Hello to all blog readers!
Chinese numerals seem to be a simple topic. Meanwhile, there are many subtleties that foreigners who have begun to learn Chinese or who are going on a trip to China should learn, because during the trip you will in any case have to conduct money transactions, which means dealing with numbers!
Learning numbers in Chinese is easy! Everything is very simple) But you can’t even imagine that numbers in Chinese are not just a tool for counting. You can even express your thoughts with them! If you're interested, read on!
Numbers in Chinese
In China, in addition to using Arabic numerals, to which we are accustomed, numbers written in hieroglyphs are also used, which we will discuss in more detail below. What is it for? Yes, at least for signing contracts.
After all, numbers are much easier to imperceptibly correct than hieroglyphs. And in more official documents, special hieroglyphs are generally used, which differ significantly in appearance from the usual ones for greater reliability.
Well, it's completely different separate topic, more related to business Chinese.
Before you start learning the numbers themselves, or rather their pronunciation and writing in Chinese, you should know the features of numerals in Chinese.
Count up to 10 in Chinese
Now let's start learning numbers in Chinese. It is very easy. Easier than in Russian. The only thing to pronounce them more or less correctly, you need to familiarize yourself with the transcription and practice pronouncing the tones. If you have not done this, then we advise you to look into the Phonetics lesson.
| 0 | 零 | |
| 1 | 一 | |
| 2 | 二 | |
| 3 | 三 | |
| 4 | 四 | |
| 5 | 五 | |
| 6 | 六 | |
| 7 | 七 | |
| 8 | 八 | |
| 9 | 九 | |
| 10 | 十 |
Plus a few more important and necessary units:
| 100 | 百 | |
| 1 000 | 千 | |
| 10 000 | 万 |
Numbers in Chinese by hand
Learning numbers, and even so many at a time, is not so easy. Let's take a break, stretch our hands, and at the same time repeat what we have learned!
In Chinese, numbers (from one to ten) can be shown on the fingers. Here's how it's done:
Have you guessed why the number ten can be shown in two ways?)
A little rest? Then let's continue!
Dealing with plurals in Chinese
Now let's deal with some subtleties, because learning a few numbers does not mean learning how to use them correctly:
to say eleven and all subsequent digits, you just need to add the desired number to the tens:
| 11 | 10 + 1 | shi + yī |
| 15 | 10 + 5 | shí + wǔ |
| 20 | 2 + 10 | er + shi |
| 27 | 2 + 10 + 7 | er + shí + qī |
See how easy it is! It's much easier than in Russian, English, Korean and so on!
Attention, when you go to hundreds, you need to be very careful!
We had such a story when we first arrived in China. We went to the market to buy things. I don’t remember exactly what I bought, and it doesn’t matter. Our Chinese was close to zero, but we still traded to the last. And what, we were told to bargain, well, we bargained!
In the end, the seller sighed, pretending to agree with us and saying 一百八, which literally translates as one hundred and eight. We quickly agreed to celebrate, we give money, and he shakes his head - they say little. And then it turns out that 一百八 is 180, not 108.
It turns out that when the Chinese say 108, then between a hundred and eight they will definitely say zero. And if it doesn't exist, then... well, you understand.
So remember:
If after the word hundred you say five at once, as is customary in Russia, then you will be completely misunderstood. In Chinese, yī bǎi wǔ would mean 150, not 105.
To say 105, be sure to say zero before the five: yī bǎi líng wǔ.
105 = 1 + 100 + 0 + 5 = yī + bǎi + líng + wǔ
Another interesting thing: the Chinese do not just say 105, as we used to say. They will definitely say one hundred.
If you just say a hundred, then they will certainly understand you, making allowances for the fact that you are foreigners.
Here are some more examples for a clearer understanding:
| 203 | 二百零三 | |
| 360 | or | 三百六十 / 三百六 |
| 548 | 五百四十八 | |
| 110 | 一百一 | |
| 1018 | 一千零一十八 | |
| 1005 | 一千零五 | |
| 10000 | 一万 | |
| 10890 | 一万零八百九十 |
A little more about the features of numerals in Chinese
When we say a phone number, home, route, etc., the number 1 is read as 幺, the number 2 as 二.
All numbers speak one by one:
159 6678 9921
And here is the number of some services that you may need in China:
The number 2 also has two variants 二 and 两.
