 | 一千八百三十一 ( yì qiān bā bǎi sān shí yī )

Numbers in Chinese
  • When 1 is in numbers from 10 to 19, you just consider it as a ten so you pronounce it as 十 shí:

You just say 十 10 (shí), 十一 11 (shíyī), 十二 12 (shíèr) … etc.

How to Pronounce the Digit 2 in Large Numbers?

As you know, the digit 2 has two different pronunciations in Chinese:it can be pronounced as 二 (èr) or as 两 (liǎng).

QUESTION – How to distinguish when to pronounce 2 as 二èr or as 两liǎng in big numbers?

When 2 is in the position of thousands or hundreds it is pronounced as 两 liǎng, when it is in tens or units it is pronounced as 二 èr.

2,222  =两千两百二十二

Concluding Big Chinese Numbers

In conclusion, by dividing big numbers into groups of 4 digits (from right to left) and replacing each comma with the relative “numeral measure word” – from right to left, 万 (wàn), 亿 (yì) and 兆 (zhào) – we will be able to read any number in Chinese up to billions.

Any doubts or doubts about this very personal and debatable theory? Leave a comment.

Editor’s note* the purpose of this article is only to facilitate the study of the Chinese numbers to those who, just like me, have experienced difficulties in understanding them. As already underlined, these “tricks” have no confirmation in official sources, therefore, I ask you to take them as a personal solution and to be lenient in the judgement of the person who conceived them – Marie F

Chinese Numbers Quiz

OK here we go then.

Although it’s been a lot to take in we hope we’ve helped give you a clearer understanding of the numbers in Chinese… but now it’s time to put that to the test.

How well do you know the numbers in Chinese? Let’s find out! Take our little quiz below, and you’ll receive the answers immediately.

Welcome to your Chinese Numbers

零 (Líng)

二 (Èr)

一 (Yī)

三 (Sān)

四 (Sì)

五 (Wǔ)

六 (Liù)

七 (Qī)

八 (Bā)

九 (Jiǔ)

十 (Shí)

十一 (Shí yī)

十二 (Shí èr)

十三 (Shí sān)

十四 (Shí sì)

十六 (Shí liù)

十五 (Shí wǔ)

十七 (Shí qī)

十八 (Shí bā)

十九 (Shí jiǔ)

二十 (Èr shí)

二十一 (Èr shí yī)

二十二 (Èr shí èr)

二十三 (Èr shí sān)

二十四 (Èr shí sì)

二十六 (Èr shí liù)

二十五 (Èr shí wǔ)

二十七 (Èr shí qī)

三十 (Sān shí)

二十八 (Èr shí bā)

三十一 (Sān shí yī)

二十九 (Èr shí jiǔ)

三十二 (Sān shí èr)

三十三 (Sān shí sān)

三十四 (Sān shí sì)

三十五 (Sān shí wǔ)

三十六 (Sān shí liù)

三十七 (Sān shí qī)

三十八 (Sān shí bā)

三十九 (Sān shí jiǔ)

四十 (Sì shí)

四十一 (Sì shí yī)

四十二 (Sì shí èr)

四十三 (Sì shí sān)

四十四 (Sì shí sì)

四十六 (Sì shí liù)

四十五 (Sì shí wǔ)

四十七 (Sì shí qī)

四十九 (Sì shí jiǔ)

四十八 (Sì shí bā)

五十 (Wǔ shí)

五十一 (Wǔ shí yī)

五十二 (Wǔ shí èr)

五十三 (Wǔ shí sān)

五十四 (Wǔ shí sì)

五十五 (Wǔ shí wǔ)

五十六 (Wǔ shí liù)

五十七 (Wǔ shí qī)

五十八 (Wǔ shí bā)

五十九 (Wǔ shí jiǔ)

六十 (Liù shí)

六十一 (Liù shí yī)

六十二 (Liù shí èr)

六十三 (Liù shí sān)

六十四 (Liù shí sì)

六十五 (Liù shí wǔ)

六十六 (Liù shí liù)

六十七 (Liù shí qī)

六十八 (Liù shí bā)

七十 (Qī shí)

六十九 (Liù shí jiǔ)

七十一 (Qī shí yī)

七十二 (Qī shí èr)

七十三 (Qī shí sān)

七十四 (Qī shí sì)

七十六 (Qī shí liù)

七十五 (Qī shí wǔ)

七十七 (Qī shí qī)

七十八 (Qī shí bā)

