Language/Mandarin-chinese/Vocabulary/Numbers
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Hey there, Chinese learners!
Are you ready to add Chinese numbers to your language toolbox? In this lesson, we'll be covering everything you need to know about counting in Chinese. Whether you're a beginner or intermediate level learner, we've got you covered with step-by-step instructions on how to count with your hands, pronounce numbers, write numbers, and even write the date in Chinese. You'll also learn how to ask someone's age and how to pronounce years and phone numbers in Chinese. By the end of this lesson, you'll be well on your way to becoming a fluent Chinese speaker!
So let's get started!
Upon mastering this content, you might be interested in pursuing these relevant subjects: 爱 ài, Introducing Each Other (Business ..., 够(夠) gòu enough & Polyphonic characters.
Count with your hands from 1 to 10 in Chinese[edit | edit source]
To start this lesson, let's learn how to count using hands.
Look at the picture below:
Pronounce numbers from 0 to 10 in Chinese[edit | edit source]
Watch this video to learn how to pronounce numbers from 0 to 10.
Pay attention to the pronunciation of tones. Its very important.
Write numbers from 0 to 10 in Chinese[edit | edit source]
It is quite easy to count from 0 to 10 in Chinese, apart from the writing of zero: 零 líng.
Zero can also be written 〇 which is simpler but less traditional.
In Chinese, we often use Arabic numerals. However, you also have to know the Chinese characters that are commonly used.
| Numbers | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 零 / 〇 | líng |
| 1 | 一 / 幺 | yī , yí , yì / yāo |
| 2 | 二 / 两 | èr / liǎng |
| 3 | 三 | sān |
| 4 | 四 | sì |
| 5 | 五 | wǔ |
| 6 | 六 | liù |
| 7 | 七 | qī |
| 8 | 八 | bā |
| 9 | 九 | jiǔ |
| 10 | 十 | shí |
Write numbers after 10 in Chinese[edit | edit source]
After 10, the result is quite logical:
- 11 十一
- 12 十二
- 13 十三
...
- 19 十九
Then:
- 20 二十
- 21 二十一
- 22 二十二
etc.
It is very easy and there is nothing special except that we should not add a "one" from 10 to 19: Do not write: "一 十, 一 十一", etc.
Write big numbers in Chinese[edit | edit source]
Here's how to write big numbers:
| Numbers | Chinese | pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 一百 | yī bǎi |
| 200 | 二百 | èr bǎi |
| 1.000 | 一千 | yī qiān |
| 3.000 | 三千 | sān qiān |
| 9.999 | 九千九百九十九 | jiǔ qiān jiǔ bǎi jiǔ shí jiǔ |
| 10.000 | 一万 | yī wàn |
| 40.000 | 四万 | sì wàn |
| 100.000 (10 x 10.000) | 十万 | shí wàn |
| 500.000 | 五十万 | wǔ shí wàn |
| 1.000.000 (100 x 10.000) | 一百万 | yī bǎi wàn |
| 6.000.000 | 六百万 | liù bǎi wàn |
| 10.000.000 (1.000 x 10.000) | 一千万 | yī qiān wàn |
| 70.000.000 | 七千万 | qī qiān wàn |
| 100.000.000 | 一亿 | yī yì |
| 800.000.000 | 八亿 | bā yì |
| 1.000.000.000 (10 x 100.000.000) | 十亿 | shí yì |
Write the date in Chinese[edit | edit source]
The date is built from the most general to the most precise:
Year + month + day of the month + day of the week
The year is constructed by listing the numbers in front of the word "year" 年 nián:
Thus, 2012 is written 二零一二年 èr líng yí èr nián.
So we say "year two, zero, one, two." We must not say two thousand, etc.
The months are constructed by putting the number or the number (10, 11, 12) before the word "month" 月 yuè:
- January: 一月 yí yuè (note the change of tone of yī, see phonetics)
- February: 二月 èr yuè
- March: 三月 sān yuè
...
- October: 十月 shí yuè
- November: 十一月 shí yí yuè
- December: 十二月 shí èr yuè
Only the year is built by listing the numbers.
April 1998 is therefore: 一 九九 八年 四月.
The day of the month is constructed by putting the number or number in front of the word "day" 日 rì.
Attention the word 天 tiān, "day" indicates the duration (in an expression like "three days of holidays" for example).
- The first day of the month will be said: 一日 yí rì,
- The second 二 日 èr rì,
- The thirtieth 三十 日 sān shí rì,
- The thirty-first 三十 一日 sān shí yí rì, etc.
December 21, 2012 is written: 二零 一 二年 十二月 二十 一日 (2012 Nián 12 yuè 21 rì).
In Chinese, the word week is called 星期 xīngqī (literally "period of stars"). The day of the week is built by adding the number after the word week 星期:
- Monday 星期一 xīngqī yī
- Tuesday 星期二 xīngqī èr
- Wednesday 星期三 xīngqī sān
- Thursday 星期四 xīngqī sì
- Friday 星期五 xīngqī wǔ
- Saturday 星期六 xīngqī liù
The word "Sunday" is special and is either 星期天 xīngqī tiān (day of the sky) or 星期日 xīngqī rì (day of the sun).
Ask for a date in Chinese[edit | edit source]
To ask for the date, two questions are possible:
- 今天 的 日期 是 什么? Jīntiān de rìqī shì shénme?
or
- 今天 几 月 几 日? Jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ rì? (for the short form)
- 今天 几年 几 月 几 日 星期 星期 几? Jīntiān jǐ nián jǐ yuè jǐ rì xīngqī jǐ? (for the long form)
To ask for the anniversary date we will say:
- 你的生日是几月几日？ Nǐ de shēngrì shì jǐ yuè jǐ rì ?
