Mastering Chinese Numbers (數字) From Zero To Infinity

數字 shùzì means “numbers.” And yes, Chinese numbers are one of those topics that look scary for about five minutes, then become weirdly satisfying. The system is clean, logical, and honestly a bit smug about it.

For the broader learning path, visit our parent guide.

By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to count in Traditional Chinese, read big numbers, say dates, use money naturally in Taiwan, and avoid the classic learner traps that make native speakers politely blink at you.

If you want a boring-but-useful reference while you study, the TOCFL placement test and this Traditional Chinese vocabulary test are good reality checks. Nothing says “serious learning” like a test. Thrilling stuff.

Table of Contents

The Basic Counting System

Chinese counting is built on simple blocks: one, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred million. Once you know the pattern, the numbers stop feeling random and start feeling like LEGO.

Traditional Chinese	Pinyin	English Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
零	líng	zero	電話號碼是零九一二。	Diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng jiǔ yī èr.	The phone number is 0912.
一	yī	one	我有一個問題。	Wǒ yǒu yī gè wèntí.	I have one question.
二	èr	two	我有兩本書，這本是第二本。	Wǒ yǒu liǎng běn shū, zhè běn shì dì-èr běn.	I have two books, and this one is the second book.
三	sān	three	三點見。	Sān diǎn jiàn.	See you at three.
四	sì	four	四號出口在哪裡？	Sì hào chūkǒu zài nǎlǐ?	Where is Exit 4?
五	wǔ	five	我五點下班。	Wǒ wǔ diǎn xiàbān.	I get off work at five.
六	liù	six	六張票夠嗎？	Liù zhāng piào gòu ma?	Are six tickets enough?
七	qī	seven	七月很熱。	Qī yuè hěn rè.	July is very hot.
八	bā	eight	八點開始上課。	Bā diǎn kāishǐ shàngkè.	Class starts at eight.
九	jiǔ	nine	九折比較便宜。	Jiǔ zhé bǐjiào piányí.	Ten percent off? That’s cheaper.
十	shí	ten	十個人來了。	Shí gè rén lái le.	Ten people came.

Notice something nice? 一 yī, 二 èr, 三 sān do not need weird memory tricks. The pain comes later, when the numbers get larger and suddenly your brain has to stop being dramatic.

The Big Building Blocks

After ten, Chinese uses a very regular structure:

Traditional Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
十	shí	ten	十二	shí èr	twelve
百	bǎi	hundred	三百	sān bǎi	three hundred
千	qiān	thousand	兩千	liǎng qiān	two thousand
萬	wàn	ten thousand	五萬	wǔ wàn	fifty thousand / five ten-thousands
億	yì	hundred million	三億	sān yì	three hundred million

The key idea is that Chinese groups numbers by ten thousand, not by thousand. That’s why 萬 wàn matters so much. English speakers often expect “million” to be the main giant number, but Chinese likes to climb the ladder differently. Languages, like cats, do not care about your expectations.

Quick rule: Chinese counts in units of 十 (10), 百 (100), 千 (1,000), 萬 (10,000), and 億 (100,000,000).

Useful Number Phrases For Real Life

These are the number phrases you’ll actually use in Taiwan, whether you’re buying breakfast, asking for a platform number, or trying not to embarrass yourself with a price tag.

Traditional Chinese	Pinyin	English Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
幾	jǐ	how many / a few	你有幾本書？	Nǐ yǒu jǐ běn shū?	How many books do you have?
多少	duōshǎo	how much / how many	這個多少錢？	Zhège duōshao qián?	How much is this?
第	dì	ordinal marker: -th / first, second, third	我是第一個到的。	Wǒ shì dì-yī gè dào de.	I was the first one to arrive.
半	bàn	half	我等了半個小時。	Wǒ děng le bàn gè xiǎoshí.	I waited half an hour.
零點五	líng diǎn wǔ	0.5	我只喝零點五杯咖啡。	Wǒ zhǐ hē líng diǎn wǔ bēi kāfēi.	I only drank half a cup of coffee.
一百	yì bǎi	one hundred	一百塊夠嗎？	Yì bǎi kuài gòu ma?	Is one hundred dollars enough?
一千	yì qiān	one thousand	這台手機一千元買不到。	Zhè tái shǒujī yì qiān yuán mǎi bù dào.	You can’t buy this phone for one thousand yuan.
一萬	yí wàn	ten thousand	房租要一萬塊。	Fángzū yào yí wàn kuài.	The rent is ten thousand dollars.
一億	yí yì	one hundred million	一億不是小數字。	Yí yì bú shì xiǎo shùzì.	One hundred million is not a small number.
左右	zuǒyòu	about / around	我大概十點左右到。	Wǒ dàgài shí diǎn zuǒyòu dào.	I’ll arrive around ten.
以上	yǐshàng	and above	十八歲以上可以進去。	Shíbā suì yǐshàng kěyǐ jìnqù.	People 18 and above can enter.
以下	yǐxià	and below	五公斤以下比較方便帶。	Wǔ gōngjīn yǐxià bǐjiào fāngbiàn dài.	Under five kilos is easier to carry.

