TABLE OF CONTENTS
Counting in Chinese Numbers
1. How to Say “Zero” in Mandarin?
2. Chinese Numbers 1 – 100
• 1 – 10 in Chinese Numbers
• 11 – 20• 21 – 30• 31 – 40
• 41 – 50• 51 – 60• 61 – 70
• 71 – 80• 81 – 90• 91 – 100
3. Mandarin Numbers Beyond 100
• 101 – 110• 111 – 120• 121 – 200
4. How to Say “2 and 200” in Chinese?
• Difference Two 2s: 二 Er vs 两 Liang
• 202 – 292
5. How to Say “Thousand, Million and Billion” in Chinese?
• How to Say “Year” in Chinese Numbers?
6. How to Say “Millionaire and Billionaire” in Chinese?
7. How to Say “Number-Related” Chinese Words?
8. Chinese Numbers Practice
Counting in Chinese Numbers
Many people want to know the counting in Chinese numbers 1 – 10, but I will provide you with a list of Chinese numerals from 1 – 100 and beyond for the cardinal numbers. The audio will play every 10 numbers so you can learn and hear the pronunciation in the Chinese number system. The other group of numbers are the Chinese Ordinal Numbers which define the number position as first, second, third and so on.
Counting in Chinese is easy. It is in the exact sequence of how you would count English numbers. For example, 31 in Chinese will read as “Thirty + One”, like saying the digit in English. Do you know how to say your age with the Chinese numbers then?
How to Say “Zero” in Chinese?
Zero in Chinese is called 零 Líng. Other than saying Zero in Chinese, we can also use it to express temperature at minus degree.
- Minus 10° 零下十度 Língxià shí dù
- Minus 20° Celcius 摄氏零下二十度 Shèshì língxià èrshí dù
Chinese Numbers 1 – 100
Do note that the Chinese number one 1 is frequently read as 幺 Yāo instead of 一 Yī. The emergency number in China 110 is 幺幺零 Yāo yāo líng. 911 incident in the USA is 九幺幺事件 Jiǔ yāo yāo shìjiàn or 九一一事件 Jiǔyīyī shìjiàn.
The pronunciation of 一 Yī is close to the sound of 七 Qī. 幺Yāo is sometimes preferred when talking on the phone to distinguish between the sound of the two Chinese digits.
1 – 10 in Chinese
0零líng | Chinese Numbers | |||
1一yī / yāo | 2二èr | 3三sān | 4四sì | 5五wǔ |
6六liù | 7七qī | 8八bā | 9九jiǔ | 10十shí |
11 – 20
| 11 十一 shí yī | 12 十二 shí èr | 13 十三 shí sān | 14 十四 shí sì | 15 十五 shí wǔ |
| 16 十六 shí liù | 17 十七 shí qī | 18 十八 shí bā | 19 十九 shí jiǔ | 20 二十 èr shí |
21 – 30
| 21 二十一 èr shí yī | 22 二十二 èr shí èr | 23 二十三 èr shí sān | 24 二十四 èr shí sì | 25 二十五 èr shí wǔ |
| 26 二十六 èr shí liù | 27 二十七 èr shí qī | 28 二十八 èr shí bā | 29 二十九 èr shí jiǔ | 30 三十 sān shí |
31 – 40
| 31 三十一 sān shí yī | 32 三十二 sān shí èr | 33 三十三 sān shí sān | 34 三十四 sān shí sì | 35 三十五 sān shí wǔ |
| 36 三十六 sān shí liù | 37 三十七 sān shí qī | 38 三十八 sān shí bā | 39 三十九 sān shí jiǔ | 40 四十 sì shí |
41 – 50
| 41 四十一 sì shí yī | 42 四十二 sì shí èr | 43 四十三 sì shí sān | 44 四十四 sì shí sì | 45 四十五 sì shí wǔ |
| 46 四十六 sì shí liù | 47 四十七 sì shí qī | 48 四十八 sì shí bā | 49 四十九 sì shí jiǔ | 50 五十 wǔ shí |
51 – 60
| 51 五十一 wǔ shí yī | 52 五十二 wǔ shí èr | 53 五十三 wǔ shí sān | 54 五十四 wǔ shí sì | 55 五十五 wǔ shí wǔ |
| 56 五十六 wǔ shí liù | 57 五十七 wǔ shí qī | 58 五十八 wǔ shí bā | 59 五十九 wǔ shí jiǔ | 60 六十 liù shí |
61 – 70
| 61 六十一 liù shí yī | 62 六十二 liù shí èr | 63 六十三 liù shí sān | 64 六十四 liù shí sì | 65 六十五 liù shí wǔ |
