An easy beginner's guide on how to count in Chinese numbers

An easy beginner's guide on how to count in Chinese numbers

Counting in Mandarin Chinese might seem intimidating, but it's actually one of the simplest and most gratifying aspects of the language. In your initial Mandarin lessons, you'll learn how to count from one to ten, which requires memorizing the unique names for each number. However, counting beyond ten and even into the trillions is quite straightforward.

In just a few hours, you can progress from a complete beginner to near-expert levels, thanks to the Chinese counting system. Counting in Mandarin is so user-friendly that Chinese children often outperform their English-speaking counterparts. There are two primary reasons why counting in Mandarin is simpler than you might expect:

• The first ten numbers are monosyllabic, making them short and easy to remember.
• Numbers beyond ten don't have unique names. From 11 onwards, numbers are formed through multiplication and/or addition of the first ten numbers, which is much easier than it might seem.

Let's begin our exploration of counting in Mandarin Chinese!

Why learning numbers in Mandarin is useful

Spending just a few hours learning how to count in Chinese can have massive payoffs. For example, knowing how to count will help you:

• Ask for a definite number of things. When you go to the supermarket, you’ll be able to ask for the exact number of fruits and vegetables that you want to buy.
• Stay away from unlucky numbers. Luck is an important part of Chinese culture, so there are certain numbers that you’ll definitely want to avoid!
• Make plans! Knowing the numbers in Chinese will allow you to tell the time in Chinese and make plans on specific dates. You’ll be able to celebrate birthdays, make plans to grab a drink, and even book dinner reservations!
• Learn some slang. Yep! You read that right. Number slang is extremely common in China, so learning how to count will also help you learn some helpful Chinese slang!

At this point, you must be so ready to get started with Chinese. So, without further ado, let’s dive into how to actually read and write numbers in Chinese.

How to read and write numbers in Mandarin

When it comes to reading and writing numbers in Chinese, there are two methods: using Arabic numerals and Chinese characters. Similar to English, you can either use numeric symbols or write out the numbers using their character names.

Generally, only single or double-digit numbers are written using characters, while larger numbers like years, addresses, and phone numbers are written with Arabic numerals, just as in English. Thankfully, this means you won't need to memorize countless characters to write numbers.

In fact, even if large numbers were written using characters, you'd only need to know slightly more than 11 characters to write any number. The writing system's structure ensures minimal memorization is needed. As long as you understand basic arithmetic, you'll be able to manage with just about a dozen characters.

Now that you're ready, let's dive into counting in Chinese!

How to count in Chinese from 0 - 10

Counting to ten is the absolute hardest thing about counting in Chinese. Yes, we do mean that! Once you’ve mastered the first ten, everything else is all about stacking them in different orders. But we’ll get to that in a second! For now, let’s get started with the first ten numbers in Mandarin.

How to count in Chinese from 11 - 99

We promised you that learning the first ten numbers was the hardest part, and we’re not ones to break our promises! Here’s the great news: if you already know how to count to ten, then you already have what it takes to count to 100! Beyond 10, all you need to do is stack your numbers a certain way to get to a hundred. Here’s a quick formula:

• A × 十 (10) + B

Where A is multiplied by 10, and then B is added to the result. Let’s plug in some numbers into our formula:

• (2) × 十 (10) + 3 = 2 × 10 + 3 = 23 (two-ten-three)
• (5) × 十 (10) + 5 = 5 × 10 + 5 = 55 (five-ten-five)
• 8 × 十 (10) + 9 = 8 × 10 + 9 = 89 (eight-ten-nine)

And that’s it! That’s all the math you will need to know, and doing these calculations will become second nature as you start practicing. Truthfully, you don’t even need to make the operations in your head: just as long as you remember that the first digit comes first, followed by 十 (shí) and then the second digit, you’ll be fine.

Two things to keep in mind, and part of the reason the math formula above is important, is that you do not need to say one before the ten for 11-19. Since multiplying one by ten is redundant, you can omit the one completely and just say “ten-five” for 15.

The other thing to consider is when the second digit is a zero. Using our formula above, you would be adding a zero, which is redundant. So, instead of saying “three-ten-zero” for 30, you can just say “three-ten.”

Here’s a detailed table of the numbers from 11 to 99. Take a look at it, and we’re sure you’ll find the rhythm of counting in Chinese in no time.

Time to say 88!

Congratulations, you've now learned how to count up to 100 and beyond in Mandarin Chinese! Mastering counting is a significant achievement in any language learner's journey, and you deserve a pat on the back for accomplishing it!

To further enhance your Mandarin learning experience, consider exploring some of our other helpful Chinese articles, such as our comprehensive guide to Chinese radicals or our quick introduction to greeting people in Mandarin. Keep up the great momentum!