Would you like to learn how to read and say Chinese numbers more naturally? This page is a practical place to begin. Chinese numbers appear everywhere in daily life when you talk about prices, dates, times, addresses, phone numbers, page numbers, measurements, and totals.

This guide takes you step by step through Mandarin Chinese numbers. You will start with the most useful numerals to memorize, then learn the main rules from 1 to 1000, and finally see how larger numbers are grouped and used in real situations.

This page focuses on the standard modern Mandarin system. Unlike Korean, modern Chinese does not use a separate everyday number system for the same kinds of counting, but it does regularly appear in more than one written form depending on region and context.

Before you continue, it helps to know how the page labels Chinese number forms. The charts use Simplified, Traditional, and Pinyin, and later you will also see the special financial numerals used to prevent fraud in formal money writing.

• Simplified is the standard written form used in mainland China and Singapore.
• Traditional is still used in places such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and many overseas Chinese communities.
• Pinyin shows how the Mandarin number is pronounced using the Latin alphabet.
• Financial numerals are more complex anti-fraud forms used in checks, receipts, accounting, and other formal financial contexts.

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Every Chinese Numeral You Need First

Start with the big picture. These are the key Chinese numerals worth memorizing early. Most other Chinese numbers are built by combining them in regular patterns.

Number	Simplified	Traditional	Pinyin	Number	Simplified	Traditional	Pinyin
0	零	零	líng	21	二十一	二十一	èr shí yī
1	一	一	yī	30	三十	三十	sān shí
2	二	二	èr	40	四十	四十	sì shí
3	三	三	sān	50	五十	五十	wǔ shí
4	四	四	sì	60	六十	六十	liù shí
5	五	五	wǔ	70	七十	七十	qī shí
6	六	六	liù	80	八十	八十	bā shí
7	七	七	qī	90	九十	九十	jiǔ shí
8	八	八	bā	100	一百	一百	yì bǎi
9	九	九	jiǔ	101	一百零一	一百零一	yì bǎi líng yī
10	十	十	shí	200	二百	二百	èr bǎi
11	十一	十一	shí yī	300	三百	三百	sān bǎi
12	十二	十二	shí èr	400	四百	四百	sì bǎi
13	十三	十三	shí sān	500	五百	五百	wǔ bǎi
14	十四	十四	shí sì	600	六百	六百	liù bǎi
15	十五	十五	shí wǔ	700	七百	七百	qī bǎi
16	十六	十六	shí liù	800	八百	八百	bā bǎi
17	十七	十七	shí qī	900	九百	九百	jiǔ bǎi
18	十八	十八	shí bā	1,000	一千	一千	yì qiān
19	十九	十九	shí jiǔ	10,000	一万	一萬	yí wàn
20	二十	二十	èr shí	100,000,000	一亿	一億	yí yì

Once these core forms become familiar, the rest of the Chinese number system becomes much easier to follow.

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The Rules: Chinese Numbers 1–1000

Main Numbers in Chinese: Units and Tens

Begin with the units from 0 to 9 and the main ten, shí (十). These are the foundation for a large share of Mandarin numbers.

Units	Simplified	Traditional	Pinyin	Tens	Simplified	Traditional	Pinyin
0	零	零	líng	10	十	十	shí
1	一	一	yī	20	二十	二十	èr shí
2	二	二	èr	30	三十	三十	sān shí
3	三	三	sān	40	四十	四十	sì shí
4	四	四	sì	50	五十	五十	wǔ shí
5	五	五	wǔ	60	六十	六十	liù shí
6	六	六	liù	70	七十	七十	qī shí
7	七	七	qī	80	八十	八十	bā shí
8	八	八	bā	90	九十	九十	jiǔ shí
9	九	九	jiǔ

After you know these, you can already form many more numbers. Chinese builds larger numbers in a very regular pattern, although tone changes and the use of liǎng in some contexts add a little nuance.

Examples in Use

• Zhè běn shū yǒu bā (八) yè. — This book has eight pages.
• Piàojià shì sì shí (四十) kuài. — The ticket costs 40 yuan.
• Nà fèn bàogào yǒu jiǔ shí (九十) yè. — That report has 90 pages.

How Chinese Builds 11–99

Chinese forms numbers from 11 to 99 in a regular way. Start with shí (十) for ten, then add the unit. Tens are formed by placing the unit before shí (十).

Number	Simplified	Traditional	Pinyin
11	十一	十一	shí yī
12	十二	十二	shí èr
14	十四	十四	shí sì
16	十六	十六	shí liù
20	二十	二十	èr shí
21	二十一	二十一	èr shí yī
35	三十五	三十五	sān shí wǔ
48	四十八	四十八	sì shí bā
67	六十七	六十七	liù shí qī
99	九十九	九十九	jiǔ shí jiǔ

This regular structure is one reason Chinese numbers feel manageable quite quickly. Once the tens are secure, the rest of the range becomes much more predictable.

Quick pattern: [unit] + shí (十) + [unit]

Examples in Use

• Wǒ zài děng èr shí yī (二十一) lù gōngjiāochē. — I am waiting for bus number 21.
• Nà dòng lóu yǒu sān shí wǔ (三十五) céng. — That building has 35 floors.
• Wǒmen de jiàoshì shì liù shí qī (六十七) hào. — Our classroom is room 67.

Counting 100 to 1000

Once you can count from 1 to 99, the hundreds and thousands become much easier. Chinese forms the hundreds with bǎi (百) and the thousands with qiān (千).

