| 0 | ◯ or 零 líng | ||
| 1 | – yī | 6 | 六 liù |
| 2 | 二 èr 两/兩 liǎng | 7 | 七 qī |
| 3 | 三 sān | 8 | 八 bā |
| 4 | 四 sì | 9 | 九 jiǔ |
| 5 | 五 wǔ | 10 | 十 shí |
The number 2 occurs in two forms.
• When counting without a classifier, the number 2 is always 二 èr.
| – | 二 | 三 | 四 | 五 | ||||
| yī | – | èr | – | sān | – | sì | – | wǔ |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
• When it occurs in a phrase with a classifier, the number 2 is 两/兩 liǎng.
两本书
兩本書
liǎng běn shū
two books
两个人
兩個人
liǎng gè rén
two people
► 9.1
Telephone numbers are recited as a series of single digits from 0 to 9. When reciting a telephone number, the number 2 is always 二 èr.
我的电话号码是八六二二五六◯二。
我的電話號碼是八六二二五六◯二。
Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì bā liù èr èr wǔ liù líng èr.
My phone number is 8 6 2 2 5 6 0 2.
► 26.5
The numbers 11–19 consist of the number 10 [十 shí] followed by the numbers 1 [— yī] through 9 [九 jiǔ] as follows. Note that the number 12 is 十二 shí’èr and not *十两/十兩 shí liǎng.
| 11 | 十一 | shíyī | 16 | 十六 | shíliù |
| 12 | 十二 | shí’èr | 17 | 十七 | shíqī |
| 13 | 十三 | shísān | 18 | 十八 | shíbā |
| 14 | 十四 | shísì | 19 | 十九 | shíjiǔ |
| 15 | 十五 | shíwǔ |
The numbers 20, 30, 40, etc. consist of the numbers 2 [二 èr] through 9 [九 jiǔ] followed by the number 10 [十 shí] as follows:
| 20 | 二十 | èrshí | 60 | 六十 | liùshí |
| 30 | 三十 | sānshí | 70 | 七十 | qīshí |
| 40 | 四十 | sìshí | 80 | 八十 | bāshí |
| 50 | 五十 | wǔshí | 90 | 九十 | jiǔshí |
The numbers 21, 22, etc. are formed as follows:
| 21 | 二十— | èrshíyī | 57 | 五十七 | wǔshíqī |
| 22 | 二十二 | èrshí’èr | 68 | 六十八 | liùshíbā |
| 35 | 三十五 | sānshíwǔ | 74 | 七十四 | qīshísì |
| 46 | 四十六 | sìshíliù | 99 | 九十九 | jiǔshíjiǔ |
Chinese has distinct words for multiples of 100, 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000,000 as follows:
| Hundreds | 百 bǎi | 100 | —百 yī bǎi |
| Thousands | 千 qiān | 1,000 | —千 yī qiān |
| Ten thousands | 万/萬 wàn | 10,000 | —万/一萬 yī wàn |
| Hundred millions | 亿/億 yì | 100,000,000 | —亿/一億 yī yì |
These number words function as classifiers. Therefore, the number 2 is usually 两/兩 liǎng when it occurs immediately before the word for ‘hundred,’ ‘thousand,’ or ‘ten-thousand’: 两百/兩百 liǎng bǎi, 两千/兩千 liǎng qiān, 两万/兩萬 liǎng wàn, etc. In many regional dialects of Mandarin, 二百 èr bǎi, 二千 èr qiān, 二万/二萬 èr wàn, etc. is also acceptable.
Numbers up to 9,999 follow the same pattern as in English:
| 352 | 三百 | 五十 | 二 | |
| sān bǎi | wǔshí | èr | ||
| 1,670 | 一千 | 六百 | 七十 | |
| yī qiān | liù bǎi | qīshí | ||
| 3,482 | 三千 | 四百 | 八十 | 二 |
| sān qiān | sì bǎi | bāshí | èr | |
| 9,222 | 九千 | 二百 or 两百/兩百 | 二十 | 二 |
| jiǔ qiān | èr bǎi or liǎng bǎi | èrshí | èr |
The word ◯/零 líng may be used when the ‘hundreds’ place or the ‘tens’ place is empty, provided there is a number before and after ◯/零 líng. For example, it can be used to mark the ‘hundreds’ place when the thousands and tens are filled, as in the following number.
| 7,066 | 七千 | 零 | 六十 | 六 |
| qī qiān | líng | liù shí | liù |
It can be used to mark the ‘tens’ place when the hundreds and single numbers are filled, as in the following number.
| 9,102 | 九千 | 一百 | ◯ | 二 |
| jiǔ qiān | yī bǎi | líng | èr |
When two consecutive places are empty, ◯/零 líng occurs only once.
| 6,006 | 六千 | 零 | 六 |
| liù qiān | líng | liù |
Languages read numbers in terms of the categories that they distinguish. English distinguishes tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, and up. Numbers between one thousand and one million are read in terms of the numbers of thousands that they contain.
