The first time I tried ordering dumplings in China, I proudly said “二个饺子 èr ge jiǎozi” and got a very polite smile back. The auntie repeated it as “两个饺子 liǎng ge jiǎozi,” handed me my food, and in five seconds taught me more useful Chinese than a stack of flashcards ever had. Chinese numbers looked scary from far away, but up close they were weirdly logical. The only real problem was that nobody had warned me where the traps were hiding.

A lot of beginner guides teach 1 to 10, wave vaguely at 100, and run off into the sunset. That is not enough when somebody tells you the price is 三十八块五 sānshíbā kuài wǔ, asks for your phone number, or says a date like 二零二六年三月十二日 èr líng èr liù nián sān yuè shí’èr rì. This guide does the whole job properly, with pinyin, plain English, and real examples you can actually use.

The 8 Building Blocks You Need First

How Chinese Numbers Actually Work

Here is the part that makes Chinese numbers feel refreshingly unfair. Once you know the basic digits and the unit words 十 shí, 百 bǎi, 千 qiān, 万 wàn, and 亿 yì, you can build a huge number of expressions with very little memorizing.

• 11 to 19: just say 十 shí plus the digit. So 11 is 十一 shíyī, 12 is 十二 shí’èr, and 19 is 十九 shíjiǔ.
• 20 to 99: digit + 十 shí + digit. So 21 is 二十一 èrshíyī, and 45 is 四十五 sìshíwǔ.
• Hundreds and thousands: stack the units in order. So 256 is 两百五十六 liǎngbǎi wǔshíliù.
• Zero inside a number: use 零 líng when you need a placeholder, like 101 一百零一 yībǎi líng yī or 3,050 三千零五十 sānqiān líng wǔshí.

One note before the tables: learner materials often write pinyin in a neat dictionary-style way, such as 一百 yībǎi and 一万 yīwàn. In natural speech, the tone of 一 yī often changes depending on what comes next. You will hear that later. First, get the structure solid.

Basic Numbers 0 To 10

Hanzi	Pinyin	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
零	líng	zero	房间号是零零七。	fángjiān hào shì líng líng qī.	The room number is 007.
一	yī	one	我有一个苹果。	wǒ yǒu yí ge píngguǒ.	I have one apple.
二	èr	two	二加二等于四。	èr jiā èr děngyú sì.	Two plus two equals four.
三	sān	three	我们三个人。	wǒmen sān ge rén.	There are three of us.
四	sì	four	四点见。	sì diǎn jiàn.	See you at four.
五	wǔ	five	五块钱可以吗？	wǔ kuài qián kěyǐ ma?	Is five yuan okay?
六	liù	six	我住六楼。	wǒ zhù liù lóu.	I live on the sixth floor.
七	qī	seven	七月很热。	qī yuè hěn rè.	July is hot.
八	bā	eight	八号桌有人吗？	bā hào zhuō yǒu rén ma?	Is table number 8 occupied?
九	jiǔ	nine	这件衣服九十九块。	zhè jiàn yīfu jiǔshíjiǔ kuài.	This piece of clothing is 99 yuan.
十	shí	ten	十分钟以后见。	shí fēnzhōng yǐhòu jiàn.	See you in ten minutes.

