Day 8: Numbers
★ Chinese numbers are the easiest part of the language, and possibly of any language. There are no teens, no irregular tens, no backwards numbers. 11 is "ten-one". 25 is "two-ten-five". 99 is "nine-ten-nine". Learn ten words and you can count to 99.
Two things need real attention: 二 vs 两 (section 3) and ★ the fact that Chinese groups digits by ten-thousands, not thousands (section 4) — which is where every English speaker loses track of prices.
1. Zero to ten
| 0 | 零 líng | 6 | 六 liù | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 yī | 7 | 七 qī | |
| 2 | 二 èr | 8 | 八 bā | |
| 3 | 三 sān | 9 | 九 jiǔ | |
| 4 | 四 sì | 10 | 十 shí | |
| 5 | 五 wǔ |
⚠️ Tone traps in this list, from Day 2: 四 sì — the i is a buzz, not "see" · 十 shí — retroflex + buzz · 六 liù — iu = "you" · 七 qī — q = ch, smiling · 二 èr — the retroflex r vowel
★ 四 sì and 十 shí are the pair to drill. They differ by the initial series (flat vs retroflex) and the tone — and they come up in every price you will ever hear.
2. ★ Building every number to 99
### Tens: number + 十 · Units: 十 + number
| 11 | 十一 | ten-one |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 十二 | ten-two |
| 20 | 二十 | two-ten |
| 25 | 二十五 | two-ten-five |
| 48 | 四十八 | four-ten-eight |
| 99 | 九十九 | nine-ten-nine |
★ That is the entire system. Compare German achtundvierzig (eight-and-forty) or English eleven, twelve, thirteen — Chinese has no irregularities at all.
Past a hundred
| 100 | 一百 yìbǎi | ⚠️ needs the 一 |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | 一百零一 | ★ 零 fills an internal gap |
| 110 | 一百一十 | |
| 250 | 两百五十 | |
| 1,000 | 一千 yìqiān | |
| 10,000 | ★ 一万 yíwàn |
⚠️ ★ 零 marks a gap inside a number: 101 = 一百零一, 1,005 = 一千零五. English does this with "and" — "a hundred and one".
3. ⚠️★ 二 or 两?
Both mean "two". They are not interchangeable.
| Use | Which | Example |
|---|---|---|
| counting, numbers, dates, phone numbers | 二 | 一,二,三 · 十二 · 二月 |
| ★ before a measure word | ★ 两 liǎng | 两个人 · 两杯咖啡 |
| 200, 2000 | 两 | 两百 · 两千 |
| 20 | 二 | 二十 |
★ 两 is the "two of something" word. Any time a measure word follows (all of Day 11), you must use 两.
| ✅ | ❌ |
|---|---|
| 两个人 | |
| 两杯咖啡 | |
| 十二个 | (二 inside a bigger number is fine) |
★ The rule in one line: counting → 二 · counting THINGS → 两.
4. ⚠️★ Chinese groups by ten thousand
### English breaks numbers every 3 digits. Chinese breaks them every 4.
| English | ★ Chinese | |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | ten thousand | ★ 一万 — one unit |
| 100,000 | a hundred thousand | 十万 — ten 万 |
| 1,000,000 | ★ a million | ★ 一百万 — a hundred 万 |
| 10,000,000 | ten million | 一千万 |
| 100,000,000 | a hundred million | 一亿 yì |
★ This is genuinely hard, and re-anchoring is the only fix. Stop translating through "million". Learn 万 = 10,000 as a unit in its own right, the way you know dozen without converting, and then 一百万 is simply "a hundred of those".
⚠️ It matters because of money. A meal is 三十块 (30), a phone is 五千块 (5,000), a car is 十万块 (100,000). ★ You will hear 万 constantly.