七十九 (Qī shí jiǔ)

八十 (Bā shí)

八十一 (Bā shí yī)

八十二 (Bā shí èr)

八十三 (Bā shí sān)

八十四 (Bā shí sì)

八十五 (Bā shí wǔ)

八十六 (Bā shí liù)

八十七 (Bā shí qī)

八十八 (Bā shí bā)

八十九 (Bā shí jiǔ)

九十 (Jiǔ shí)

九十一 (Jiǔ shí yī)

九十四 (Jiǔ shí sì)

九十二 (Jiǔ shí èr)

九十三 (Jiǔ shí sān)

九十五 (Jiǔ shí wǔ)

九十六 (Jiǔ shí liù)

九十七 (Jiǔ shí qī)

九十八 (Jiǔ shí bā)

九十九 (Jiǔ shí jiǔ)

一百 ( Yì bǎi)

年 (nián)

月 (yuè)

日 (rì)

岁 (suì)

号 (hào)

几 (jǐ)

多 (duō)

大 (dà)

百 (bǎi)

千 (qiān)

万 (wàn)

亿 (yì)

兆 (zhào)

两 (liǎng)

两百 (liǎng bǎi)

两千 (liǎng qiān)

Further Reading

We’ve always got more.

No one does content about China quite like we do so here are some others we think you’ll like:

You an even learn Chinese online with LTL to get your journey kick-started.

Drop us a comment below if you have any feedback on learning Chinese numbers whether you are a beginner, intermediate or an advanced learner of Chinese.

OR if you fancy putting yourself to the test further, why not check out our guide on Japanese numbers here, Korean numbers here, the grammatically challenging Russian numbers or even discover the wonderful world of Vietnamese numbers?

Thanks for reading!
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Chinese Numbers || FAQs

Does “Yāo 幺” mean 1 in Chinese?

Number 1 in Chinese is Yì 一.

However, when referring to phone numbers the Number One is not spoken as Yì 一 but instead Yāo 幺 is used. This is because 1 and 7 are widely regarded to sound too similar and could therefore cause confusion.

Is two in Chinese Er 二 or Liang 两?

Two is Er 二 in Chinese but in certain situations this switches to Liang 两.

Er 二 is used generally when counting in numbers or performing mathematical functions. Liang 两 is used to say two of or a pair of something.

When ordering in a restaurant should I ask for Er 二 or Liang 两 when ordering two of something?

When getting your head around the Chinese menus, remember to use Liang 两 when ordering two of something.

Although the waiter/waitress would understand if you said Er 二个, it is grammatically incorrect.

If I learn the numbers in Chinese, can I tell the time?

Yes pretty much. Telling the time in Chinese is easy once you learn the numbers from 1-12, as with most languages. Is all you need to do is add 点 after the number to make “O’Clock”…

For example, 3 O’Clock would read 三(3)点. Simple!

When counting big numbers does Chinese use a comma after 3 zeros as well?

No, Chinese uses a comma after every 4 zero’s. Take the following:

In English 10000 would become 10,000 with a comma (effectively 10 one thousands).

In Chinese 10000 would become 1,0000 with a comma (effectively 1 ten thousand).

This is because Chinese has a word for ten thousand which is 万 Wàn, so rather than say ten thousands (十千) which doesn’t exist in Chinese, we say 一万.

Why is 250 avoided in Chinese?

By saying the number 250 you are actually insulting someone by calling them an idiot.

Due to this, China avoids the number 250 at all costs, that includes prices in supermarkets as well!

On the contrary, here is a list of the most lucky numbers in Chinese culture.

What does 520 mean in Chinese slang?

520 in Chinese slang actually means I Love You in Chinese. This is because the sound of the numbers 5, 2 and 0 sound very similar to the way to say I Love You in Chinese!

How do you say 1, 2, 3 in Chinese?

Three of the easiest Chinese characters to remember. 1, 2, 3 in Chinese is 一 (yī) means 1, 2 is 二 (èr), and 3 is 三 (sān).

How can I talk about math in Chinese?

We wrote a blog relating to mathematical terms in Chinese which will help you learn all about Maths in Chinese here.

