外国语中心

Learn how to count in Mandarin Chinese

Mandarin Chinese does not have an alphabet, which can make learning the Chinese language more difficult for Westerners. Luckily, the Mandarin numerical system is fairly straightforward and logical, and once you have learned the first ten numbers you will be able to count to 99.

•Below you will find the numbers one to ten, written in simplified Chinese characters, followed by the Hanyu pinyin translation and the correct pronunciation. Make sure to practice saying each number using the correct tone.

•One: written as (一) , pronounced as yī

•Two: written as (二), pronounced as èr

•Three: written as (三), pronounced as sān

•Four: written as (四), pronounced as sì

•Five: written as (五), pronounced as wǔ

•Six: written as (六), pronounced as liù

•Seven: written as (七), pronounced as qī

•Eight: written as (八), pronounced as bā

•Nine: written as (九) jiǔ, pronounced as jiǔ

•Ten: written as (十), pronounced as shí

•Once you have mastered numbers one to ten, you can continue counting in double digits in Mandarin Chinese by saying the number in the ten's position, then the word shi, followed by the number in the one's position. For example:

•The number 48 in Mandarin Chinese is sì shí bā, literally meaning "four tens plus eight". The number 30 is sān shí, literally meaning "three tens". The number 19 is shí jiǔ, literally meaning "one ten plus nine"

•The word for hundred in Mandarin Chinese is (百) or bǎi, so 100 is yī bǎi, 200 hundred is èr bǎi, 300 is sān bǎi, etc.