From 11 To 999 Without Panic

Hanzi	Pinyin	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
十一	shíyī	eleven	我们十一点开会。	wǒmen shíyī diǎn kāihuì.	We have a meeting at 11.
十二	shí’èr	twelve	我十二岁开始学钢琴。	wǒ shí’èr suì kāishǐ xué gāngqín.	I started learning piano at age 12.
二十	èrshí	twenty	他二十分钟后到。	tā èrshí fēnzhōng hòu dào.	He will arrive in 20 minutes.
二十一	èrshíyī	twenty-one	我住二十一楼。	wǒ zhù èrshíyī lóu.	I live on the 21st floor.
三十	sānshí	thirty	这本书三十块。	zhè běn shū sānshí kuài.	This book is 30 yuan.
四十五	sìshíwǔ	forty-five	现在九点四十五分。	xiànzài jiǔ diǎn sìshíwǔ fēn.	It is now 9:45.
九十九	jiǔshíjiǔ	ninety-nine	这双鞋九十九元。	zhè shuāng xié jiǔshíjiǔ yuán.	These shoes are 99 yuan.
一百	yībǎi	one hundred	这个包一百元。	zhège bāo yībǎi yuán.	This bag is 100 yuan.
一百零一	yībǎi líng yī	one hundred and one	我住一百零一号房间。	wǒ zhù yībǎi líng yī hào fángjiān.	I’m staying in room 101.
一百一十	yībǎi yīshí	one hundred and ten	他能跑一百一十米。	tā néng pǎo yībǎi yīshí mǐ.	He can run 110 meters.
两百	liǎngbǎi	two hundred	这双鞋两百块。	zhè shuāng xié liǎngbǎi kuài.	These shoes are 200 yuan.
九百九十九	jiǔbǎi jiǔshíjiǔ	nine hundred and ninety-nine	手机九百九十九元。	shǒujī jiǔbǎi jiǔshíjiǔ yuán.	The phone is 999 yuan.

The first trap: 11 is 十一 shíyī, not 一十一 yīshíyī. Chinese drops the first “one” there. Nice and efficient.

The second trap: 两 liǎng is very common before measure words and also before 百 bǎi, 千 qiān, and 万 wàn in everyday speech. So 两个人 liǎng ge rén and 两百 liǎngbǎi sound natural. Save 二 èr for counting, math, dates, room numbers, phone digits, and other pure number jobs.

Useful Phrases And Real-Life Sentences

多少钱？ duōshao qián? — How much is it?
这个多少钱？
zhège duōshao qián?
How much is this?

多少人？ duōshao rén? — How many people?
今天一共多少人？
jīntiān yígòng duōshao rén?
How many people are there in total today?

你几岁？ nǐ jǐ suì? — How old are you? (usually for children)
你几岁？我八岁。
nǐ jǐ suì? wǒ bā suì.
How old are you? I’m eight.

你多大？ nǐ duō dà? — How old are you? (general spoken question)
你多大？我二十五岁。
nǐ duō dà? wǒ èrshíwǔ suì.
How old are you? I’m 25.

你的电话号码是多少？ nǐ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshao? — What is your phone number?
你的电话号码是多少？
nǐ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshao?
What is your phone number?

今天几号？ jīntiān jǐ hào? — What date is it today?
今天几号？今天三月十二号。
jīntiān jǐ hào? jīntiān sān yuè shí’èr hào.
What date is it today? Today is March 12.

现在几点？ xiànzài jǐ diǎn? — What time is it now?
现在几点？现在两点半。
xiànzài jǐ diǎn? xiànzài liǎng diǎn bàn.
What time is it now? It’s 2:30 now.

一共几个人？ yígòng jǐ ge rén? — How many people in total?
我们一共五个人。
wǒmen yígòng wǔ ge rén.
There are five of us in total.

我要两个。 wǒ yào liǎng ge. — I want two.
这个很好吃，我要两个。
zhège hěn hǎochī, wǒ yào liǎng ge.
This is tasty. I want two.

三点半见。 sān diǎn bàn jiàn. — See you at 3:30.
我们三点半见。
wǒmen sān diǎn bàn jiàn.
Let’s meet at 3:30.

二零二六年三月十二日。 èr líng èr liù nián sān yuè shí’èr rì. — March 12, 2026.
今天是二零二六年三月十二日。
jīntiān shì èr líng èr liù nián sān yuè shí’èr rì.
Today is March 12, 2026.

这件衣服打八折。 zhè jiàn yīfu dǎ bā zhé. — This item is 20% off.
今天活动，这件衣服打八折。
jīntiān huódòng, zhè jiàn yīfu dǎ bā zhé.
There’s a sale today, and this piece of clothing is 20% off.

Big Numbers Without Melting Your Brain

The big idea is this: Chinese groups large numbers by four digits, not three. That is why 万 wàn means 10,000 and 亿 yì means 100,000,000. Once that clicks, newspapers, prices, salaries, follower counts, and population figures stop looking like alien math.