5. Money
| Written | ★ Spoken | |
|---|---|---|
| 元 yuán | ★ 块 kuài | the main unit |
| 角 jiǎo | ★ 毛 máo | 1/10 |
| 分 fēn | 分 | 1/100 — effectively extinct |
★ 块 is what people say; 元 is what is printed. Say 块.
| 多少钱? Duōshao qián? | How much is it? |
|---|---|
| 三十块。 | 30 yuan |
| 三十五块五。 | 35.5 — ★ the last unit is usually dropped |
| 太贵了! Tài guì le! | Too expensive! |
| 便宜一点儿吧。 Piányi yìdiǎnr ba. | A bit cheaper, please |
Phone numbers
Digit by digit, and ★ 一 yī becomes 幺 yāo in phone numbers, to avoid confusion with 七 qī:
138-0013-5678 → 幺三八, 零零幺三, 五六七八
6. Dialogue
Alex: 你好,这个多少钱?老板: 三十五块。Alex: 三十五? 有点儿贵。便宜一点儿吧。老板: 三十块,不能再少了。Alex: 好,我要两个。老板: 两个六十块。Alex: 给你一百。老板: 找你四十。谢谢!(在咖啡店)Alex: 我要两杯咖啡。服务员: 好的,一共四十八块。Alex: 可以刷卡吗?服务员: 可以。
★ 两个 and 两杯 — both before measure words, so 两, never 二.★ And the numbers ran through 三十五 · 三十 · 六十 · 一百 · 四十 · 四十八 with no irregularity anywhere.
7. Exercises
A. Say it in Chinese.
- 7 2. 11 3. 20 4. 25 5. 48 6. 99 7. 100 8. 101
B. ⚠️ 二 or 两?
- ___十 2. ___个人 3. 十___ 4. ___杯咖啡 5. ___百 6. ___月 (February)
C. ⚠️★ Group by 万.
- 10,000 2. 50,000 3. 1,000,000 4. 5,000
D. Money.
- How much is it? 2. 30 yuan. 3. Too expensive! 4. A bit cheaper, please.
E. ⚠️ Which two numbers are the pair to drill, and why?
F. Read these aloud, then write the numeral.
- 七十六 2. 三百二十 3. 一千零五 4. 两万
G. ⚠️ Fix the mistake.
- 二个人
- 一百一 (meaning 101)
- 三十五元 (said out loud)
- 二杯咖啡
Answers
A. 1. 七 2. 十一 3. 二十 4. 二十五 5. 四十八 6. 九十九 7. 一百 8. 一百零一 B. 1. 二十 2. 两个人 3. 十二 4. 两杯 5. 两百 6. 二月 C. 1. 一万 2. 五万 3. ★ 一百万 4. 五千 D. 1. 多少钱? 2. 三十块。 3. 太贵了! 4. 便宜一点儿吧。 E. ★ 四 sì and 十 shí — flat vs retroflex, different tones, and both appear in every price F. 1. 76 2. 320 3. 1,005 4. 20,000 G. 1. 两个人 2. 一百零一 — needs 零 3. 三十五块 — say 块 4. 两杯咖啡
8. Today's 10 sentences (flashcards)
- 多少钱? Duōshao qián? — How much is it?
- 三十块。 Sānshí kuài. — 30 yuan
- 太贵了! Tài guì le! — Too expensive!
- 便宜一点儿吧。 Piányi yìdiǎnr ba. — A bit cheaper, please
- 我要两个。 Wǒ yào liǎng ge. — I want two
- 两杯咖啡。 Liǎng bēi kāfēi. — Two coffees
- 一共多少钱? Yígòng duōshao qián? — How much altogether?
- 可以刷卡吗? Kěyǐ shuākǎ ma? — Can I pay by card?
- 我二十五岁。 Wǒ èrshíwǔ suì. — I'm 25
- 给你一百。 Gěi nǐ yìbǎi. — Here's 100
9. 📲 Upload to LangNote
Upload sections 2–4 and section 8 → study language Chinese.
| Mission | What to do with it today |
|---|---|
| 🎧 Podcast | Count 1–100 out loud with it. Boring, and the only thing that works |
| ✍️ Dictation | Today's key mission. ★ 四 vs 十 and 万 vs 百万 — this is a pure ear problem |
| 🗣 Shadowing | 一 to 十, then the prices |
| 📖 Vocab | 二/两 as ★ one card with the rule, so they never separate |
| ❓ Quiz | 二 vs 两, and 万 grouping |
★ Say ten real prices out loud tonight — things in your room, in yuan. It drills 块, the numbers and 万 all at once, and prices are where your ear will fail first.
Tomorrow: time and dates — and Chinese puts them in the opposite order to English.
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