{"id":1388,"date":"2026-01-30T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/?p=1388"},"modified":"2026-01-19T00:39:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T00:39:02","slug":"chinese-numbers-in-mandarin-the-complete-guide-to-counting-from-0-to-100","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/chinese\/chinese-numbers-in-mandarin-the-complete-guide-to-counting-from-0-to-100\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese Numbers in Mandarin: The Complete Guide to Counting from 0 to 100+"},"content":{"rendered":"\n <p>\n        Mastering Chinese numbers is one of the quickest wins for anyone starting Mandarin. The system is logical and\n        consistent: once you learn 0\u201310, you can build almost everything else by combining a few simple patterns.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        In this guide, you\u2019ll learn how to count from <strong>0 to 100+<\/strong>, how to say the most common number\n        patterns out loud, and the biggest mistakes learners make\u2014so you can use numbers confidently in real life\n        (prices, dates, phone numbers, addresses, and time).\n      <\/p>\n      <hr \/>\n\n    <section aria-labelledby=\"why-easier\">\n      <h2 id=\"why-easier\">Why Chinese Numbers Are Easier Than You Think<\/h2>\n      <p>\n        Chinese numbers are regular and predictable. Unlike English (which has unique words like <em>eleven<\/em> and\n        <em>twelve<\/em>), Chinese forms numbers by combining basic building blocks.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>Once you can count to ten, you\u2019re already most of the way there.<\/p>\n      <hr \/>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section aria-labelledby=\"numbers-0-10\">\n      <h2 id=\"numbers-0-10\">Chinese Numbers 0\u201310<\/h2>\n      <p>These are the core numbers you should memorize first. Everything else is built from them.<\/p>\n\n      <table>\n        <caption>Chinese numbers from 0 to 10 in characters and pinyin<\/caption>\n        <thead>\n          <tr>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Number<\/th>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Character<\/th>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Pinyin<\/th>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Notes<\/th>\n          <\/tr>\n        <\/thead>\n        <tbody>\n          <tr>\n            <td>0<\/td>\n            <td>\u96f6<\/td>\n            <td>l\u00edng<\/td>\n            <td>\u201czero\u201d<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>1<\/td>\n            <td>\u4e00<\/td>\n            <td>y\u012b<\/td>\n            <td>\u201cone\u201d<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>2<\/td>\n            <td>\u4e8c<\/td>\n            <td>\u00e8r<\/td>\n            <td>used in counting\/math<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>3<\/td>\n            <td>\u4e09<\/td>\n            <td>s\u0101n<\/td>\n            <td>\u201cthree\u201d<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>4<\/td>\n            <td>\u56db<\/td>\n            <td>s\u00ec<\/td>\n            <td>\u201cfour\u201d<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>5<\/td>\n            <td>\u4e94<\/td>\n            <td>w\u01d4<\/td>\n            <td>\u201cfive\u201d<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>6<\/td>\n            <td>\u516d<\/td>\n            <td>li\u00f9<\/td>\n            <td>\u201csix\u201d<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>7<\/td>\n            <td>\u4e03<\/td>\n            <td>q\u012b<\/td>\n            <td>\u201cseven\u201d<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>8<\/td>\n            <td>\u516b<\/td>\n            <td>b\u0101<\/td>\n            <td>\u201ceight\u201d<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>9<\/td>\n            <td>\u4e5d<\/td>\n            <td>ji\u01d4<\/td>\n            <td>\u201cnine\u201d<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>10<\/td>\n            <td>\u5341<\/td>\n            <td>sh\u00ed<\/td>\n            <td>\u201cten\u201d<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n        <\/tbody>\n      <\/table>\n\n      <hr \/>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section aria-labelledby=\"pronunciation-tips\">\n      <h2 id=\"pronunciation-tips\">Pronunciation Tips (Quick and Practical)<\/h2>\n      <ul>\n        <li>\n          <strong>\u56db (s\u00ec)<\/strong> and <strong>\u5341 (sh\u00ed)<\/strong> can feel similar at first, especially in fast speech.\n          Practice them side by side until you can hear and say the difference clearly.\n        <\/li>\n        <li>\n          <strong>\u4e94 (w\u01d4)<\/strong> is not \u201cwoo.\u201d Keep it short and tight\u2014closer to \u201coo\u201d with a soft <strong>w<\/strong>\n          start.\n        <\/li>\n        <li>\n          <strong>\u4e03 (q\u012b)<\/strong> sounds like \u201cchee,\u201d but with a crisp <strong>q<\/strong> sound (like <em>\u201cch\u201d<\/em> with\n          the tongue slightly more forward).