Chinese distinguishes the categories of tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands, and hundred millions. Numbers between ten thousand and one-hundred million are read in terms of the number of ten-thousands that they contain. Compare the way that English and Chinese read the following numbers.
| English | Chinese | |
| 1,000 | one thousand | 一千 yī qiān |
| one thousand | ||
| 10,000 | ten thousand | 一万/一萬 yī wàn |
| one ten-thousand | ||
| 100,000 | one hundred thousand | 十万/十萬 shí wàn |
| ten ten-thousands | ||
| 1,000,000 | one million | 百万/百萬 bǎi wàn |
| one hundred ten-thousands | ||
| 10,000,000 | ten million | 千万/千萬 qiān wàn |
| one thousand ten-thousands | ||
| 100,000,000 | one hundred million | 亿/億 yì |
| 1,000,000,000 | one billion | 十亿/十億 shí yì |
| ten one hundred-millions |
Observe how these numbers are read in Chinese.
To discourage forgery, Chinese numbers are sometimes written using the following special set of characters. The numerals on Chinese currency are written with these special characters.
| Ordinary form | Special form | ||
| 1 | 一 | 壹 | yī |
| 2 | 二 | 貳 | èr |
| 3 | 三 | 叁 | sān |
| 4 | 四 | 肆 | sì |
| 5 | 五 | 伍 | wǔ |
| 6 | 六 | 陸 | liù |
| 7 | 七 | 柒 | qī |
| 8 | 八 | 捌 | bā |
| 9 | 九 | 玖 | jiǔ |
| 10 | 十 | 拾 | shí |
| 100 | 百 | 佰 | bǎi |
| 1000 | 千 | 仟 | qiān |
Chapter 8 presents the words and phrases associated with money.
► 8.5
To make a number ordinal, add the prefix 第 dì before the number:
| 1st | 第一 | dì yī | 20th | 第二十 | dìèrshí |
| 2nd | 第二 | dìèr | 50th | 第五十 | dì wǔshí |
| 3rd | 第三 | dì sān | 77th | 第七十七 | dì qīshíqī |
| 4th | 第四 | dì sì | 83rd | 第八十三 | dì bāshí sān |
| 5th | 第五 | dì wǔ | 95th | 第九十五 | dì jiǔshíwǔ |
| 6th | 第六 | dì liù | 100th | 第一百 | dì yìbǎi |
| 10th | 第十 | dì shí | 1,000th | 第一千 | dì yíqiān |
NOTE
In ordinal numbers, ‘second’ is always 第二 dì èr and never *第两/第兩 dì liăng.
To indicate that a quantity is ‘more or less’ the stated number, use the phrase 左右 zuǒyòu ‘more or less,’ as follows:
number + classifier (+ noun) + 左右 zuǒyòu
五十个(人)左右
五十個(人)左右
wǔshí gè (rén) zuǒyòu
about 50 (people) (50 people more or less)
—百块钱左右
—百塊錢左右
yībǎi kuài qián zuǒyòu
around $100 ($100 more or less)
To indicate that a quantity is almost but not quite the stated amount, use 差不多 chàbuduō + number ‘almost number.’
差不多 chàbuduō + number + classifier (+ noun)
差不多五十个(人)
差不多五十個(人)
chàbuduō wǔshí gè (rén)
almost 50 people
差不多一百块(钱)
差不多一百塊(錢)
chàbuduō yībǎi kuài (qián)
almost $ 100
To indicate that a quantity is greater than or equal to the stated number, use 以上 yǐshàng ‘or more.’ For a more formal expression with the same meaning, use 之上 zhī shàng.
number (+ classifier + noun) + 以上 yǐshàng/之上 zhī shàng
| 五十(个人)以上 | 五十(个人)之上 |
| 五十(個人)以上 | 五十(個人)之上 |
| wǔshí (gè rén) yǐshàng | wǔshí (gè rén) zhī shàng |
| 50 (people) or more | 50 (people) or more |
To indicate that the actual number is less than or equal to the stated number, use 以下 yǐxià ‘or fewer.’ For a more formal expression with the same meaning, use 之下 zhī xià.
