Chinese grammar · Beginner (A1)
Numbers and money
Counting from 0 to a hundred million, 二 vs 两, phone numbers with yāo, and prices in 块, 元 and 毛.
0 to 10
Chinese numbers are very regular: learn 0 to 10 and you can build every number up to 99. When you count, (yī) keeps its first tone.
| Number | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | líng | |
| 1 | yī | |
| 2 | èr | |
| 3 | sān | |
| 4 | sì | |
| 5 | wǔ | |
| 6 | liù | |
| 7 | qī | |
| 8 | bā | |
| 9 | jiǔ | |
| 10 | shí |
11 to 99
Numbers from 11 to 99 are built like sums: (shíyī) is “ten one”, 11; (èrshí) is “two ten”, 20; (èrshíyī) is 21. Inside these numbers, keeps its first tone.
| Number | Chinese | Built as |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | (shíyī) | ten + one |
| 12 | (shí'èr) | ten + two |
| 15 | (shíwǔ) | ten + five |
| 20 | (èrshí) | two × ten |
| 21 | (èrshíyī) | two × ten + one |
| 38 | (sānshíbā) | three × ten + eight |
| 99 | (jiǔshíjiǔ) | nine × ten + nine |
- 我今年三十八岁。Wǒ jīnnián sānshíbā suì.I'm 38 this year.
Big numbers: 百, 千, 万, 亿
(bǎi) is a hundred and (qiān) a thousand. After that, Chinese counts in groups of four zeros, not three: (wàn) is ten thousand and (yì) is a hundred million. So 100,000 is (shíwàn, ten ten-thousands) and a million is (yìbǎi wàn, a hundred ten-thousands).
A zero in the middle is said (líng): 105 is (yìbǎi líng wǔ). Zeros at the end aren't said, and in speech the last unit is often dropped: 3,500 is (sānqiān wǔ) and 15,000 is (yíwàn wǔ). Before , and , “two” is usually : (liǎngbǎi), (liǎngqiān).
| Number | Chinese |
|---|---|
| 100 | (yìbǎi) |
| 105 | (yìbǎi líng wǔ) |
| 120 | (yìbǎi èrshí) |
| 200 | (liǎngbǎi) |
| 1,000 | (yìqiān) |
| 3,500 | (sānqiān wǔ) |
| 10,000 | (yíwàn) |
| 15,000 | (yíwàn wǔ) |
| 100,000 | (shíwàn) |
| 1,000,000 | (yìbǎi wàn) |
| 100,000,000 | (yíyì) |
- 房租一个月四千五。Fángzū yí ge yuè sìqiān wǔ.The rent is 4,500 a month.
- 这套房子一百五十万。Zhè tào fángzi yìbǎi wǔshí wàn.This flat costs 1.5 million.
二 or 两?
Both mean “two”. Use (èr) when counting, inside longer numbers (, , even before a measure word: ), in phone numbers, in dates and for “second”: (dì-èr).
Use (liǎng) on its own before a measure word: (liǎng ge rén, two people), (liǎng bēi chá, two cups of tea), (liǎng kuài, two yuan), and for the time: (liǎng diǎn, two o'clock).
| (èr) | (liǎng) |
|---|---|
| (yī, èr, sān) | (liǎng ge rén, two people) |
| (shí'èr ge rén, twelve people) | (liǎng bēi kāfēi, two coffees) |
| (dì-èr, second) | (liǎng kuài, two yuan) |
| (èryuè, February) | (liǎng diǎn, two o'clock) |
Phone numbers
Phone numbers and room numbers are read digit by digit. In them, 1 is usually said (yāo) instead of (yī), so it can't be confused with (qī). Mobile numbers have eleven digits and are said in groups of three and four.
- 我的手机号是139 1234 5678。Wǒ de shǒujī hào shì yāo sān jiǔ, yāo èr sān sì, wǔ liù qī bā.My mobile number is 139 1234 5678.
- 我的房间是1108。Wǒ de fángjiān shì yāo yāo líng bā.My room is 1108.
- 报警电话是110。Bàojǐng diànhuà shì yāo yāo líng.The police number is 110.
Money: 块, 元 and 毛
China's money is the (rénmínbì). Its unit is written (yuán) on price tags and receipts, but people say (kuài). A tenth of a yuan is written (jiǎo) and said (máo). The (fēn), a hundredth, is hardly used any more.
The unit comes after the number: (shíwǔ kuài, 15 yuan). ¥15.50 is (shíwǔ kuài wǔ): the final is usually dropped. Prices per unit give the price first: (sān kuài yì jīn, three yuan for half a kilo).
To ask the price, say (Duōshao qián?). For the total: (Yígòng duōshao qián?).
| Written | Said | Value |
|---|---|---|
| (yuán) | (kuài) | 1 yuan |
| (jiǎo) | (máo) | 0.1 yuan |
| (fēn) | (fēn) | 0.01 yuan (rare) |
- 这个多少钱？Zhège duōshao qián?How much is this?
- 一共三十八块五。Yígòng sānshíbā kuài wǔ.That's 38.50 altogether.
- 苹果五块一斤。Píngguǒ wǔ kuài yì jīn.Apples are five yuan for half a kilo.