\n        <\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <hr \/>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section aria-labelledby=\"numbers-11-19\">\n      <h2 id=\"numbers-11-19\">Numbers 11\u201319 (The \u201cTen + Number\u201d Pattern)<\/h2>\n      <p>Chinese forms 11\u201319 in a very clean way:<\/p>\n\n      <p><strong>Pattern:<\/strong><br \/>\n        <strong>10 + number<\/strong> \u2192 <strong>\u5341 + (1\u20139)<\/strong>\n      <\/p>\n\n      <table>\n        <caption>Numbers 11\u201319 in Mandarin<\/caption>\n        <thead>\n          <tr>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Number<\/th>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Character<\/th>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Pinyin<\/th>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Literal meaning<\/th>\n          <\/tr>\n        <\/thead>\n        <tbody>\n          <tr>\n            <td>11<\/td>\n            <td>\u5341\u4e00<\/td>\n            <td>sh\u00ed y\u012b<\/td>\n            <td>ten + one<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>12<\/td>\n            <td>\u5341\u4e8c<\/td>\n            <td>sh\u00ed \u00e8r<\/td>\n            <td>ten + two<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>15<\/td>\n            <td>\u5341\u4e94<\/td>\n            <td>sh\u00ed w\u01d4<\/td>\n            <td>ten + five<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>19<\/td>\n            <td>\u5341\u4e5d<\/td>\n            <td>sh\u00ed ji\u01d4<\/td>\n            <td>ten + nine<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n        <\/tbody>\n      <\/table>\n\n      <p>\n        There are no special words for \u201celeven\u201d or \u201ctwelve.\u201d You simply say <strong>\u201cten one\u201d<\/strong> and\n        <strong>\u201cten two.\u201d<\/strong>\n      <\/p>\n\n      <hr \/>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section aria-labelledby=\"numbers-20-99\">\n      <h2 id=\"numbers-20-99\">Numbers 20\u201399 (The \u201cX Ten Y\u201d Pattern)<\/h2>\n      <p>Once you reach 20, the rest becomes very systematic.<\/p>\n\n      <p><strong>Pattern:<\/strong><br \/>\n        <strong>(number) + ten + (number)<\/strong><br \/>\n        \u2192 <strong>(2\u20139) + \u5341 + (0\u20139)<\/strong>\n      <\/p>\n\n      <table>\n        <caption>Numbers 20\u201399 in Mandarin<\/caption>\n        <thead>\n          <tr>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Number<\/th>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Character<\/th>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Pinyin<\/th>\n            <th scope=\"col\">Literal meaning<\/th>\n          <\/tr>\n        <\/thead>\n        <tbody>\n          <tr>\n            <td>20<\/td>\n            <td>\u4e8c\u5341<\/td>\n            <td>\u00e8r sh\u00ed<\/td>\n            <td>two ten<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>21<\/td>\n            <td>\u4e8c\u5341\u4e00<\/td>\n            <td>\u00e8r sh\u00ed y\u012b<\/td>\n            <td>two ten one<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>34<\/td>\n            <td>\u4e09\u5341\u56db<\/td>\n            <td>s\u0101n sh\u00ed s\u00ec<\/td>\n            <td>three ten four<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>58<\/td>\n            <td>\u4e94\u5341\u516b<\/td>\n            <td>w\u01d4 sh\u00ed b\u0101<\/td>\n            <td>five ten eight<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n          <tr>\n            <td>99<\/td>\n            <td>\u4e5d\u5341\u4e5d<\/td>\n            <td>ji\u01d4 sh\u00ed ji\u01d4<\/td>\n            <td>nine ten nine<\/td>\n          <\/tr>\n        <\/tbody>\n      <\/table>\n\n      <h3>Notes<\/h3>\n      <ul>\n        <li>Chinese doesn\u2019t use hyphens for numbers.<\/li>\n        <li>You don\u2019t insert extra words between the parts\u2014just combine the building blocks.<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n\n      <hr \/>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section aria-labelledby=\"two-special-case\">\n      <h2 id=\"two-special-case\">The Special Case of \u201c2\u201d: \u4e8c (\u00e8r) vs \u4e24 (li\u01ceng)<\/h2>\n      <p>Chinese has two common ways to say \u201ctwo\u201d:<\/p>\n      <ul>\n        <li><strong>\u4e8c (\u00e8r)<\/strong> is used in <strong>counting, math, and exact number names<\/strong>.<\/li>\n        <li><strong>\u4e24 (li\u01ceng)<\/strong> is commonly used <strong>before measure words<\/strong> (like \u201ctwo people,\u201d \u201ctwo cups,\u201d etc.).<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n\n      <h3>Examples<\/h3>\n      <ul>\n        <li><strong>\u4e8c\u5341 (20)<\/strong> uses <strong>\u4e8c<\/strong><\/li>\n        <li><strong>\u4e24\u4e2a\u4eba (two people)<\/strong> uses <strong>\u4e24<\/strong> + measure word <strong>\u4e2a<\/strong><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n\n      <h3>What about 22?<\/h3>\n      <p>In everyday speech, you may hear both:<\/p>\n      <ul>\n        <li><strong>\u4e8c\u5341\u4e8c (\u00e8r sh\u00ed \u00e8r)<\/strong><\/li>\n        <li><strong>\u4e24\u5341\u4e8c (li\u01ceng sh\u00ed \u00e8r)<\/strong> (more regional \/ casual)<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n\n      <p>\n        For learners, <strong>\u4e8c\u5341\u4e8c<\/strong> is the safest, most standard form\u2014especially in formal contexts.