How To Say Large Numbers

Here’s the part that makes Chinese numbers feel beautifully efficient.

Instead of saying “one thousand two hundred thirty-four” in a long chain, Chinese keeps the structure compact:

Number	Traditional Chinese	Pinyin	English
12	十二	shí èr	twelve
25	二十五	èr shí wǔ	twenty-five
108	一百零八	yì bǎi líng bā	one hundred eight
203	二百零三	èr bǎi líng sān	two hundred three
1,256	一千二百五十六	yì qiān èr bǎi wǔ shí liù	one thousand two hundred fifty-six
10,000	一萬	yí wàn	ten thousand
25,000	兩萬五千	liǎng wàn wǔ qiān	twenty-five thousand
100,000	十萬	shí wàn	one hundred thousand
1,000,000	一百萬	yì bǎi wàn	one million
10,000,000	一千萬	yì qiān wàn	ten million
100,000,000	一億	yí yì	one hundred million

Two important notes:

Use 零 líng to mark missing place values, like 一百零八 yì bǎi líng bā.
In Taiwan, people often say 兩 liǎng before measure words and some nouns, especially for “two” in everyday speech: 兩個 liǎng gè, 兩本 liǎng běn, 兩千 liǎng qiān.

So yes, 二 èr and 兩 liǎng both mean “two,” but they are not used in exactly the same places. Tiny detail, giant importance. Mandarin loves those.

Zero, One, Two, And The Weird Bits

Let’s clean up the tricky spots before they turn into permanent bad habits.

Pattern	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Pinyin	English
零 líng	zero; used for missing positions	一千零一	yì qiān líng yī	1001
一 yī	one; changes tone in some situations	一天	yì tiān	one day
兩 liǎng	two; often before measure words	兩杯咖啡	liǎng bēi kāfēi	two cups of coffee
二 èr	two; used in counting, ordinals, phone-like lists	二十	èr shí	twenty
兩個 liǎng gè	two items/people	兩個人	liǎng gè rén	two people
第 dì + number	ordinal number	第二	dì-èr	second

Tone note: 一 yī changes tone depending on what comes after it. In basic speech, it often becomes yí or yì.

yī before a first tone, second tone, or third tone can often become yí or stay neutral in fast speech.
Before a fourth tone, it often becomes yí in common speech: 一樣 yíyàng.
In numbers by itself, it is usually read as yī when counting, but pronunciation can shift in phrases. Chinese likes to keep learners humble.

Money, Prices, And Taiwan Everyday Speech

In Taiwan, you will hear money talked about with 塊 kuài in casual speech and 元 yuán in more formal writing. Both refer to New Taiwan dollars in everyday life.

Traditional Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Pinyin	English
多少錢	duōshao qián	how much money / how much	這杯咖啡多少錢？	Zhè bēi kāfēi duōshao qián?	How much is this cup of coffee?
幾塊	jǐ kuài	how many dollars	這個多少？三十幾塊嗎？	Zhège duōshao? Sānshí jǐ kuài ma?	How much is this? Around thirty dollars?
五十塊	wǔshí kuài	fifty dollars	這個五十塊。	Zhège wǔshí kuài.	This is fifty dollars.
一百元	yì bǎi yuán	one hundred dollars	一百元可以嗎？	Yì bǎi yuán kěyǐ ma?	Is one hundred dollars okay?
找錢	zhǎoqián	change money; give change	店員幫我找錢。	Diànyuán bāng wǒ zhǎoqián.	The clerk gave me change.
零錢	língqián	coins; small change	我只有零錢。	Wǒ zhǐyǒu língqián.	I only have small change.

Real-life sample:

這個多少錢？ Zhège duōshao qián? — How much is this?

三十塊。 Sānshí kuài. — Thirty dollars.

Short, clear, and useful. No need for financial poetry.

Dates, Time, And Numbers You’ll See Every Day

Numbers show up constantly in dates, time, addresses, and schedules. If you can handle these, life gets much easier very quickly.

Traditional Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
星期一	xīngqī yī	Monday	我們星期一見。	Wǒmen xīngqī yī jiàn.	We’ll meet on Monday.
一月	yī yuè	January	一月很冷。	Yī yuè hěn lěng.	January is cold.
十點半	shí diǎn bàn	10:30	十點半出發。	Shí diǎn bàn chūfā.	Leave at 10:30.
三十分鐘	sānshí fēnzhōng	30 minutes	大概三十分鐘到。	Dàgài sānshí fēnzhōng dào.	It takes about 30 minutes.
第二天	dì-èr tiān	the second day / next day	第二天我就忘了。	Dì-èr tiān wǒ jiù wàng le.	The next day I already forgot.
第十頁	dì shí yè	page 10	請翻到第十頁。	Qǐng fān dào dì shí yè.	Please turn to page 10.

Good to know: dates in Chinese usually go from big to small: year, month, day.

2026年5月3日 èr líng èr liù nián wǔ yuè sān rì — May 3, 2026

If you see 日 rì, 號 hào, or 號 in dates, don’t panic. Different contexts use different forms, but the pattern is still calm and orderly. Unlike some calendars, which seem designed by a committee of raccoons.

