Chinese Number

Numbers 0-10

Numbers 0-10 are very straightforward. The only thing to note is that the number two is 二 when counting, as in 一 (yī)，二 (èr)，三 (sān). But it changes to 两 (liǎng) when talking about the quantity of nouns. For example:

我有两个妹妹。(wǒ yǒu liǎng gè mèi mei.) — I have two younger sisters.

个 (gè) is a measure word. Measure words have to be used when you’re talking about quantities of a noun—for example, three apples or two sisters. There are many measure words based on what type of noun you’re talking about, but 个 is the general one that can be used for any noun. You can learn more about these in our measure words lesson.

Here are the numbers 0-10:

Let’s look at some example sentences:

你今天吃了三顿饭。(nǐ jīn tiān chī le sān dùn fàn.) — You ate three times today.

我去过九个国家。(wǒ qù guò jiǔ gè guó jiā.) — I have been to nine countries.

Numbers 11-19

Numbers 11-19 follow the pattern 十 + Number.

Example sentences:

我姐姐十七岁了。(wǒ jiě jiě shí qī suì le.) — My older sister is 17 years old.

今天是十二月十一日。(jīn tiān shì shí èr yuè shí yī rì.) — Today is December 11th.

Numbers 20-99

Counting by the 10s is done with the formula: Number + 十. For example:

To make numbers like 23, 34, and 56, you simply add the correct single-digit number to the end of 十. For example, here’s how to say 20-29:

Example sentences:

今天是我们成立三十周年纪念日。(jīn tiān shì wǒ men chéng lì sān shí zhōu nián jì niàn rì.) — Today is our 30th anniversary.

一天有二十四小时。(yī tiān yǒu èr shí sì xiǎo shí.) — There are 24 hours in a day.

Numbers 100-1,000

百 (bǎi) means “hundred,” so for creating numbers in the hundreds, just add the single-digit number before 百. For example:

When saying 200, 二百 and 两百 are used the same way and are interchangeable. So for example, both of these are correct:

音乐会有两百人。(yīn yuè huì yǒu liǎng bǎi rén.) — There are 200 people at the concert.

音乐会有二百人。(yīn yuè huì yǒu èr bǎi rén.) — There are 200 people at the concert.

However, 二百 is more common in written and formal contexts while 两百 is more common in normal, everyday speech.

Now what if you want to add more digits, like in 101? To say numbers 101-109, you need to add 零 (líng) in between the hundred and the last digit to represent the tens place. For example:

一百零一 (yī bǎi líng yī) — 101

一百零二 (yī bǎi líng èr) — 102

一百零三 (yī bǎi líng sān) — 103

一百零九 (yī bǎi líng jiǔ) — 109

For numbers 110-119, instead of adding 零, we add 一. For example:

一百一十 (yī bǎi yī shí) — 110

一百一十一 (yī bǎi yī shí yī) — 111

一百一十二 (yī bǎi yī shí èr) — 112

一百一十九 (yī bǎi yī shí jiǔ) — 119

Once you reach 120, you no longer need to add 零 or 一 because we already have a number representing the tens place. For example:

一百二十 (yī bǎi èr shí) — 120

一百二十一 (yī bǎi èr shí yī) — 121

一百三十五 (yī bǎi sān shí wǔ) — 135

一百三十七 (yī bǎi sān shí qī) — 137

一百四十 (yī bǎi sì shí) — 140

九百九十九 (jiǔ bǎi jiǔ shí jiǔ) — 999

Numbers 1,000 and Beyond

Numbers beyond 1,000 follow a structure a bit different from English.

Just like in the hundreds, you have to add 零 before the single-digit number when counting from 1,001 to 1,010. For example:

一千零一 (yī qiān líng yī) — 1,001

一千零二 (yī qiān líng èr) — 1,002

It’s important to note that once you reach 10,000, you cannot literally say 十千 (shí qiān). You have to say 一万 (yī wàn).

Here are some example sentences:

—这座城市有三百万人。

(zhè zuò chéng shì yǒu sān bǎi wàn rén.)

There are three million people in this city.

如果你有十亿美元你会做什么？

(rú guǒ nǐ yǒu shí yì měi yuán, nǐ huì zuò shén me?)

What would you do if you had a billion dollars?

我们以三十五万美元的价格卖掉了房子。

(wǒ men yǐ sān shí wǔ wàn měi yuán de jià gé mài diào le fáng zi.)

We sold our house for 350,000 dollars.