Numbers one to ninety nine
You finished this day
Chinese numbers are about as regular as numbers get. Ten words and one rule take you to ninety nine, so today is mostly about tones and a single trap.
One to ten
Ten words, each one syllable, each one character.
Say them with their tones from the start, because one pair causes trouble at tills all over China. 四 sì falls and 十 shí rises, and sì has the tongue behind the teeth while shí curls it back, so a careless four can come out as ten. If a price matters and you are not sure you heard it, ask for it on a screen or hold up fingers.
Eleven to ninety nine
Everything above ten is assembled from the first ten.
The system is multiplication and addition said out loud. A number in front of 十 multiplies it and a number after adds to it, so 二十三, èrshísān, is two tens and three. There are no teens to memorise and nothing like eleven or twelve that breaks the pattern. Once you have one to ten you have every number to ninety nine.
How many, and two
Two question words, and the one number that has two words.
Chinese has two words for two. 二, èr, is the digit: it is used in counting, inside 二十 and in phone numbers. 两, liǎng, is the amount, used when you have two of something: 两个人, liǎng gè rén, two people. Say 二个人 and you will be understood, but it is one of the first things a teacher corrects. Both 五 and 九 are third tones, so a pair of them runs into the tone change from day 1: 五九 comes out as wú jiǔ.
Chinese speakers count six to ten on one hand. Six is the thumb and little finger out, seven is the fingertips pinched together, eight is the thumb and index finger in an L, nine is a hooked index finger, and ten is two index fingers crossed or a closed fist. In a noisy market a seller may answer your price question with a hand, so it is worth knowing what eight looks like.
8 questions. Get 5 right to finish the day.
Which is 4?
- 四 sì
- 九 jiǔ
- 十 shí
- 七 qī
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四 sì 四 sì falls. 十 shí rises, and is the one it gets confused with.
Type the pinyin for 10.
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shí Rising tone, with the tongue curled back.
九十九 means
- 19
- 99
- 9 times 9
- 909
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99 Nine tens and nine: 九十九. The same pattern builds every number to 99.
You want two coffees. Which word for two goes before the measure word?
- 十二 shí'èr
- 两 liǎng
- 二 èr
- 二十 èrshí
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两 liǎng 两 is two of something. 二 is the digit.
Which question word expects a small answer?
- 多少 duōshao
- 什么 shénme
- 哪 nǎ
- 几 jǐ
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几 jǐ 几 for roughly under ten, 多少 for anything.
Type 99 in pinyin.
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jiǔshíjiǔ Nine ten nine.
In a market, a seller holds up a thumb and index finger in an L. That is
- 8
- 6
- 7
- 10
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8 Six is thumb and little finger, eight is the L.
Why do 四 and 十 get mixed up?
- both are first tone
- a careless tongue position and tone can blur them
- they are only used in the south
- they are written alike
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a careless tongue position and tone can blur them sì falls with the tongue behind the teeth, shí rises with the tongue curled back.
Question 1 of 8
Character 1 of 16
Press Watch to see the stroke order.
Stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi via Hanzi Writer, Arphic Public License.