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43 comments

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  1. How Big Is China? Mindblowing Facts and Numbers About China
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    […] Number – 数 Shù […]

  2. Hey LTL, really like the post and learnt a lot about Numbers.

    The videos were super useful, thanks

    John

    1. Everlyne Ayago
      Reply

      Am happy that am getting it all right because of your wonderful teaching

      1. LTL Team HQ
        Reply

        Super happy to hear that

  3. 唐龙
    Reply

    Thank you for the nice explanations. I would like to add one in America we do this:

    American counting system:
    1万 = 10,000
    1亿 = 100,000,000 = 100 Millions = 0.1 Billions
    1兆 = 1,000,000,000,000 = 1 Trillion (not 1 Billion)

    1. LTL Team HQ
      Reply

      Thanks for your feedback 唐龙

      Numbers are an interesting element to learn in Chinese. They open so many doors!

      LTL Team

      1. zing mow
        Reply

        thank you

  4. Ultimate Guide to the Most Similar Chinese Characters - LTL Mandarin School
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    […] 千 is a fairly common character which appears in numbers, since it means “thousand”. […]

  5. Learn Basic Mandarin - Complete Guide To Over 100 Basic Mandarin Phrases
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    […] Want to go all the way to a million? Listen to all the numbers  […]

  6. Marissa
    Reply

    xiexie谢谢

    1. LTL Team HQ
      Reply

      不用谢

  7. Fantastic article, thorough and comprehensive. Shared.

    Thank you

    1. LTL Team HQ
      Reply

      Thanks so much Jess, it took some time, but well worth it!!

  8. Chinese Phone Calls - Become A Pro And Master The Art Of The Phone Call
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    […] Chinese Numbers – The Ultimate Guide […]

  9. I really like this post. Thank you LTL

    1. LTL Team HQ
      Reply

      Our pleasure Alex!

    2. Tammy Sierman
      Reply

      Negative numbers?

  10. thx for this it helps

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      Our pleasure Emma 🙂

      Glad you found it useful.

  11. یادگیری اعداد زبان چینی از 1 تا 100 - سایت مرجع آموزش زبان چینی
    Reply

    […] ltl-taiwan […]

  12. Samri
    Reply

    This is so so useful!! Thanks Max

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      Really pleased to hear it Samri, our pleasure!

  13. Vlacek
    Reply

    Absolutely superb article LTl!

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      Super kind thanks Vlacek

  14. I love this guide, thanks also for making videos

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      Our pleasure Lisa

  15. Casey Dubose
    Reply

    Just to add that your mileage will vary in Taiwan. The hand symbols are different for numbers and people will still say Yi instead of Yao for the number 1.

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      Absolutely, thanks for the comment Casey.

  16. Chinese New Year Do's and Don'ts - Things You Have To Know
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    […] there is symbolism attached to the amount of money you give – in the north of China, for example, whole numbers are […]

  17. If the Eye is the Window to Our Soul, Culture is the Window to Our Mind - Cultural Society
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    […] is a website that explains counting and numbers in Chinese from a westerner’s perspective. It is a good […]

  18. Hafsa
    Reply

    Xiexie ni

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      不用谢 Hafsa

  19. Is Chinese a difficult language to learn for aspiring learners?
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    […] in Mandarin (under 10,000 [see the section below on big numbers]) is fairly simple. There are a few rules having to do with zero that might take a little effort to memorize, but other than that, small […]

  20. Leigh
    Reply

    Very good guide. love it

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      Many thanks Leigh!

  21. Diinlang Numeral Ideas 2.1 – Diinlang and Languages
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    […] will be used. The article quoted from above seems to suggest Cantonese numbers are quicker than Mandarin. These may prove a good place to start for Diinlang. Some Chinese number names are renamed for […]

  22. Free Chinese Number - HariDiary
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    […] Chinese Numbers | The Ultimate Guide (PLUS Free Quiz Inside) […]

  23. Muhammad saddam
    Reply

    very interesting and helpful indeed,
    confusion still there about use of zero…

  24. This is very helpful, but the error in the following paragraph made me giggle. You may want to fix it so it reads billions not billiards. 😀

    Concluding Big Chinese Numbers
    In conclusion, by dividing big numbers into groups of 4 digits (from right to left) and replacing each comma with the relative “numeral measure word” – from right to left, 万 (wàn), 亿 (yì) and 兆 (zhào) – we will be able to read any number in Chinese up to billiards.

    1. Max Hobbs
      Reply

      Haha very good typo that! We’ve promptly edited. Thanks Caete, glad it raised a smile 🙂

  25. Is Uber or Lyft in China?
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    […] here and/or here to read how to say phone numbers in English (basically, it’s the same as normal […]

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    Manuel Saldaña Quintans , Student Advisor

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