Chinese Numbers 1-100 (And Everything Else You Actually Need)

The internet will tell you that counting to 100 in Chinese only requires learning 11 numbers. That's true — and it's also slightly misleading, because the same internet article will then leave out zero, the word for two that you actually use in daily life, thousands, ten-thousands, and everything you need for prices, phone numbers, dates, and ages.

This guide gives you the complete picture: the numbers 1-100 with full explanation of the logic, plus all the vocabulary around numbers that makes them actually useful. It takes longer than 11 words. It's worth it.

The Beautiful Logic of Chinese Numbers

Before the vocabulary, the reason Chinese numbers deserve your genuine admiration: the system is base-10 and completely regular from 11 onwards. No "eleven," no "twelve," no "thirty" (why is thirty not "threety"?). Chinese just stacks the numbers logically.

十一 (shí yī) = ten + one = 11 二十 (èr shí) = two + ten = 20 四十五 (sì shí wǔ) = four + ten + five = 45 九十九 (jiǔ shí jiǔ) = nine + ten + nine = 99

Once you know 1-10, you genuinely can construct any number to 99 just by following the pattern. This is one of several places where Chinese grammar is considerably more logical than English — no irregular forms, no exceptions, just a clean base-10 system applied consistently.

The Numbers 1-10: Your Foundation

A note on tones: the tone column matters. Numbers aren't tone-neutral — 四 (sì, four) is fourth tone, and because it sounds like 死 (sǐ, death), it's considered unlucky. Eight (bā) sounds like 发 (fā, to prosper) — lucky. Knowing the tones of numbers isn't just about pronunciation; it's about understanding why Chinese culture treats certain numbers the way it does.

If you're still getting comfortable with how tones work, the Mandarin tones guide covers the four tones in full before you tackle any vocabulary.

零 (líng): The Zero You Actually Need

The Du Chinese article doesn't include zero. This matters enormously in practice.

零 appears in:

• Phone numbers: 138 零 021... (Chinese phone numbers are read digit by digit, with 零 for any zero)
• Prices: 一百零五元 (yī bǎi líng wǔ yuán) — 105 yuan (zero is used to bridge the gap between hundred and units)
• Floors and addresses: 零 prevents ambiguity in addresses and room numbers

The pattern rule for 零: when there's a zero in the middle of a number, you say 零 once to bridge the gap, regardless of how many zeros there are. 1005 is 一千零五 (yī qiān líng wǔ) — one thousand, zero, five. Not one thousand zero zero five.

二 vs 两: The Confusion Nobody Warns You About

This is one of the most common early mistakes in Chinese, and most number guides don't address it at all.

二 (èr) is the numeral two — used for counting, in phone numbers, in arithmetic, for the 2nd position in a sequence.

两 (liǎng) is used with measure words when you mean "two of something." You cannot say 二个人 — it must be 两个人 (liǎng gè rén, two people). Two cups of tea: 两杯茶 (liǎng bēi chá). Two books: 两本书 (liǎng běn shū).

The rule of thumb: if a measure word follows the number two, use 两. In all other cases, use 二.

This connects directly to Chinese measure words — the system where every noun requires a specific classifier between the number and the noun. Numbers without measure words don't work for most objects in Chinese. Once you know the numbers, the measure words guide is the immediate next step.

New to Chinese? Start Here.

The no-fluff roadmap for absolute beginners — what to learn first, what to skip, and how to actually stick with it past week two.

Numbers 11-100: The Complete Table

Beyond 100: The Numbers You Need for Real Life

This is where the Du Chinese article stops. This is where the actually useful vocabulary begins.

百, 千, 万, 亿 — Hundred, Thousand, Ten Thousand, Hundred Million

The critical one to know is 万 (wàn, ten thousand). Chinese counts in units of 10,000 where English counts in units of 1,000. This causes genuine confusion with large numbers.

What English calls "one million" (1,000,000), Chinese calls 一百万 (yī bǎi wàn, one hundred ten-thousands). What English calls "100 million," Chinese calls 一亿 (yì). Property prices, salaries, and population figures in Chinese media use the 万/亿 system — understanding this is essential for reading any Chinese text that involves large numbers.

How to say any number up to 9,999

The pattern: [thousands] + 千 + [hundreds] + 百 + 零 + [units], or [thousands] + 千 + [hundreds] + 百 + [tens] + 十 + [units]

• 1,234: 一千二百三十四 (yī qiān èr bǎi sān shí sì)
• 5,060: 五千零六十 (wǔ qiān líng liù shí) — 零 bridges the gap where hundreds would be
• 10,000: 一万 (yī wàn)
• 50,000: 五万 (wǔ wàn)

Ordinal Numbers: First, Second, Third

Add 第 (dì) before any number to make it ordinal.

Uses: 第一次 (dì yī cì, first time), 第二名 (dì èr míng, second place), 第三层 (dì sān céng, third floor).