Hanzi	Pinyin	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
一千	yīqiān	one thousand	这台电脑一千元。	zhè tái diànnǎo yīqiān yuán.	This computer is 1,000 yuan.
一千零八	yīqiān líng bā	one thousand and eight	房间号是一千零八。	fángjiān hào shì yīqiān líng bā.	The room number is 1008.
一千五百	yīqiān wǔbǎi	one thousand five hundred	这部手机一千五百元。	zhè bù shǒujī yīqiān wǔbǎi yuán.	This phone is 1,500 yuan.
两千	liǎngqiān	two thousand	报名费两千元。	bàomíng fèi liǎngqiān yuán.	The registration fee is 2,000 yuan.
一万	yīwàn	ten thousand	他每天走一万步。	tā měitiān zǒu yīwàn bù.	He walks 10,000 steps every day.
两万	liǎngwàn	twenty thousand	这辆自行车两万元。	zhè liàng zìxíngchē liǎngwàn yuán.	This bicycle is 20,000 yuan.
十万	shíwàn	one hundred thousand	这个视频有十万次播放。	zhège shìpín yǒu shíwàn cì bōfàng.	This video has 100,000 plays.
一百万	yībǎi wàn	one million	这个城市有一百万人口。	zhège chéngshì yǒu yībǎi wàn rénkǒu.	This city has a population of one million.
一千万	yīqiān wàn	ten million	这个话题有一千万次搜索。	zhège huàtí yǒu yīqiān wàn cì sōusuǒ.	This topic has 10 million searches.
一亿	yīyì	one hundred million	这部电影票房过一亿了。	zhè bù diànyǐng piàofáng guò yīyì le.	This movie has passed 100 million at the box office.
三千零五十	sānqiān líng wǔshí	three thousand and fifty	这台机器三千零五十元。	zhè tái jīqì sānqiān líng wǔshí yuán.	This machine is 3,050 yuan.
两千两百二十二	liǎngqiān liǎngbǎi èrshí’èr	two thousand two hundred and twenty-two	他的工号是两千两百二十二。	tā de gōnghào shì liǎngqiān liǎngbǎi èrshí’èr.	His employee number is 2,222.
一万两千三百四十五	yīwàn liǎngqiān sānbǎi sìshíwǔ	twelve thousand three hundred and forty-five	这块手表一万两千三百四十五元。	zhè kuài shǒubiǎo yīwàn liǎngqiān sānbǎi sìshíwǔ yuán.	This watch costs 12,345 yuan.

Zero rule: say 零 líng when there is a gap inside the number, but do not say it at the end. So 108 is 一百零八 yībǎi líng bā, but 180 is 一百八十 yībǎi bāshí, not 一百八十零 yībǎi bāshí líng. That would be chaos for no reason.

Dates, Time, Money, Phone Numbers, Decimals, Fractions, And More

This is where Chinese numbers stop being a classroom chart and start being actual life. Learn these patterns and suddenly menus, clocks, addresses, birthdays, and shopping apps become much less rude.

Hanzi	Pinyin	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
两	liǎng	two before many measure words	我买了两个橘子。	wǒ mǎi le liǎng ge júzi.	I bought two tangerines.
个	gè	general measure word	三个人来了吗？	sān ge rén lái le ma?	Did three people come?
年	nián	year	我二零零一年出生。	wǒ èr líng líng yī nián chūshēng.	I was born in 2001.
月	yuè	month	我的生日是六月三号。	wǒ de shēngrì shì liù yuè sān hào.	My birthday is June 3.
日 / 号	rì / hào	day / date	今天是三月十二号。	jīntiān shì sān yuè shí’èr hào.	Today is March 12.
点	diǎn	o’clock / decimal point	现在五点。三点一四也可以说成三点一四。	xiànzài wǔ diǎn. sān diǎn yī sì yě kěyǐ shuō chéng sān diǎn yī sì.	It is five o’clock now. 3.14 is read as “three point one four.”
分	fēn	minute	现在九点二十分。	xiànzài jiǔ diǎn èrshí fēn.	It is 9:20 now.
半	bàn	half	现在两点半。	xiànzài liǎng diǎn bàn.	It is 2:30 now.
元	yuán	yuan, formal money word	一共十五元。	yígòng shíwǔ yuán.	The total is 15 yuan.
块	kuài	yuan, spoken money word	这个十块。	zhège shí kuài.	This costs 10 yuan.
毛	máo	0.1 yuan, spoken	这个一块五毛。	zhège yí kuài wǔ máo.	This costs 1.5 yuan.
幺	yāo	one in phone numbers	我的号码里有两个幺。	wǒ de hàomǎ li yǒu liǎng ge yāo.	There are two “ones” in my number.
百分之	bǎifēnzhī	percent	电池还有百分之八十。	diànchí hái yǒu bǎifēnzhī bāshí.	The battery is still at 80%.
分之	fēnzhī	fraction marker	四分之三等于零点七五。	sì fēn zhī sān děngyú líng diǎn qī wǔ.	Three fourths equals 0.75.
第	dì	ordinal prefix	我坐在第三排。	wǒ zuò zài dì sān pái.	I sit in the third row.
折	zhé	discount rate	这双鞋打五折。	zhè shuāng xié dǎ wǔ zhé.	These shoes are half price.