number (+ classifier + noun) + 以下 yǐxià/之下 zhī xià
| 五十(个人)以下 | 五十(个人)之下 |
| 五十(個人)以下 | 五十(個人)之下 |
| wǔshí (gè rén) yǐxià | wǔshí (gè rén) zhī xià |
| 50 (people) or less | 50 (people) or less |
| 50 or fewer (people) | 50 or fewer (people) |
To indicate that the actual time lies within a specified period of time, use 以內 yǐnèi. For a more formal expression with the same meaning, use 之內 zhī nèi.
| 一年以内 | 一年之內 |
| yì nián yǐnèi | yì nián zhī nèi |
| within one year | within one year |
To indicate the actual number is more than the stated number, use 多 duō ‘more than.’
number + 多 duō + classifier (+ noun)
五十多个人
五十多個人
wǔshí duō gè rén
more than 50 people
To indicate an approximation within a small range, use two numbers in a sequence as follows:
我一两天就回来。
我一兩天就回來。
Wǒ yì liǎng tiān jiù huí lai.
I’ll come back in a day or two.
这个东西卖三四块钱。
這個東西賣三四塊錢。
Zhège dōngxi mài sān sì kuài qián.
This thing sells for three or four dollars.
This expression can be used together with 左右 zuǒyòu:
这个东西卖三四块钱左右。
這個東西賣三四塊錢左右。
Zhège dōngxi mài sān sì kuài qián zuǒyòu.
This thing sells for around three or four dollars.
To indicate fractions, use the pattern:
X 分之 Y
fēn zhī
三分之一
sān fēn zhī yī
one-third 
Note that the ‘whole’ is expressed first and the ‘part of the whole’ is expressed second.
| ¼ | 四分之一 | sì fēn zhī yī |
 |
五分之二 | wǔ fēn zhī èr |
 |
十分之九 | shí fēn zhī jiǔ |
 |
九分之七 | jiǔ fēn zhī qī |
 |
十五分之一 | shíwǔ fēn zhī yī |
Percentages are expressed as parts of 100. The expression used for percentages is the same as for fractions, but the ‘whole’ is always 百 bǎi ‘100’:
百 分 之 + number
bǎi fēn zhī number
| 10% | 百分之十 | bǎi fēn zhī shí |
| 25% | 百分之二十五 | bǎi fēn zhī èrshíwǔ |
| 37% | 百分之三十七 | bǎi fēn zhī sānshíqī |
| 66% | 百分之六十六 | bǎi fēn zhī liùshíliù |
| 99% | 百分之九十九 | bǎi fēn zhī jiǔshíjiǔ |
Decimals are recited as a series of single digits and zeros after a decimal point. The decimal point is read as 点/點 diǎn:
| 1.1 | 一点一/一點一 | yī diǎn yī |
| 2.5 | (二or)两点五/(二or) 兩點五 | (èr or) liǎng diǎn wǔ |
| 14.56 | 十四点五六/十四點五六 | shísì diǎn wǔ liù |
| 30.808 | 三十点八零八/三十點八零八 | sānshí diǎn bā líng bā |
| 8.06 | 八点◯六/八點◯六 | bā diǎn líng liù |
If there is no number before the decimal point, the fraction may optionally be recited as ◯点/點(XXX) líng diǎn (XXX):
| .35 | ◯点三五/◯點三五 | líng diǎn sān wǔ |
| .27 | ◯点二七/◯點二七 | líng diǎnèr qī |
NOTE
Chinese often omits the final zero after a decimal point. For example, $8.60 may also be written as $8.6.
The word 半 bàn means’half.’
To indicate half of something, place 半 bàn before the classifier associated with the thing.
半碗饭/半碗飯
bàn wǎn fàn
half a bowl of rice
半本书/半本書
bàn běn shū
half a book
半杯水
bàn bēi shuǐ
half a glass of water
► 8
To indicate one or more things and a half, place 半 bàn immediately after the classifier associated with the thing:
number + classifier + 半 bàn
三碗半(饭)/三碗半(飯)
sān wǎn bàn (fàn)
three and a half bowls (of rice)
三本半(书)/三本半(書)
sān běn bàn (shū)
three and a half volumes (of books)
三杯半(水)
sān bēi bàn (shuǐ)
three and a half cups (of water)
To indicate ‘half’ in time expressions, see Chapter 49.
倍bèi is a classifier and is always preceded by a number: —倍 yī bèi, 两倍/兩倍 liǎng bèi, 三倍 sān bèi, etc.
一倍 yī bèi means ‘one fold,’ or ‘one time more than a given quantity.’ 两倍/兩倍 liǎng bèi means ‘twofold,’ 三倍 sān bèi means ‘threefold,’ etc.