And the answer:
- 我的生日是三月二十一日。 Wǒ de shēngrì shì sān yuè èrshíyí rì.
My birthday is on March 21st.
Which calendar is used in China?[edit | edit source]
The Chinese calendar is a lunar calendar.
It is still very much used for traditional celebrations and birthdays.
For work and administration, the so-called "solar calendar" is used.
"How old are you?" in Chinese[edit | edit source]
- 你 多大? Nǐ duō dà?
How old are you?
The adjectival verb 大 dà can be translated as "to be big" in the sense of size and age.
- 中国 很大 Zhōngguó Hěn dà
China is very big.
In Chinese, the word 多 duō can also be translated as "how many?" when he is in front of a verb.
This use of the verb 多 makes it possible to make questions that are difficult to translate into another language, but which do exist in Chinese:
- 她 多 美?
How much is she pretty?
- 他 多 好?
How much is he nice?
The answer to the question is built without verb using the word 岁 (suì):
Subject + number + 岁 (suì).
Example:
- 我 十七 岁. Wǒ shíqī suì.
I am 17 years old
When we talk to a child, we can use the interrogative word "how much?" 几岁 jǐ suì:
- 你 几岁? Nǐ jǐ suì?
How old are you?
Actually, 几岁 is used when the response is estimated to be less than 10 years old (approximately).
For an answer greater than 10 years old, use 多大.
How to pronounce years and phone numbers in Chinese[edit | edit source]
When pronuncing a phone number or a year, it must be done digit by digit.
When pronuncing phone numbers for instance, the Chinese often replace "一" by "幺 <yāo>". Because in these cases, the sound changes of 一 are not applied, its pronunciation is similar to 七's.
The year "2014" is "二〇一四(年) ‹ èr líng yī sì (nián) ›" and not "二千〇一十四".
Practice Phrases:[edit | edit source]
- 你多大？(Nǐ duō dà?) - How old are you?
- 今天是几月几日？(Jīntiān shì jǐ yuè jǐ rì?) - What is today's date?
- 我的电话号码是一三五七九。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì yī sān wǔ qī jiǔ.) - My phone number is 13579.
- 我有两个姐姐。(Wǒ yǒu liǎng gè jiějiě.) - I have two older sisters.
- 你的生日是几月几日？(Nǐ de shēngrì shì jǐ yuè jǐ rì?) - When is your birthday?
- 今天是星期天。(Jīntiān shì xīngqītiān.) - Today is Sunday.
- 请问，现在是几点？(Qǐngwèn, xiànzài shì jǐ diǎn?) - Excuse me, what time is it now?
- 五加六等于十一。(Wǔ jiā liù děngyú shíyī.) - Five plus six equals eleven.
- 我需要买三张票。(Wǒ xūyào mǎi sān zhāng piào.) - I need to buy three tickets.
- 他今年三十五岁。(Tā jīnnián sānshíwǔ suì.) - He is thirty-five years old this year.
- 二十乘以四等于八十。(Èrshí chéngyì sì děngyú bāshí.) - Twenty multiplied by four equals eighty.
- 你家有几口人？(Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?) - How many people are there in your family?
- 九减四等于五。(Jiǔ jiǎn sì děngyú wǔ.) - Nine minus four equals five.
Quiz:[edit | edit source]
- How do you pronounce the number "3" in Chinese? a) sān b) èr c) sì
- How do you write the number "7" in Chinese? a) 五 b) 六 c) 七
- How do you say "April 1998" in Chinese? a) 一九九八年四月 b) 一九九八年三月 c) 一九九八年五月
- How do you ask someone's age in Chinese when speaking to a child? a) 你多大？ b) 你几岁？ c) 你多少岁？
- How do you pronounce the year 2023 in Chinese? a) 二〇二二年 b) 二〇二三年 c) 二〇二四年
- How do you write the number "6" in Chinese? a) 八 b) 九 c) 六
- How do you say "Today is Wednesday" in Chinese? a) 今天是星期二。 b) 今天是星期三。 c) 今天是星期四。
- Which of these means "eight" in Chinese? a) bā b) wǔ c) qī
- How do you say "nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine" in Chinese? a) 九千九百九十九 b) 九千八百八十八 c) 八千九百九十九
- How do you ask "How many people are there in your family?" in Chinese? a) 你家有几口人？ b) 你家有多少人？ c) 你家有多少口人？
- How do you say "two thousand" in Chinese? a) 一千 b) 两千 c) 三千
- What is the Chinese character for "zero"? a) 五 b) 零 c) 一
- How do you say "forty thousand" in Chinese? a) 四万 b) 五万 c) 六万
- How do you say "Friday" in Chinese? a) 星期五 b) 星期六 c) 星期日
- How do you say "I am 25 years old" in Chinese? a) 我二十五岁。 b) 我二十岁。 c) 我二十六岁。
Answers:[edit | edit source]
- a) sān
- c) 七
- a) 一九九八年四月
- b) 你几岁？
- b) 二〇二三年
- c) 六
- b) 今天是星期三。
- a) bā
- a) 九千九百九十九
- a) 你家有几口人？
- b) 两千
- b) 零
- a) 四万
- a) 星期五
- a) 我二十五岁。
Sources[edit | edit source]
- http://www.chine-culture.com/chinois/cours-de-chinois-5-grammaire.php
- https://chine.in/mandarin/methode/index.php?lecon=6
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- 而 ér also, and, yet, but
- 教 jiào teach; teaching; religion jiāo teach
- 社 shè society; organized body
- 划(劃) huà plan
- 查 chá examine, check, Zhā Zha (a surname)
- 视(視) shì look at, regard, inspect
- At Home
- Difference between 漢語 and 中文
- 占(佔) zhàn occupy
- How to build a sentence in Chinese