\n      <\/p>\n\n      <hr \/>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section aria-labelledby=\"after-100\">\n      <h2 id=\"after-100\">Counting After 100 (100+)<\/h2>\n      <p>\n        Once you reach 100, Chinese is still consistent. The key new idea is using <strong>\u96f6 (l\u00edng)<\/strong> to show a\n        <em>skipped place value<\/em>.\n      <\/p>\n\n      <h3>100<\/h3>\n      <ul>\n        <li><strong>100 = \u4e00\u767e (y\u00ec b\u01cei)<\/strong><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n\n      <blockquote>\n        <p>\n          Note: <strong>\u4e00 (y\u012b)<\/strong> often changes tone before <strong>\u767e (b\u01cei)<\/strong> in natural speech, so you\u2019ll\n          commonly hear <strong>y\u00ec b\u01cei<\/strong>.\n        <\/p>\n      <\/blockquote>\n\n      <h3>101<\/h3>\n      <ul>\n        <li><strong>101 = \u4e00\u767e\u96f6\u4e00 (y\u00ec b\u01cei l\u00edng y\u012b)<\/strong><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p>You need <strong>\u96f6<\/strong> because the \u201ctens\u201d place is missing.<\/p>\n\n      <h3>105<\/h3>\n      <ul>\n        <li><strong>105 = \u4e00\u767e\u96f6\u4e94 (y\u00ec b\u01cei l\u00edng w\u01d4)<\/strong><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p>Again, <strong>\u96f6<\/strong> shows the missing tens.<\/p>\n\n      <h3>110<\/h3>\n      <ul>\n        <li><strong>110 = \u4e00\u767e\u4e00\u5341 (y\u00ec b\u01cei y\u012b sh\u00ed)<\/strong><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p>No <strong>\u96f6<\/strong> needed because the tens place is present.<\/p>\n\n      <h3>150<\/h3>\n      <ul>\n        <li><strong>150 = \u4e00\u767e\u4e94\u5341 (y\u00ec b\u01cei w\u01d4 sh\u00ed)<\/strong><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p>No <strong>\u96f6<\/strong> needed.<\/p>\n\n      <hr \/>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section aria-labelledby=\"common-mistakes\">\n      <h2 id=\"common-mistakes\">Common Mistakes to Avoid<\/h2>\n\n      <h3>1) Adding \u201cone\u201d before ten<\/h3>\n      <ul>\n        <li>\u2705 <strong>10 = \u5341 (sh\u00ed)<\/strong><\/li>\n        <li>\u274c <strong>\u4e00\u5341 (y\u012b sh\u00ed)<\/strong> (not standard)<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n\n      <h3>2) Forgetting \u96f6 (l\u00edng) in numbers like 101 or 105<\/h3>\n      <ul>\n        <li>\u2705 <strong>101 = \u4e00\u767e\u96f6\u4e00<\/strong><\/li>\n        <li>\u2705 <strong>105 = \u4e00\u767e\u96f6\u4e94<\/strong><\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p>Without <strong>\u96f6<\/strong>, the number can become unclear or sound like a different structure.<\/p>\n\n      <h3>3) Mixing up \u56db (s\u00ec) and \u5341 (sh\u00ed)<\/h3>\n      <p>\n        In fast speech, these can be confusing for beginners\u2014especially in prices or phone numbers. Practice minimal\n        pairs and record yourself to check clarity.\n      <\/p>\n\n      <hr \/>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <section aria-labelledby=\"practice\">\n      <h2 id=\"practice\">How to Practice Chinese Numbers Effectively<\/h2>\n      <p>Try short, daily practice that imitates real life:<\/p>\n      <ul>\n        <li>Count objects around you (books, cups, steps).<\/li>\n        <li>Say prices when you shop (even quietly to yourself).<\/li>\n        <li>Read phone numbers digit by digit.<\/li>\n        <li>Practice both <strong>speaking<\/strong> and <strong>writing<\/strong> so the characters stick.<\/li>\n      <\/ul>\n      <p>Five minutes a day is enough if you\u2019re consistent.<\/p>\n      <hr \/>\n    <\/section>\n\n    <footer>\n      <h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n      <p>\n        Chinese numbers are one of the most logical parts of Mandarin. Memorize <strong>0\u201310<\/strong>, learn the patterns\n        for <strong>11\u201399<\/strong>, and then add <strong>\u767e (b\u01cei)<\/strong> and <strong>\u96f6 (l\u00edng)<\/strong> to handle\n        <strong>100+<\/strong> smoothly.\n      <\/p>\n      <p>\n        Once it \u201cclicks,\u201d you\u2019ll start noticing numbers everywhere\u2014prices, dates, addresses, and times\u2014and you\u2019ll be\n        able to understand and say them with far less effort.\n      <\/p>\n    <\/footer>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mastering Chinese numbers is one of the quickest wins for anyone starting Mandarin. The system is logical and consistent: once you learn 0\u201310, you can build almost everything else by combining a few simple patterns. In this guide, you\u2019ll learn how to count from 0 to 100+, how to say the most common number patterns [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1389,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chinese"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1388"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1390,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1388\/revisions\/1390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bunpo.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}