A Simple Guide to Chinese Numbers

Numbers help you tell the time, ask about prices and describe quantities. Start with 0–10, then learn how Mandarin combines digits with units such as 十 (ten), 百 (hundred) and 万 (ten thousand).

Numbers from 0 to 10

二 and 两: two different uses of “two”

The difference is grammatical, rather than simply spoken versus written language. Use 二 (èr) in counting, digit strings, ordinals and tens: 一、二、三; 第二 (second); 二十 (20); 十二 (12). Use 两 (liǎng) before many measure words: 两个人 (liǎng ge rén, two people) and 两本书 (liǎng běn shū, two books).

For 200, both 二百 and 两百 are used. 两 is also common before 千、万 and 亿 when the leading number is two, as in 两千 (2,000). It does not replace every non-final 二: 20 is 二十, never 两十. The usage depends on the unit and position.

Numbers from 11 to 20

For 11–19, begin with 十 and add the units digit: 十一 is ten plus one; 十二 is ten plus two. Twenty is 二十, two tens.

Numbers from 21 to 99

Use tens digit + 十 + units digit. For example, 21 is 二十一 (èr shí yī), 56 is 五十六 (wǔ shí liù) and 99 is 九十九 (jiǔ shí jiǔ). Exact tens omit a final zero: 30 is 三十 (sān shí).

Larger number units

百、千、万 and 亿 are number units, not ordinary noun classifiers. The pinyin below uses the dictionary tone yī for 一. Its spoken tone changes in many combinations: 一百 is normally pronounced yì bǎi, and 一万 yí wàn.

Include 一 when giving these complete numbers clearly. You may hear shortened forms in particular contexts, but 百 or 千 alone is primarily the name of a unit.

Build the number in parts

• 999: 九百九十九 — 9 × 100 + 9 × 10 + 9.
• 9,999: 九千九百九十九 — 9 × 1,000 + 999.
• 99,999: 九万九千九百九十九 — 9 × 10,000 + 9,999.
• 999,999: 九十九万九千九百九十九 — 99 × 10,000 + 9,999.
• 9,999,999: 九百九十九万九千九百九十九 — 999 × 10,000 + 9,999.
• 99,999,999: 九千九百九十九万九千九百九十九 — 9,999 × 10,000 + 9,999.

千万 is 1,000 × 10,000, or ten million. 亿 is one hundred million. 十亿 is one billion, 百亿 is ten billion, and 千亿 is one hundred billion.

Group large numbers by four digits

English names commonly group quantities by thousands, millions and billions. Mandarin uses 万 and 亿, so it helps to group a number into blocks of four digits when converting it into words. This is a learning technique; it does not mean that ordinary written numbers must use commas every four digits.

For 123,456,789, think 1 | 2345 | 6789: one 亿, 2,345 万 and 6,789. Then read the number as 一亿两千三百四十五万六千七百八十九. 二千 may also be used in place of 两千.

Do not forget zero inside a number

Use 零 to show a gap in the spoken number: 101 is 一百零一 (yī bǎi líng yī), and 1,005 is 一千零五 (yī qiān líng wǔ). Consecutive internal zeros are not normally read repeatedly. Do not add a zero for a trailing empty unit: 100 is 一百.

Mini-test

Read each number, then open the answer. The pinyin keeps dictionary tones for 一; practise its spoken changes separately.

6

17

48

362

4,789

15,785

456,790

3,333,333

123,456,789

Keep practising

Read prices, quantities and familiar numbers aloud. For reference and more examples, see Mango Languages’ Mandarin numbers guide. Continue with telling the time.