Often when I teach Chinese numbers in my mandarin class, students find it really helpful to learn Chinese numbers. Different from English, most Chinese vocabulary associated with numbers such as days of the week, months of the year are using vocabulary of numbers themselves. For Chinese learners, learning Chinese numbers will not only enable them to know how to count, tell time and negotiate prices in Chinese language, but can also help them to master a group of vocabulary all of a sudden.

The creation of Chinese numbers follows a mathematic system. Basically, we only need to remember how to count from 1 to 10, and can continue the counting based on the mathematics rules. Counting from 1 to 10 will be as follows:

yī(one),èr(two), sān(three), sì(four), wǔ(five), liù(six), qī(seven), bā(eight), jiǔ(nine), shí (ten)

shí yī (eleven) *as eleven is ten plus 1*, shí èr(twelve), ……èr shí (twenty)*as twenty is two tens*

Based on this rule, we can count till Jiǔshíjiǔ (ninety-nine), which is nine tens and nine. 100 in Chinese language will be Yī bǎi. Similarly, 200 and 300 will be èr bǎi and sānbǎi and so on.

Once you know how to count in Chinese, it will mean that you will learn a group of Chinese vocabulary associated with numbers in no time. For example, 12 months in Chinese language will be as follows:

yī yuè (January) * yuè means months, so literally it means the first month of the year*

liǎng yuè (February)  , sān yuè (March) , sì yuè (April) , wǔ yuè (May), liù yuè (June),

qī yuè (July),  bā yuè (August),  jiǔ yuè (September),  shí yuè (October) , shíyī yuè (November) , shí’èr yuè (December)

Similarly, days of week are as following:

Xīngqí yī (Monday) * Xīngqí means certain day of the week, so literally it means the first day of the week*, Xīngqí èr(two), Xīngqí sān(three), Xīngqí sì(four), Xīngqí wǔ(five), Xīngqí liù(six)

Do you think it is really efficient to learn Chinese numbers? 🙂

– Anne Ma (Mandarin Teacher)