Let's take a closer look at their differences:
- 两 can only be at the beginning, but 二 is at the beginning, at the end, and in the middle： 七十 二 个，八百二 十八，二 百，两 百
- When you use these numerals with counter words, there are also differences. The following are counter words that are used with the numeral 两: 两: 个，把，块，棵，只，条 ⇒ 两个, 两条 etc But the following count words can be used with both 两 and 二 斤，里，尺，吨... ⇒ 两斤 or 二斤
Since we have decided to deal with this topic completely, we will have to touch on a little culture as well. without it, some points, including those related to numbers in China, will be difficult to clarify.
Which numbers do the Chinese like and which do they try to avoid?
1 - they love this number, because more often this number denotes the first: first place, first in class or at school, the first to discover something, etc.
6 - they love this number, because it is consonant with the hieroglyph 溜 (顺溜 - favorable, smooth, no problem)
8 - love this number, because it is consonant with the character 发 （发财 - get rich). You can often hear such a wish from the Chinese: 恭喜发财！ - I wish you great wealth!
9 - they love this number, because it is consonant with the hieroglyph 久 - long, eternal. The phrase 长长久久 can also be found in wishes, for example, when they want to wish eternal love.
4 - do not like this figure and try to avoid it in every possible way. Sometimes even in some buildings you will not be able to find the 4th floor, but there will be two thirds. When you take a SIM card, then more often there are numbers with the number 4.
And all because it is consonant with the word 死 - death.
How do you express your thoughts with numbers?
As you have noticed, many words are consonant with numbers, so the Chinese use it with might and main. They can use numbers, for example, to confess their love - 520 我爱你. Sounds very similar, right? For example, what words can be replaced with numbers:
| 0 | 「你」 |
| 1 | 「一」 |
| 2 | 「爱」 |
| 3 | 「想」 |
| 4 | 「是、世」 |
| 5 | 「我」 |
| 6 | 「又」 |
| 7 | 「亲」 |
| 8 | 「辈、抱、被、怕、发」 |
| 9 | 「久、就」 |
Video on the topic "Numerals in Chinese":
Listen to the audio and write down the characters from memory. Determine the tone of each character.
Numbers:
一 yī - one
二 èr - two
三 sān - three
四 sì - four
五 wǔ - five
六 liù - six
七 qī - seven
八 bā – eight
九 jiǔ - nine
十 shi - ten
一百 yībǎi - one hundred
一千 yīqiān - one thousand
一万 yīwàn - ten thousand
零 líng - zero, zero
Numbers after ten are formed by adding units or tens on either side of "ten", i.e.
Eleven - 十一 shíyī
Twelve - 十二 shíer
Thirteen - 十三 shísān
Fourteen - 十四 shísì
Fifteen - 十五 shíwǔ
Twenty - 二十 èrshi
twenty-one - 二十一 èrshíyī
twenty-two
Thirty - 三十 sānshi
Forty - 四十 sìshi
A very important point, after 9999 there will be not 十千 qiānshí (ten and a thousand), but 万 wàn – ten thousand in one word. 11 thousand – 一万一千 yīwànyīqiān. There is also such a word as 两 liǎng - couple. It is used in place of the number 2 in all cases except when it is specifically the number 2. Therefore, 22 thousand will be written as 两万两千 liǎngwàn liǎngqiān, and not 二万二千 èrwànèrqiān.
Now for some math:
加 jiā – to add, to add, to attach
等于 děngyú - equal to something
Let's add a few more new words and we can use our numbers to write the date.
年 nián – year; years
月 yuè - moon, month; month (calendar); monthly, monthly
号 hào - number, size
And months in Chinese are written simply by a number and the word "month". As you probably already guessed, January will be the first month or 一月 yīyuè, February will be 二月 èryuè, etc.
Months:
January
February
March
April
May 五月 wǔyuè
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
And let's write down today's date. In Chinese, dates begin with the year, then the month, then the day. Today is October 31, 2014, in Chinese it will be 二零一四年十月三十一号èr líng yī sì nián shíyuè sānshíyī hào. Sometimes zero is also written as 〇 (circle). The year is written one by one 2 二 0 零 （〇） 1 一 4 四, and the word "year" is put at the end - 年 nián. I think you have a question, how to distinguish two months from February, or four months from April. To do this, in the phrase "two months", a counter word is added. There are more than 50 counting words in Chinese for different objects: books, pens, ribbons, cars, animals, etc. We will study them a little later in a separate lesson.
