Chinese Numbers

Chinese numbers with characters, pinyin and audio: 1-10, how 11-99 is built from them, 100 and 1,000, hand signs, and which numbers are lucky.

How 11 to 99 work

Chinese numbers above ten are built, not memorised. 11 is 十一 (ten-one), 12 is 十二 (ten-two), and so on to 19. From 20 the pattern puts the multiplier first: 20 is 二十 (two-ten), 21 is 二十一 (two-ten-one), 45 is 四十五 (four-ten-five). Once you know 一 through 十 you can say every number below 100 without learning a single new word — which is why this page lists ten characters and not ninety-nine.

100, 1,000 and the 万 that trips people up

百 is 100 and 千 is 1,000, and both work like 十: 200 is 二百, 3,000 is 三千. The one that catches English speakers is 万 — it is 10,000, not 100,000, and Chinese groups large numbers in tens of thousands rather than thousands. So 100,000 is 十万 (ten ten-thousands) and a million is 一百万 (a hundred ten-thousands). 亿 continues the pattern at 100,000,000.

二 or 两 — both mean two

二 is the number two when counting, reading digits, or in larger numbers: 二十 (20), 第二 (second). 两 is the two you use before a measure word for two things: 两个人 (two people), 两天 (two days). Saying 二个人 marks you out as a learner faster than almost any other mistake.

Counting to ten on one hand

Chinese hand signs run 1-10 on a single hand, which is worth knowing because they are used constantly in markets and noisy places. One to five are the obvious extended fingers. Six extends thumb and little finger; seven brings the fingertips together to a point; eight is thumb and index finger extended like a gun; nine is a hooked index finger; ten crosses the index fingers, or makes a closed fist.

Lucky and unlucky numbers

八 (8) is the luckiest number because 八 sounds close to 发 (fā), as in 发财, to get rich — it is why phone numbers and licence plates full of eights sell at a premium. 六 (6) suggests 流, things flowing smoothly, and 九 (9) suggests 久, long-lasting, which is why it recurs in weddings. 四 (4) is avoided because 四 sounds like 死 (sǐ), death; buildings routinely skip the 4th, 14th and 24th floors the way Western buildings skip the 13th.

Wondering what changed in the 2026 syllabus? HSK 3.0 explained →