Note: floors in China are counted the same way as in the UK — ground floor is 一楼 (yī lóu, first floor), above that is 二楼 (èr lóu, second floor). Many buildings skip floor 4 because 4 sounds like death.

Numbers in Context: The Practical Vocabulary

Telling the time

Time-telling uses 两 for two o'clock, not 二 — another application of the 两 vs 二 rule.

Talking about money

35.50 yuan: 三十五块五毛 (sānshí wǔ kuài wǔ máo). In casual speech, the last unit is often dropped: 三十五块五.

For the full set of phrases you'll use when shopping or travelling in China, the travel phrases guide has 50 practical phrases including the bargaining vocabulary.

Talking about dates

Dates in Chinese go from largest to smallest: year → month → day. July 9, 2026 is 2026年7月9号 (liǎng líng èr liù nián qī yuè jiǔ hào). This is the opposite order from American English (month/day/year) and the same logical order as Chinese addresses (country → city → street → number).

Talking about ages

Asking someone's age is much more normal in Chinese culture than in Western contexts — it's standard small talk, not intrusive. Knowing how to answer is useful from your first conversation.

Phone numbers

Phone numbers in Chinese are read digit by digit, not in groups. The number 138-0021-5678 would be: 一三八，零零二一，五六七八.

One (yī) is sometimes pronounced yāo in phone numbers and addresses to avoid confusion with 七 (qī, seven) which can sound similar in noisy environments. If someone says 幺 (yāo) they mean 1.

Lucky and Unlucky Numbers: Why They Matter

Numbers in Chinese culture are not culturally neutral. Understanding why certain numbers are avoided or sought is part of functional number literacy — and it explains a lot of Chinese behaviour that otherwise seems inexplicable to outsiders.

Lucky:

• 8 (八, bā) — sounds like 发 (fā, prosper). Phone numbers, license plates, and property with multiple 8s command significant premiums. The Beijing Olympics opening ceremony began at 8:08pm on 08/08/08.
• 6 (六, liù) — sounds like 流 (liú, smooth/flowing). 六六大顺 (liù liù dà shùn) means everything goes smoothly.
• 9 (九, jiǔ) — sounds like 久 (jiǔ, long-lasting). Popular in contexts of longevity and enduring relationships.

Unlucky:

• 4 (四, sì) — sounds like 死 (sǐ, death). Buildings routinely skip floor 4, 14, 24, 44. Hospitals particularly avoid it. 

The cultural weight of numbers also appears in Chinese idioms and expressions — many chengyu use specific numbers symbolically: 三人行，必有我师 (sān rén xíng, bì yǒu wǒ shī, among three people walking there's always one who can be my teacher) uses 三 not as an exact count but as a stand-in for "a few."

Chinese Hand Gestures for Numbers

One practical dimension entirely absent from most number guides: in China, you can show any number from 1 to 10 on one hand using a standard gesture system. The gestures for 7, 8, and 9 differ between mainland China and Taiwan.

The complete Chinese hand gestures for numbers guide covers all of them with visuals — genuinely useful for market transactions and noisy environments where speaking is impractical.

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Numbers and Characters: How to Write Them

Numbers are among the first characters every learner studies, and they're good ones to start with because the strokes are simple and the meanings are immediately useful. The character 一 is a single horizontal stroke. 二 is two. 三 is three. 十 is a cross.

If you're learning to write characters properly — with correct stroke order from the start — the HSK 1 Character Writing Practice Book covers all the number characters alongside the full HSK 1 vocabulary set. Getting stroke order right from the beginning saves significant correction effort later.

For understanding why characters are built the way they are — how 百 relates to 白, how 千 evolved from its ancient form — Unlocking Chinese Characters is the guide that explains the writing system's structure rather than just listing what to memorise.

Practising Numbers in Real Life

The fastest way to move numbers from studied vocabulary to automatic knowledge is real-world repetition. A few reliable practice opportunities:

Shopping at markets: Prices, quantities, bargaining — numbers appear in almost every exchange. The full set of shopping phrases gives you the vocabulary to turn market visits into number practice sessions.

Telling the time daily: Set your phone to display time in Chinese characters, or make a habit of telling yourself the time in Chinese whenever you check it. 三点二十分 (sān diǎn èrshí fēn, 3:20) several times a day adds up.

Reading price tags: When shopping anywhere that sells Chinese goods or in a Chinese neighbourhood, read price tags aloud in Chinese before looking at the English amount. This is low-stakes and immediately gratifying when you get it right.

Using a spaced repetition tool: Adding the core number vocabulary to Anki with both recognition and production cards (English → Chinese as well as Chinese → English) ensures the numbers stay automated even as you move on to more complex vocabulary. The Anki guide for Chinese learners covers how to set this up properly.

All the Number Vocabulary You Need