And now let's use one universal counting word that fits objects that do not fall into certain groups, and you can also use it if you forgot some specific counting word.
个 gè - universal counting word (count word)
So, one month will be 一个月 yī gè yuè, two months - 两个月 liǎng gè yuè (here again the word 两 liǎng appears because we are talking about a couple of months, not the number 2), three months - 三个月 sān gè yuè, etc.
我认识伊万三个月 Wǒ rènshí yī wàn sān gè yuè – I have known Ivan for three months.
As in the previous lesson, homework will be as follows: write out new words, write each character in 3-4 lines. Write down today's date, your date of birth, and the dates of birth of your relatives or friends. And we'll add some exercises.
Exercise 1.
Write down the following numbers in hieroglyphs.
- 12093
- 10000
Exercise 2.
Write down the following dates in hieroglyphs.
How are numbers formed in Chinese. In Chinese, the system and structure of numbers is quite logical. It is enough to learn all the meanings of words and the rules for their use in order to calmly understand in the future and not get confused. It is also recommended to pronounce and apply numbers in Chinese more often in practice so that they get into active memory and you do not get confused in them in the future.
From 1 to 100
Prime numbers are written just like in Russian, nothing special.
Learn to count from 0 to 10 with voice acting, gestures and associations
Structure for numbers from 11 to 19
You need to add in the number "ten" 十 (shí) the number following it with "one unit" 一 (yī) to "nine" 九 (jiǔ). For example, eleven is 十一 (shíyī), 12 is 十二 (shí "èr), 13 is 十三 (shísān), and so on up to nineteen 十九 (shíjiǔ).
Examples
- 十 一 shi yī 11
- 十 二 shi Er 12
- 十 三 shi san 13
- 十 四shi sì 14
- 十 五 shi wǔ 15
- 十 六shi liù 16
- 十 七 shi qī 17
- 十 八shi bā 18
- 十 九 shi jiǔ 19
Structure for tens
The names of tens are translated according to the following logic: Twenty is 二十 (èrshí), 30 is 三十 (sānshí) and so on. If you need to name not only ten, but also the number after the ten, then the number is built according to the principle of adding a number to the end of the number, that is, according to the following logic: 25 is 二十五 (èrshíwǔ), 44 is 四十四 (sìshísì) and 98 is 九十八 (jiǔshíbā). Everything is very clear.
Examples
- 二 十 Er shi 20
- 三 十 san shi 30
- 四 十 sì shi 40
- 五 十 wǔ shi 50
- 二 十 五er shi wǔ 25
- 三 十 八sān shi bā 38
- 四 十 七sì shi qī 47
- 九 十 五jiǔ shi wǔ 95
- 八 十 三ba shi san 83
- 七 十 二qī shi Er 72
100 in Chinese would be: 一百 (yībǎi). Now you know how to count hundreds.
over a thousand
Structure for 101
Remember: if there is "zero" or several "zeros" in the middle of the number, then when translating, we must say once 零 (líng) in the position where these zeros (or one zero) stand. The modern spelling of the character 零 is "〇". The first option is more beautiful, the second one is simpler. That's the whole difference.
A + 百 + 零 + B
Examples
- 一 百 零 一 yī bǎi ling yī 101
- 三 百 零 二san bǎi ling Er 302
- 九 百 零 一jiǔ bǎi ling yī 901
- 两 百 零 二liǎng bǎi ling Er 202
- 四 百 零 四si bǎi ling sì 404
- 八 百 零 七ba bǎi ling qī 807
- 五 百 零 三wǔ bǎi ling san 503
- 六 百 零 六liu bǎi ling liù 606
- 七 百 零 九qī bǎi ling jiǔ 709
- 两 百 零 五liǎng bǎi ling wǔ 205
Structure for 110
A + 百 + B + 十
If your task is to say just a number without units and counting words (classifiers), for example, "two hundred fifty", "15 0 ", "250 ", "350 ", "470 ", "850 ", then in this case you can say "A + 百 + B". For example: 250 is "二百五" (èrbǎiwǔ). But 250 is a "fool's number", try not to pronounce it, otherwise everyone will laugh. But if you it is necessary to use the unit after the whole number (11 1 , 112 , 342 ) or apply "classifier + some noun" (for example, say 110 个人 (yībǎiyīshígèrén) "one hundred and ten people", that is, indicate the number of something with the addition of a classifier), then the structure will be "A + 百 + B + 十".