Number	Simplified	Traditional	Pinyin
100	一百	一百	yì bǎi
200	二百 / 两百	二百 / 兩百	èr bǎi / liǎng bǎi
300	三百	三百	sān bǎi
400	四百	四百	sì bǎi
500	五百	五百	wǔ bǎi
600	六百	六百	liù bǎi
700	七百	七百	qī bǎi
800	八百	八百	bā bǎi
900	九百	九百	jiǔ bǎi
1,000	一千	一千	yì qiān

A key Chinese nuance is that liǎng is often preferred before measure words and larger units, so many speakers naturally say liǎng bǎi or liǎng qiān in speech, even though èr still appears in many numeral forms. Another important rule is that Chinese uses líng (零) whenever there is a skipped place value inside a number.

Number	Simplified	Traditional	Pinyin
101	一百零一	一百零一	yì bǎi líng yī
125	一百二十五	一百二十五	yì bǎi èr shí wǔ
242	二百四十二 / 两百四十二	二百四十二 / 兩百四十二	èr bǎi sì shí èr / liǎng bǎi sì shí èr
518	五百一十八	五百一十八	wǔ bǎi yì shí bā
999	九百九十九	九百九十九	jiǔ bǎi jiǔ shí jiǔ

Examples in Use

• Zhè suǒ xuéxiào yǒu yì bǎi líng yī (一百零一) nián de lìshǐ. — This school has a history of 101 years.
• Wǒ xiànzài dú dào yì bǎi èr shí wǔ (一百二十五) yè. — I am reading page 125 now.
• Jīntiān de huódòng yǒu wǔ bǎi yì shí bā (五百一十八) gè rén cānjiā. — 518 people joined today’s event.

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Large Numbers in Chinese

Chinese groups large numbers differently from English. Instead of moving only from thousands to millions, Chinese uses wàn (万 / 萬) for ten thousand and yì (亿 / 億) for one hundred million.

Number	Simplified	Traditional	Pinyin
1,000	一千	一千	yì qiān
10,000	一万	一萬	yí wàn
20,000	两万 / 二万	兩萬 / 二萬	liǎng wàn / èr wàn
100,000	十万	十萬	shí wàn
1,000,000	一百万	一百萬	yì bǎi wàn
100,000,000	一亿	一億	yí yì

This grouping matters because Mandarin speakers often process large figures in units of ten thousand rather than only in millions. That is one of the clearest modern differences between Chinese number usage and how English usually groups large values.

Number	Simplified	Traditional	Pinyin
1,225	一千二百二十五	一千二百二十五	yì qiān èr bǎi èr shí wǔ
22,000	两万二千 / 二万二千	兩萬二千 / 二萬二千	liǎng wàn èr qiān / èr wàn èr qiān
305,400	三十万五千四百	三十萬五千四百	sān shí wàn wǔ qiān sì bǎi
2,300,000	二百三十万	二百三十萬	èr bǎi sān shí wàn

Examples in Use

• Zhège chéngzhèn dàyuē yǒu liǎng qiān wǔ bǎi (两千五百 / 兩千五百) gè jūmín. — This town has about 2,500 residents.
• Zhè jiā gōngsī měi yuè yíngyè’é shì sān shí wàn wǔ qiān sì bǎi (三十万五千四百 / 三十萬五千四百) yuán. — This company’s monthly revenue is 305,400 yuan.
• Zhège xiàngmù de yùsuàn shì yí yì (一亿 / 一億) yuán. — The budget for this project is 100,000,000 yuan.

The Units “Wan” and “Yi” Matter

In Chinese, large numbers become much easier to read once you think in groups of wàn (万 / 萬) and yì (亿 / 億). This is especially helpful for reading prices, population figures, business reports, and statistics.

Useful Notes About Chinese Numbers

• Modern Chinese commonly uses more than one written form: simplified and traditional numerals represent the same spoken number system, but the character set changes by region.
• Financial numerals are still relevant: formal money writing often switches to specialized anti-fraud characters instead of the everyday forms.
• Liǎng vs. èr matters: speakers often prefer liǎng before classifiers and larger units, while èr remains standard in many counting patterns and fixed forms.
• Zero must often be spoken: forms like yì bǎi líng yī (一百零一) show how Chinese uses líng when a place value is skipped.

Financial Numerals in Chinese

Chinese also has a second set of number characters used mainly in banking, accounting, invoices, and checks. These forms are more complex so they are harder to alter fraudulently by adding a few strokes.

Number	Everyday Simplified	Everyday Traditional	Financial Simplified	Financial Traditional	Pinyin
0	零	零	零	零	líng
1	一	一	壹	壹	yī
2	二	二	贰	貳	èr
3	三	三	叁	參	sān
4	四	四	肆	肆	sì
5	五	五	伍	伍	wǔ
6	六	六	陆	陸	liù
7	七	七	柒	柒	qī
8	八	八	捌	捌	bā
9	九	九	玖	玖	jiǔ
10	十	十	拾	拾	shí
100	百	百	佰	佰	bǎi
1,000	千	千	仟	仟	qiān
10,000	万	萬	万	萬	wàn
100,000,000	亿	億	亿	億	yì

Real-Life Chinese Number Examples

• Zhè ge dìzhǐ shì sì shí bā (四十八) hào. — This address is number 48.
• Jīntiān shì sān yuè shí èr rì (三月十二日). — Today is March 12.
• Huìyì zài qī diǎn sān shí fēn (七点三十分 / 七點三十分) kāishǐ. — The meeting starts at 7:30.
• Zhège diànhuà hàomǎ hán yǒu líng yī líng (零一零). — This phone number includes 010.
• Zhè běn shū dào yì bǎi yī shí jiǔ (一百一十九) yè jiéshù. — This book ends on page 119.

Continue Learning Chinese Numbers

Once you understand the main patterns, it becomes much easier to read, write, and recognize Chinese numbers in real situations. Use chart pages, date lessons, time lessons, and quiz pages to keep strengthening your understanding.