How to Count in Chinese (1–10,000)
Chinese numbers are very regular. Once you learn 1–10, you can build almost everything up to 10,000 with simple patterns. This guide gives characters, Pinyin, and practical examples.
1) Numbers 1–10
| Number | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 10 | 十 | shí |
2) 11–99 Pattern
- 11: 十一 (shí yī) = ten + one
- 20: 二十 (èr shí) = two tens
- 35: 三十五 (sān shí wǔ) = three tens + five
- 99: 九十九 (jiǔ shí jiǔ)
3) Hundreds and Thousands
| Number | Chinese | Pinyin | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 一百 | yī bǎi | one hundred |
| 200 | 两百 / 二百 | liǎng bǎi / èr bǎi | two hundred |
| 356 | 三百五十六 | sān bǎi wǔ shí liù | 3-100-5-10-6 |
| 1,000 | 一千 | yī qiān | one thousand |
| 3,420 | 三千四百二十 | sān qiān sì bǎi èr shí | 3-1000-4-100-2-10 |
4) 10,000 Unit (万) — Key Difference from English
Chinese groups large numbers by 10,000 (万, wàn), not by 1,000.
- 10,000: 一万 (yī wàn)
- 20,000: 两万 (liǎng wàn)
- 56,000: 五万六千 (wǔ wàn liù qiān)
- 10,001: 一万零一 (yī wàn líng yī)
5) Important Rules
- Use 零 (líng) for missing places: 105 = 一百零五 (yī bǎi líng wǔ)
- Use 两 (liǎng) before measure units like 百 / 千 / 万: 两百, 两千, 两万
- Use 二 (èr) for math, phone digits, and counting sequence
- No “and” in normal counting (unlike some English styles)
Practice tip: Train listening with the
Number & Date Pronunciation Quiz,
then reinforce pronunciation in the
Interactive Pinyin Chart.