Examples
- 二 百 一 十 一 Er bǎi yī shi yī 211
- 二 百 一er bǎi yī 210
- 三 百 五 十 As you correctly understood, you can also say simply 三 百 五 san bǎi wǔ shi 350
- 九 百 一 十 个 人 jiǔ bǎi yī shi geren 910 people
- 三 百 一 十 san bǎi yī shi 310
- 五 百 九 十 wǔ bǎi jiǔ shi 590
- 八 百 六ba bǎi liù 860
- 二 百 六er bǎi liù 260
- 四 百 五si bǎi wǔ 450
- 七 百 八 十 qī bǎi bā shi 780
Structure for 111
A + 百 + B + 十 + C
Examples
- 六 百 一 十 五 liu bǎi yī shi wǔ 615
- 一 百 一 十 一 yī bǎi yī shi yī 111
- 一 百 三 十 三 yī bǎi san shi san 133
- 九 百 二 十 五 jiǔ bǎi Er shi wǔ 925
over a thousand
千 (qiān) translates as "one thousand". The rule of its application is similar to the "hundred". No matter how many zeros there are in the middle of the number, it is enough to say 零 (líng) once in its place.
Examples
- 一 千 零 五yīqiān ling wǔ 1005
- 一 千 零 三 十 yīqian ling sanshi 1030
- 一 千 零 一 十 二 yīqian ling yishier 1012
- 一 千 零 一 十 九 yīqian ling yishíjiǔ 1019
- 一 千 零 九 十 yīqian ling jiǔshi 1090
- 一千二百yīqiān èrbǎi 1200
- 一 千 一 百 零 三 yīqiān yībǎi ling san 1103
- 一千七百一十yīqian qībǎi yīshí 1710
- 七千七百七十七qīqiān qībǎi qīshíqī 7777
More examples
| Number | Chinese | Transcription | Russian |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 七 | qī | seven |
| 10 | 十 | shi | ten |
| 15 | 十五 | shíwǔ | fifteen |
| 80 | 八十 | bashi | eighty |
| 81 | 八十一 | bāshiyī | Eighty-one |
| 88 | 八十八 | bāshibā | eighty eight |
| 100 | 一百 | yībǎi | hundred |
| 108 | 一百零八 | yībǎi líng bā | one hundred and eight |
| 180 | 一百八十 | yībǎi bāshi | one hundred and eighty |
| 118 | 一百一十八 | yībǎi yīshíbā | one hundred eighteen |
As you may have noticed correctly: 15 in Chinese will be 十五 (Shíwǔ), you cannot speak in isolation 一 十五 (Yīshíwǔ). But if 115, then we say 一百一十五 (Yībǎi yīshíwǔ).
Units of measurement of numbers other than Russian
There are two numerals in Chinese that are not in Russian:
- 万 - wàn - ten thousand
- 亿 - yì - one hundred million
万 (wàn) 10.000 - For most Chinese learners, this number is a stumbling block. In Russian, numbers are divided into blocks of three digits (for example, 100.000). And in Chinese - into blocks of four digits (for example, 10.0000). Examples.
We are not certified sinologists, but we learned our Chinese while living in Beijing and traveling around the country. Therefore, we will not load you with encyclopedic knowledge and complex grammatical structures. On the contrary, the examples and explanations in this section will be presented as accessible as possible from the point of view of people who have nothing to do with Chinese.
The ten is sometimes also shown in the form of a fist, or a cross, with two hands.
The five is sometimes shown as a pinch with all five fingers up.
Give me two
To ask for a pie, water, a ticket, or anything else, you need to use the quantitative suffix ge (something between ga and ge, without stress) it will be, for example:
Ige = one piece
Liangge = two pieces (in this case, liang is used instead of er, like in Russian they say one and one for 1, in Chinese there is er and liang)
Sange = three pieces
Sige = four pieces, etc.
To buy something, all you have to do is point your finger at it and say "ige" or "lyange" or whatever you need. For persuasiveness, you can reinforce what was said with the right gesture.
