Numbers – 숫자 – 数字

Posted on by tiffany

Vocabulary · Beginner

Numbers — 数字

Digits 0–9, two-digit numbers, and asking for a phone number.

Digits & Units

0零líng
1一yī
2二èr
3三sān
4四sì
5五wǔ
6六liù
7七qī
8八bā
9九jiǔ
100百bǎi
1,000千qiān
10,000万wàn

Two-digit Numbers

10十shí
11十一shíyī
12十二shí’èr
14十四shísì
20二十èrshí
21二十一èrshíyī
25二十五èrshíwǔ
30三十sānshí
34三十四sānshísì
38三十八sānshíbā
40四十sìshí
44四十四sìshísì
51五十一wǔshíyī
57五十七wǔshíqī
69六十九liùshíjiǔ
72七十二qīshí’èr
88八十八bāshíbā
96九十六jiǔshíliù

Number Tips

1

二 (èr) vs. 两 (liǎng)

Use 二 for counting in sequence, dates, and phone numbers. Use 两 before a measure word, or in the hundred/thousand/ten-thousand place.

e.g. 二èr零líng二èr五wǔ=2025　两liǎng个gè人rén=2 people

2

Consecutive zeros → only one 零

When a number has more than one zero in a row, you only say 零 (líng) once.

e.g. 2005=两liǎng千qiān零líng五wǔ

3

一 (yī) before 十 must be said

Once a number has a hundreds digit (or higher) before it, the 一 before 十 (shí) must be pronounced.

e.g. 213=两liǎng百bǎi一yī十shí三sān

4

The last unit can be dropped

In casual speech, you can drop the smallest place-value word (十, 百, or 千) when it comes last and the number after it is a single digit.

e.g. 150=一yī百bǎi五wǔ
1500=一yī千qiān五wǔ
21000=两liǎng万wàn一yī

Sentences

你的nǐde电话diànhuà几jǐ号hào？

What is your phone number?

多少duōshǎo钱qián？

How much is it?