Speaking • Practical Skills
Numbers in Mandarin Chinese — Cardinal, Ordinal, and Money
Mandarin numbers are logical and regular — once you learn 0-10, the pattern extends to 100, 1,000, and beyond. The key difference from English is the 万 (wàn, 10,000) unit, which restructures how large numbers are grouped. This page covers cardinal and ordinal numbers, money, phone numbers, and dates.
Cardinal Numbers 0–10,000
| 汉字 Chinese | 拼音 Pīnyīn | English |
|---|---|---|
零 / 〇 | líng | 0 (零 formal; 〇 used in phone numbers/dates) |
一 | yī | 1 |
二 / 两 | èr / liǎng | 2 (二 in sequences; 两 before measure words: 两个) |
三 / 四 / 五 | sān / sì / wǔ | 3 / 4 / 5 |
六 / 七 / 八 / 九 | liù / qī / bā / jiǔ | 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 |
十 | shí | 10 |
十一 / 十二 / 二十 | shíyī / shí'èr / èrshí | 11 / 12 / 20 |
一百 | yī bǎi | 100 |
一千 | yī qiān | 1,000 |
一万 | yī wàn | 10,000 (key unit — not used in English) |
Large Numbers
| 汉字 Chinese | 拼音 Pīnyīn | English |
|---|---|---|
十万 | shí wàn | 100,000 (10 × 10,000) |
一百万 | yī bǎi wàn | 1,000,000 (one million) |
一千万 | yī qiān wàn | 10,000,000 (ten million) |
一亿 | yī yì | 100,000,000 (one hundred million) |
一万亿 | yī wàn yì | One trillion |
两千三百四十五 | liǎng qiān sān bǎi sìshí wǔ | 2,345 |
三万六千 | sān wàn liù qiān | 36,000 |
Ordinal Numbers
| 汉字 Chinese | 拼音 Pīnyīn | English |
|---|---|---|
第一 | dì yī | First (1st) |
第二 | dì èr | Second (2nd) |
第三 | dì sān | Third (3rd) |
第几？ | dì jǐ? | Which number? / What position? (asking for ordinal) |
第一名 | dì yī míng | First place / Number one |
最后一个 | zuìhòu yī gè | The last one |
下一个 | xià yī gè | The next one |
Money and Prices
| 汉字 Chinese | 拼音 Pīnyīn | English |
|---|---|---|
多少钱？ | duōshao qián? | How much does it cost? / How much money? |
元 / 块 | yuán / kuài | Yuan (formal) / Kuai (colloquial) — base unit of RMB |
角 / 毛 | jiǎo / máo | Jiao (formal) / Mao (colloquial) — 0.1 yuan |
分 | fēn | Fen — 0.01 yuan (rarely used in speech now) |
五十八块三毛 | wǔshí bā kuài sān máo | 58.30 yuan (fifty-eight yuan thirty fen) |
太贵了！ | tài guì le! | Too expensive! |
能便宜一点吗？ | néng piányí yīdiǎn ma? | Can you make it a little cheaper? |
找钱 | zhǎo qián | Change (money returned after payment) |
Phone Numbers and Dates
| 汉字 Chinese | 拼音 Pīnyīn | English |
|---|---|---|
我的手机号码是…… | wǒ de shǒujī hàomǎ shì…… | My mobile number is… |
一三八……（逐位读） | yī sān bā……(zhú wèi dú) | 138… (read digit by digit — 1 is always yī, not yāo, in formal) |
今天是几月几号？ | jīntiān shì jǐ yuè jǐ hào? | What is today's date? (month and day) |
三月二十五号 | sān yuè èrshíwǔ hào | March 25th |
二〇二六年 | èr líng èr liù nián | 2026 (year read digit by digit) |
农历正月初一 | nónglì zhēngyuè chū yī | Lunar New Year's Day (1st day of the 1st lunar month) |
Usage Notes
二 (èr) is used in sequences: 第二 (second), 二月 (February), 二十 (twenty). 两 (liǎng) is used before measure words: 两个人 (two people), 两本书 (two books). When counting aloud (一, 二, 三…), use 二. When qualifying nouns, use 两.
Chinese groups numbers in units of 万 (10,000) not thousands. 50,000 = 五万 (five 10,000s). 100,000 = 十万. 1,000,000 = 一百万. Confusion here is very common for English speakers — always think in 万 units when working with large numbers.
一 (yī, first tone) changes tone depending on what follows: before 4th tone, it becomes 2nd tone (yí); before 1st, 2nd, or 3rd tone, it becomes 4th tone (yì). For example: 一天 (yī tiān), 一杯 (yì bēi). This sandhi rule is consistent and must be learned.
In everyday speech, use the informal terms: 块 (kuài) for yuan, 毛 (máo) for 0.1 yuan. The final 分 is often dropped when speaking: 三块五 (three and a half yuan = 3.50). Formal documents and banking use 元, 角, 分.