And finally, an interesting curiosity. It may be needed only at the bank or at the post office, but in general it is interesting:
Chinese spelling of Arabic numerals
The Chinese use the same numbers a lot as we do, the traditional spelling is usually found only on signboards and old buildings, in peasant markets, in all other cases (in banks of building numbering, addresses, bus numbers, etc.) - ordinary, familiar numbers . But, unlike you and me, the Chinese have a very clear spelling of each number, no liberties - everything is like in hieroglyphs. If you miss the line or cross it with the next one, they may simply not understand what kind of sign it is. Indeed, in hieroglyphs it is like this: a little longer and that's it, a different hieroglyph, sound, meaning. Therefore, no freethinking, everything is clear according to the rules:
So do not try to draw all sorts of loops, ponytails, cross out the seven and the like. You are in China.
As in all countries of the world, they are used to represent various numbers. As well as everywhere else, Chinese numerals are divided into ordinal, which indicate the serial number of something, for example, first, second, and quantitative, indicating the amount or count.
Numbers in China, like all other written characters, are written using hieroglyphs. This is the main difference between Chinese numbers and European ones. Composite numbers are formed by combining hieroglyphs in the right order. Another significant difference between Chinese numerals is that they do not decline for cases, numbers, and genders. This makes them very easy to study, I tell you.
In China, you can count up to trillions, this will allow you to do this with a large number of digits in Chinese. Numerals can be written in two styles: regular and formal. Numbers written in normal style are used in Everyday life and have a simplified form. The formal style implies writing numbers in the form of a complex combination of hieroglyphs and is used mainly in official documents, invoices, checks in stores.
Numbers in China look like this:
| 一 | yī | 1 |
| 二 | Er | 2 |
| 三 | san | 3 |
| 四 | sì | 4 |
| 五 | wǔ | 5 |
| 六 | liu | 6 |
| 七 | qī | 7 |
| 八 | bā | 8 |
| 九 | jǐu | 9 |
| 零 | Ling | 0 |
In order to write down the numbers from 11 to 19, you must first write the character 十 (shí), which means "ten", then the numbers from one to nine are added. Similarly, you can write numbers from 20 to 99, the only difference is that the hieroglyph "ten" must be written not before the number, but after. If the number has a capacity in units, then it is indicated by the third hieroglyph on the right. Thus, to write down the numbers 20, 30, 40, 50, etc. two hieroglyphs are required, and for numbers like 25, 38, 99 - three.
If we talk about ordinal numbers, then everything is simpler. They are formed only with the prefix di (第), for example Dì yī - the first, Dì wǔ - the fifth, etc.
Interesting fact. In Chinese, all items are considered exclusively in pieces. For example, you can't say "two bananas", the Chinese say "three bananas".
Since ancient times, numbers in China have been used not only to denote numbers, but also as symbols. Odd numbers are masculine Yang, and even numbers are feminine Yin.
Briefly tell you what the Chinese numbers from 0 to 9 mean:
- the number 0 is used as a designation for completeness, emptiness and God. Zero is infinity, it has no beginning or end.
- the number 1 symbolizes leadership skills, honor and dignity and denotes continuous improvement and development.
- the number 2 is the balance between Yin and Yang, that is, between a woman and a man, also denotes cooperation. Often at wedding ceremonies you can see the hieroglyph of this number, because it means “double happiness”.
Number 3. According to the "Book of Changes", which describes all the numbers in China, the number 3 is the union of earth, sky and man. Three of luck, success and achievement of goals.
- the number 4 is the number of the material order, it symbolizes the material world. However, this figure can be compared with our number "13", it is also considered an unfavorable sign and in pronunciation is like the word "death". In Chinese hotels, you will not find a fourth floor and a fourth room;
The number 5 is water, fire, metal, wood and earth (philosophical elements), as well as health, longevity, love of life, prosperity and death (blessings). A very significant figure for the Chinese;
The number 6 is an auspicious number, similar to the word "prosperity";
- the number 7 is considered a female figure that determines her future life;
The number 8 denotes abundance, is used as a talisman and determines the life of a man;
- the number 9 contains the characteristics of all of the above numbers, therefore it is considered the number of the emperor.
These are such mysterious and interesting numbers in China, not just squiggles indicating quantity, but symbols of wisdom.