倍 bèi often occurs with expressions that imply an increase:
价格都增加了一倍了。
價格都增加了一倍了。
Jiàgé dōu zēngjiā le yī bèi le.
Prices have all doubled (increased by one-fold).
今年这本书比去年贵了一倍。
今年這本書比去年貴了一倍。
Jīnnián zhè běn shū bǐ qùnián guì le yī bèi.
This year this book is twice as expensive as it was last year.
倍 bèi also occurs in equational sentences such as the following:
我的书是你的书的两倍。
我的書是你的書的兩倍。
Wǒ de shū shì nǐ de shū de liǎng bèi.
I have twice as many books as you.
(lit. ‘My books are the equivalent of two times your books.’)
If 半 bàn ‘half’ occurs, it follows 倍 bèi:
今年学中文的学生是去年的一倍半。
今年學中文的學生是去年的一倍半。
Jīnnián xué Zhōngwén de xuésheng shì qùnián de yī bèi bàn.
The number of students studying Chinese this year is 1½ times greater than last year.
► 6.6.4
The expression for a discount or sale is the verb phrase 打折 dǎ zhé.
Discounts are expressed as a percentage of the original or full price.
九折 jiǔ zhé is 90% of the original price, or 10% off. 七点五折/七點五折 qīdiǎn wǔ zhé is 75% of the original price, or 25% off. Here are additional examples of discounts. Discounts are written with either Chinese or Arabic numerals.
| 8 折 bā zhé | 80% of original price | 20% off |
| 5 折 wǔ zhé | 50% of original price | 50% off |
| or | or | |
| 半折 bàn zhé | half of original price | |
| 二折 èr zhé | 20% of original price | 80% off |
| 一折 yī zhé | 10% of original price | 90% off |
To find out if an item is discounted or on sale, you can ask:
| 打折吗? | or | 打不打折? | or | 有折吗? |
| 打折嗎? | 有折嗎? | |||
| Dǎ zhé ma? | Dǎ bù dǎ zhé? | Yǒu zhé ma? | ||
| Do you discount? | Do you discount? | Is there a discount? |
To find out how much of a discount there is, you can ask:
打几折?/打幾折?
Dǎ jǐ zhé?
How much discount is there?
► 28
Some numbers have special significance in Chinese based on their value in traditional Chinese numerology or because they are near-homophones with a word with positive or negative connotations. Here are some numbers with special significance.
Numbers with negative connotations – unlucky numbers
四 sì (near homophone with 死 sǐ ‘to die’)
五 wǔ (near homophone with 无/無 wú ‘nothing’)
Numbers with positive connotations – lucky numbers
六 liù (near homophone with 留 liú ‘remain, leftover/excess’)
八 bā (near homophone with 发/發 fā ‘prosperity’)
The special significance of odd and even numbers
• 单号/單號 dānhào ‘odd numbers.’ Odd-numbered items are appropriate for funerals and other sad occasions.
• 双号/雙號 shuānghào ‘even numbers.’ Even-numbered items (except for the number 4) are appropriate for weddings and other happy occasions.
Numbers, especially sequential numbers, are often used in Chinese phrases.
1’s and 2’s
一清二楚
yī qīng èr chǔ
perfectly clearly
他说得一清二楚。
他說得一清二楚。
Tā shuō de yī qīng èr chǔ.
He said it perfectly clearly.
3’s and 4’s
张三李四
張三李四
Zhāng Sān Lǐ Sì
John Doe and Mary Smith (ordinary people)
不三不四
bù sān bù sì
neither here nor there, questionable, no good
乱七八糟
亂七八糟
luàn qī bā zāo
a mess/disorganized
七上八下
qī shàng bā xià
be in an unsettled state of mind
In addition to functioning as a number, the word 一 yī is also used to indicate sequence in the following structure:
一 yī + verb
as soon as verb occurs …
他一看见他孩子就很高兴。
他一看見他孩子就很高興。
Tā yī kànjian tā háizi jiù hěn gāoxìng.
As soon as he sees (his) children he is happy.
► 42.3.3
Numbers that are homophonous or near homophones with words may be used as abbreviations for words. This kind of substitution is particularly common on the internet and in written advertisements and signs. Examples include:
| 5 3 0 | 五三零 |
| wǔ sān líng | |
| (我想你) | |
| (wǒ xiǎng nǐ) | |
| I’m thinking of you – I miss you. | |
| 5 2 0 | 五二◯ |
| wǔ èr líng | |
| (我爱你) | |
| (wǒ ài nǐ) | |
| I love you | |
| 8 8 | 八八 |
| bā bā | |
| (拜拜) | |
| (bàibài) | |
| bye bye |