How the system builds numbers
Numbers are said the way they are written, unit by unit: 二十一 is "two ten one" (21), and 三百四十五 is "three hundred four ten five" (345). There are no special words like "eleven" or "twenty".
| Unit | Pinyin | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 十 ★ | shí | 10 |
| 百 | bǎi | 100 |
| 千 | qiān | 1,000 |
| 万 (萬) | wàn | 10,000 |
| 亿 (億) | yì | 100,000,000 |
The hard part for English speakers is that Chinese groups big numbers by four digits, not three. English counts thousands, millions, billions; Chinese counts 万 (ten thousands) and 亿 (hundred millions). So 100,000 is 十万 ("ten 万"), one million is 一百万 ("a hundred 万"), and one billion is 十亿 ("ten 亿"). A quick trick: move the comma. 1,000,000 regrouped by four is 100,0000, which reads as 一百万.
二 or 两: two ways to say two
Mandarin has two words for 2, and learners mix them up constantly.
- 二 ★ (èr) is for counting, digits, and order: 一, 二, 三; 十二 (12); 二十 (20); 第二 (second); phone numbers.
- 两 ★ (liǎng) is for an amount of something, before a measure word: 两个人 (two people), 两杯茶 (two cups of tea), 两点 (two o’clock).
Before 千 and 万, 两 is usual: 两千 (2,000), 两万 (20,000). Before 百, both 两百 and 二百 are heard.
零: saying the gaps
When a place in the middle of a number is empty, Chinese says 零 (líng) once, however many zeros there are: 101 is 一百零一, 1,005 is 一千零五, and 10,005 is 一万零五. English just skips the gap ("one hundred one"); Chinese always marks it.
Zeros at the end are not read: 1,500 is 一千五百, and in speech often just 一千五.
The tones of 一
一 ★ is first tone (yī) when you count or read digits, but inside words it changes: yí before a fourth tone (一万 yíwàn, 一亿 yíyì) and yì before the other tones (一百 yìbǎi, 一千 yìqiān). The table shows the spoken tones. Chinese tones explains the rule.
Dates, times, prices, and phone numbers
- Dates go from big to small: 2025年5月20日 is 2025, May 20. Years are read digit by digit (二零二五年), and in speech the day usually takes 号 instead of 日: 五月二十号. See months in Chinese.
- Times use 点 ★ (o’clock): 三点 is 3:00, 三点半 is 3:30, and 两点十分 is 2:10.
- Prices in yuan use 块 in speech and 元 in writing, with 毛 (spoken) or 角 (written) for tenths: 三块五 is ¥3.50, written 三元五角. "How much?" is 多少钱 (duōshao qián); both 多少 ★ and 钱 ★ are course words.
- Phone numbers are read digit by digit, and 1 is usually read yāo so it does not sound like 七: 110 (the police number in mainland China) is yāo yāo líng.
Counting on one hand
In mainland China people show 6 to 10 on one hand. The shapes vary by region, but these are the most common:
- 6: thumb and little finger out, the other fingers folded.
- 7: the tips of the thumb, index, and middle fingers pinched together.
- 8: thumb and index finger out, like an L.
- 9: the index finger bent into a hook.
- 10: a fist, or the two index fingers crossed to make 十.
If you hold up an L at a market stall, the seller will read eight, not two.
Lucky and unlucky numbers
8 (bā) sounds close to 发 (fā, to prosper), so phone numbers, license plates, and prices full of 8s are prized. 4 (sì) sounds like 死 (sǐ, to die), so some buildings skip a fourth floor. 6 (liù) suggests things going smoothly, and 520 (wǔ èr líng) sounds like "I love you"; see I love you in Chinese.
Common mistakes
- Grouping by thousands. "One hundred thousand" is 十万, not 一百千.
- 二 before a measure word. Two people is 两个人, not 二个人.
- Dropping 零. 105 is 一百零五; 一百五 means 150.
- Forgetting the 一 in 一百一十. In 110, the ten needs its 一: 一百一十 (in speech often 一百一).