Three Real-Life Number Patterns Worth Memorizing

Years are read digit by digit.
2026年
èr líng èr liù nián
the year 2026

Phone numbers are read digit by digit too.
13800138000
yāo sān bā líng líng yāo sān bā líng líng líng
13800138000

Fractions flip compared with English.
3/4 = 四分之三
sì fēn zhī sān
literally “out of four parts, three”

Quick Practice

• How would you read 308 in Chinese?
• How would you say 2:30?
• How would you say 75%?
• How would you say 3/5?
• How would you say room 1208?

Show Answers

308 = 三百零八 sānbǎi líng bā.
2:30 = 两点半 liǎng diǎn bàn.
75% = 百分之七十五 bǎifēnzhī qīshíwǔ.
3/5 = 五分之三 wǔ fēn zhī sān.
Room 1208 = 一二零八号房间 yī èr líng bā hào fángjiān, or just 一二零八 yī èr líng bā when the context is obvious.

Quick Reference Summary

• 11 to 19: 十 shí + digit
• 20 to 99: digit + 十 shí + digit
• 100 / 1000 / 10000: 百 bǎi / 千 qiān / 万 wàn
• Use 零 líng for missing places inside a number
• Use 两 liǎng before many measure words and often before 百 bǎi, 千 qiān, and 万 wàn
• Years and phone numbers: read digits one by one
• Decimals: use 点 diǎn
• Fractions: denominator + 分之 fēnzhī + numerator
• Percentages: 百分之 bǎifēnzhī + number
• Ordinals: 第 dì + number

FAQ

Is 2 In Chinese 二 èr Or 两 liǎng?

Both exist, and both matter. Use 二 èr for pure numbers, math, dates, phone digits, and counting. Use 两 liǎng before many measure words, as in 两个人 liǎng ge rén, and very often before 百 bǎi, 千 qiān, and 万 wàn in normal speech, as in 两百 liǎngbǎi and 两千 liǎngqiān.

Why Is 10,000 万 wàn Instead Of Just “Ten Thousand”?

Because Chinese organizes big numbers in four-digit chunks. So 万 wàn is 10,000, 十万 shíwàn is 100,000, 一百万 yībǎi wàn is 1,000,000, and 一亿 yīyì is 100,000,000. It feels odd for a minute, then suddenly it feels cleaner than English.

Do I Always Say 1 As 一 yī?

Not quite. The dictionary form is 一 yī, but in real speech its tone often changes depending on the next word. Also, in mainland Chinese phone numbers, 1 is often read as 幺 yāo to avoid confusion with 7, which is 七 qī.

How Do I Say Decimals, Fractions, And Percentages?

Decimals use 点 diǎn, so 3.14 is 三点一四 sān diǎn yī sì. Fractions use 分之 fēnzhī, so 3/4 is 四分之三 sì fēn zhī sān. Percentages use 百分之 bǎifēnzhī, so 80% is 百分之八十 bǎifēnzhī bāshí.

Numbers in Simplified Chinese look intimidating for about ten minutes. Then the logic clicks, and suddenly prices, dates, floors, times, and phone numbers stop sounding like machine-gun static and start sounding like actual language. Which is a lovely upgrade for your brain.