| 66 六十六 liù shí liù | 67 六十七 liù shí qī | 68 六十八 liù shí bā | 69 六十九 liù shí jiǔ | 70 七十 qī shí |
71 – 80
| 71 七十一 qī shí yī | 72 七十二 qī shí èr | 73 七十三 qī shí sān | 74 七十四 qī shí sì | 75 七十五 qī shí wǔ |
| 76 七十六 qī shí liù | 77 七十七 qī shí qī | 78 七十八 qī shí bā | 79 七十九 qī shí jiǔ | 80 八十 bā shí |
81 – 90
| 81 八十一 bā shí yī | 82 八十二 bā shí èr | 83 八十三 bā shí sān | 84 八十四 bā shí sì | 85 八十五 bā shí wǔ |
| 86 八十六 bā shí liù | 87 八十七 bā shí qī | 88 八十八 bā shí bā | 89 八十九 bā shí jiǔ | 90 九十 jiǔ shí |
91 – 100
| 91 九十一 jiǔ shí yī | 92 九十二 jiǔ shí èr | 93 九十三 jiǔ shí sān | 94 九十四 jiǔ shí sì | 95 九十五 jiǔ shí wǔ |
| 96 九十六 jiǔ shí liù | 97 九十七 jiǔ shí qī | 98 九十八 jiǔ shí bā | 99 九十九 jiǔ shí jiǔ | 100 一百 yī bǎi |
Mandarin Numbers Beyond 100
Most lists provide Mandarin Numbers from 1 – 100 only. I have added two more segments of Chinese numerals from 101 to 120 as a highlight to pronounce these Mandarin numbers. You have to add a 零 Líng after 100 when you pronounce this set of numbers from 101 – 109. An example of 101 would be 一百零一 Yībǎi líng yī.
Chinese Number 110 is said to be 一百一十 Yībǎi yīshí in a more ‘accurate sense’. However, do note that it is also common to hear 一百十 Yībǎi shí instead of 一百一十 and 111 as 一百十一 Yībǎi shíyī or 一百一十一 Yībǎi yīshí yī (audio guide below).
There were some discussions online stating that 一百十 and 一百十一 were not the right way to say the Chinese numbers. However, in one of the four classical Chinese novels in China written in the middle of the 18th century, “Dream of the Red Chamber《红楼梦》”, the Table of Contents at the bottom page stated Chapter 110 as 一百十 Yībǎi shí and 111 as 一百十一 Yībǎi shíyī.
Don’t tell me that the Chinese famous historical novel has got their numbers wrong. How the Chinese numerals are used may not be the same in different parts of China and their dialect influence on it. China is such a big country and not everybody will use the standard words learned.
101 – 110
| 101 一百零一 yī bǎi líng yī | 102 一百零二 yī bǎi líng èr | 103 一百零三 yī bǎi líng sān | 104 一百零四 yī bǎi líng sì | 105 一百零五 yī bǎi líng wǔ |
| 106 一百零六 yī bǎi líng liù | 107 一百零七 yī bǎi líng qī | 108 一百零八 yī bǎi líng bā | 109 一百零九 yī bǎi líng jiǔ | 110 一百一十 yī bǎi yī shí |
111 – 120
| 111 一百一十一 yī bǎi yī shí yī | 112 一百一十二 yī bǎi yī shí èr | 113 一百一十三 yī bǎi yī shí sān | 114 一百一十四 yī bǎi yī shí sì | 115 一百一十五 yī bǎi yī shí wǔ |
| 116 一百一十六 yī bǎi yī shí liù | 117 一百一十七 yī bǎi yī shí qī | 118 一百一十八 yī bǎi yī shí bā | 119 一百一十九 yī bǎi yī shí jiǔ | 120 一百二十 yī bǎi èr shí |
121 – 200
| 121 一百二十一 yī bǎi èr shí yī | 122 一百二十二 yī bǎi èr shí èr | 133 一百三十三 yī bǎi sān shí sān | 144 一百四十四 yī bǎi sì shí sì | 155 一百五十五 yī bǎi wǔ shí wǔ |
| 166 一百六十六 yī bǎi liù shí liù | 177 一百七十七 yī bǎi qī shí qī | 188 一百八十八 yī bǎi bā shí bā | 199 一百九十九 yī bǎi jiǔ shí jiǔ | 200 两百 liǎng bǎi |
How to Say “2 and 200” in Chinese?
Chinese Numbers Pronunciation – Difference Between Two and Two Hundred: 二 Er vs 两 Liang
If you have paid attention to the audio on the Chinese pronunciation for 200, you might notice that it is read as 两百 Liǎng bǎi instead of 二百 Èr bǎi.
