Numbers and Time Words in Chinese

Table of Contents

Before we look up the numbers and time words in Chinese, let me tell you a fun fact. Chinese people love the number 8! Because 八(bā, eight) has a similar pronunciation to 发 (Fa, wealth), this number is very popular among Chinese people. When people choose phone numbers, addresses, license plates, and important dates, 8 is usually the first choice in our minds. The best example is the Beijing Olympic Games which commenced at 2008年 8月8日 8:08 (eight o’clock eight minutes on the eighth day of the eighth month in 2008.)
Also, 8(bā) has a similar pronunciation to 爸(bà, father), which is why Chinese Father’s Day is on Aug.8

On the other hand, 4 is generally disliked by Chinese culture just as 13 is in the western world. This is because 四(sì, four) has a similar pronunciation to 死 (sǐ, death). Therefore, many hospitals and hotels don’t have a fourth floor or room number 4. The best example is when 4 people enter the restaurant, waiters will say “3+1 is coming” to avoid saying 4.

Number Words in Chinese

Simplify & Traditional	China & Taiwan
零	líng	0
一	yī	1
二	èr	2
三	sān	3
四	sì	4
五	wǔ	5
六	liù	6
七	qī	7
八	bā	8
九	jiǔ	9
十	shí	10
十一	shíyī	11
十二	shíèr	12
二十	èrshí	20
三十五	sānshíwǔ	35
六十八	liùshíbā	68
九十三	jiǔshísān	93
百	bǎi	100
千	qiān	1000
万	wàn	10000

Examples

For 一, When you are telling your phone number in China, you need to read ”yāo“ not “yī”

0102-361-XXX
líng yāo líng èr – sān liù yāo – XXX

Time Words in Chinese

Simplify	China	Traditional	Taiwan	English	Korean	Japanese
点 (钟)	diǎn (zhōng)	點(鐘)	diǎn (zhōng)	o’clock	시	時
分	fēn	分	fēn	minute	분	分
分钟	fēnzhōng	分鐘	fēnzhōng	minutes	분	分間
半	bàn	半	bàn	half	반	半
小时	xiǎoshí	小時	xiǎoshí	hour	시간	時間
早上	zǎoshang	早上	zǎoshàng	morning	아침	朝
上午	shàngwǔ	上午	shàngwǔ	A.M.	오전	午前
中午	zhōngwǔ	中午	zhōngwǔ	noon	정오	正午
下午	xiàwǔ	下午	xiàwǔ	afternoon	오후	午後
晚上	wǎnshang	晚上	wǎnshàng	evening	저녁	夜
现在	xiànzài	現在	xiànzài	now	지금	今
以前	yǐqián	以前	yǐqián	before	이전	以前
以后	yǐhòu	以後	yǐhòu	after	이후	以後

Examples

我wǒ早上zǎoshàng8 點diǎn吃chī早飯zǎofàn我wǒ早上zǎoshang8 点diǎn吃chī早饭zǎofàn
I eat breakfast at 8:00 am.

他tā來lái台灣Táiwān以前yǐqián很hěn怕pà狗gǒu他tā来lái台湾Táiwān以前yǐqián很hěn怕pà狗gǒu
He was afraid of dogs before he came to Taiwan.

A1 Numbers and Time Words in Chinese

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