Ordinals: First, Second, Third

Ordinals in Chinese are easy once you know one tiny marker: 第 dì.

Pattern	Meaning	Example (ZH)	Pinyin	English
第一	first	我是第一個到的。	Wǒ shì dì-yī gè dào de.	I was the first one to arrive.
第二	second	他坐第二排。	Tā zuò dì-èr pái.	He sits in the second row.
第三	third	第三題很難。	Dì-sān tí hěn nán.	The third question is hard.
第十	tenth	第十名很厲害。	Dì shí míng hěn lìhai.	Coming in tenth is impressive.

Important: don’t use 第 for plain counting. You say 三個人 sān gè rén for “three people,” but 第三個人 dì-sān gè rén for “the third person.”

Common Number Phrases You Should Memorize

Here’s the practical shortlist. These are the phrases that will save you time, confusion, and the occasional awkward stare.

Traditional Chinese	Pinyin	English Meaning	Example (ZH)	Example (Pinyin)	Translation (EN)
一個	yī gè	one item/person	我要一個。	Wǒ yào yī gè.	I want one.
兩個	liǎng gè	two items/people	我要兩個便當。	Wǒ yào liǎng gè biàndāng.	I want two lunch boxes.
幾個	jǐ gè	a few / how many	你有幾個朋友？	Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè péngyǒu?	How many friends do you have?
十幾	shí jǐ	more than ten, around 10-something	我等了十幾分鐘。	Wǒ děng le shí jǐ fēnzhōng.	I waited for more than ten minutes.
二十幾	èrshí jǐ	around twenty-something	他二十幾歲。	Tā èrshí jǐ suì.	He is in his twenties.
三十幾	sānshí jǐ	around thirty-something	價格大概三十幾塊。	Jiàgé dàgài sānshí jǐ kuài.	The price is probably around thirty-something dollars.
一半	yī bàn	half	我要一半糖。	Wǒ yào yī bàn táng.	I want half sugar.
一點	yī diǎn	a little; 1 o’clock	我只會一點中文。	Wǒ zhǐ huì yī diǎn Zhōngwén.	I only know a little Chinese.
一點五	yī diǎn wǔ	1.5	這裡要一點五公升水。	Zhèlǐ yào yī diǎn wǔ gōngshēng shuǐ.	We need 1.5 liters of water here.
百分之	bǎifēnzhī	percent	他考了百分之九十。	Tā kǎo le bǎifēnzhī jiǔshí.	He scored 90 percent.

Common Mistakes And Easy Fixes

English speakers often make the same few number mistakes. Good news: they are easy to fix once you notice them.

Mistake	Why It Happens	Better Way	Example
Using 二 everywhere	English just says “two” in all places	Use 兩 before many measure words and nouns in Taiwan	兩個人 liǎng gè rén
Forgetting 零 in the middle	Trying to read numbers like English	Say the zero when a place value is skipped	一百零五 yì bǎi líng wǔ
Mixing up 萬 and comma grouping	English uses thousands separators differently	Read by ten-thousands, not by thousands alone	二十萬 èr shí wàn = 200,000
Using 第 for counting	Ordinals and cardinals feel similar in English	Use 第 only for order	第三本 dì-sān běn
Reading money too formally	Textbook habit	In Taiwan, casual speech often uses 塊	五十塊 wǔshí kuài
Ignoring tone changes with 一	It looks like one simple number	Listen to how it sounds in phrases	一樣 yíyàng

Practice Time

Try these out loud. Numbers are one of those things you really do need to say, not just recognize silently like a haunted spreadsheet.

Translate: 7, 12, 20, 108, 2,500, 30,000
Say these aloud: 兩本書, 一百零三, 第十課, 三十幾歲
Fill in the blank: 我有 ___ 個朋友。 (Wǒ yǒu ___ gè péngyǒu.)
Choose the better form in Taiwan: 二個 or 兩個
Read the price: 一千二百五十塊
Convert to Chinese: 2026, 9:30, 1.5, 90%

Answers: 七 qī, 十二 shí èr, 二十 èr shí, 一百零八 yì bǎi líng bā, 二千五百 or more naturally 兩千五百 liǎng qiān wǔ bǎi, 三萬 sān wàn; 兩個 is usually better in Taiwan; 一千二百五十塊 = 1,250 dollars.

Quick Reference Summary

Topic	Key Point
Counting	Use 一、二、三 and then 十、百、千、萬、億.
Zero	零 marks missing place values.
Two	Use 兩 often before measure words in Taiwan.
Ordinals	Use 第 for first, second, third, etc.
Money	塊 is common in casual Taiwan speech; 元 is more formal.
Dates	Year + month + day order is standard.
Large Numbers	Chinese groups by ten-thousands, not thousands.

Numbers in Chinese are not random trivia. They show up in food orders, schedules, prices, addresses, and everyday life. Learn them well, and suddenly a lot of the language becomes less scary and more usable. Which is the whole point, really.

Yak Takeaway: once you get comfortable with 萬 wàn, 兩 liǎng, and 零 líng, Chinese numbers stop being a monster and start being a very tidy toolbox. A slightly smug toolbox, but still useful.