- When 2 is a single digit, you read it as 二 Èr.
- When 2 is the first position of three Chinese numerals – 234, you read it as 两百三十四 Liǎng bǎi sānshísì.
- When the Chinese number 2 is at the second or third position of hundreds, such as 425 and 782, it will always be read as 二 èr and never 两 liǎng.
Read and listen to the Chinese Numbers Pinyin pronunciation below.
202 – 292
| 202 两百零二 liǎng bǎi líng èr | 212 两百一十二 liǎng bǎi yī shí’èr | 222 两百二十二 liǎng bǎi èr shí’èr | 232 两百三十二 liǎng bǎi sān shí’èr | 242 两百四十二 liǎng bǎi sì shí’èr |
| 252 两百五十二 liǎng bǎi wǔ shí’èr | 262 两百六十二 liǎng bǎi liù shí’èr | 272 两百七十二 liǎng bǎi qī shí’èr | 282 两百八十二 liǎng bǎi bā shí’èr | 292 两百九十二 liǎng bǎi jiǔ shí’èr |
How to Say “Thousand, Million and Billion” in Chinese?
It is worth noting that the Chinese number 2 / Two from the numbers below is read as 两 liǎng instead of二 Èr. We will also use it for practising large Mandarin numbers instead of the typical “1 / One 一 Yì”. In this way, you can understand how二 and 两 works and also read large numbers like thousand, million and billion.
- 200
- 2,000
- 20,000
- 2,000,000
Some exceptions: 200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand) and Two Billion (nine zero) which we use 二 Èr and not 两 because they both contain the Chinese number 20 二十 Èrshí.
| 200 Two Hundred 两百 liǎng bǎi | 2,000 Two Thousand 两千 liǎng qiān | 20,000 Twenty Thousand 两万 liǎng wàn | 200,000 Two Hundred Thousand 二十万 èr shí wàn |
2,000,000 Two Million 两百万 liǎng bǎi wàn | 20,000,000 Twenty Million 两千万 liǎng qiān wàn | 200,000,000 Two Hundred Million 两亿 liǎng yì |
| 2,000,000,000 Two Billion 二十亿 èr shí yì |
How to Say “Year” in Chinese Numbers?
When you say Year 年 Nián in Mandarin, it is better to read all four Chinese numbers as an individual digit. Year 2018 二零一八年 Èr líng yībā nián and not 两千零一十八年 Liǎng qiān líng yīshíbā nián.
On the other hand, there are also a handful of people who prefer to say the years from 2000 onwards as 两千 xxx 年 Liǎng qiān xxx nián colloquially.
In conclusion, you will never go wrong if you say the number separately in years especially those starting with ‘1xxx 年’.
How to Say “Millionaire and Billionaire” in Chinese?
Ever dream of becoming a millionaire?
Everybody dreams of becoming a millionaire.
人人都梦想成为一个百万富翁。
Rén rén dōu mèng xiǎng chéng wéi yī gè bǎi wàn fù wēng.
Jack Ma is a billionaire.
马云是个亿万富豪。
Mǎ yún shì gè yì wàn fù háo.
How to Say “Number-Related” Chinese Words?
We will wrap up the last part of the article with 5 Chinese sentences related to the word on numbers. There are a few ways in which you can express them in Chinese sentences. I have underlined the related words used.
Can you count the stars in the sky?
你可以数天上的星星吗？
Nǐ kě yǐ shǔ tiān shàng de xīng xīng ma?
What is your phone number?
你的电话号码是什么？
Nǐ de diàn huà hào mǎ shì shén me?
What is the serial number of this computer?
这台电脑的编号是什么？
Zhè tái diàn nǎo de biān hào shì shén me?
The amount that you calculated is not the same as the calculator.
你计算出来的数目和计算机不一样。
Nǐ jì suàn chū lái de shù mù hé jì suàn jī bù yī yàng.
I just bought the latest digital camera.
我刚刚买了最新的数码相机。
Wǒ gāng gāng mǎi le zuì xīn de shù mǎ xiàng jī.
Chinese Numbers Practice
Test your listening skill on Chinese Numbers Exercise with audio! We use numbers so often that they have become an integrated part of our life especially when we handle money every day. Get ready for a pen and paper to write down the numbers that you hear.
You may also speak 200 as 二百 (as common as 两百), 2000 as 二千 (rarely used but still right), the year 2000 as 二零零零年 (formal form) or 两千年, the year 2008 as 二零零八年 (formal form) or 两千零八年.