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Learn Chinese Numbers

This page covers Chinese (Mandarin) number words — a regular positional system with digits and place value characters. The key challenge is knowing when to use 零 (zero) as a gap marker.

Digits: 0–9

0 = 零 (líng)
1 = 一 (yī)
2 = 二 (èr)
3 = 三 (sān)
4 = 四 (sì)
5 = 五 (wǔ)
6 = 六 (liù)
7 = 七 (qī)
8 = 八 (bā)
9 = 九 (jiǔ)

10–99: tens

十 (shí) means 10. The pattern is digit + 十 for multiples of ten, 十 + digit for teens:

10 = 十
11 = 十一
20 = 二十
25 = 二十五
99 = 九十九

Quick check: 14, 30, 67?

14 十四 · 30 三十 · 67 六十七

Hundreds

百 (bǎi) means 100:

100 = 一百
200 = 二百
350 = 三百五十
101 = 一百零一 (零 marks the gap)

Thousands

千 (qiān) means 1,000:

1,000 = 一千
2,000 = 二千
5,678 = 五千六百七十八
1,001 = 一千零一

Large numbers: 万 (10,000+)

Chinese groups numbers in units of 10,000 (万, wàn):

10,000 = 一万
100,000 = 十万
1,000,000 = 百万

The zero (零) rules

零 is inserted as a placeholder when there is a gap between place values:

101 = 一百零一 (gap where tens would be)
1,001 = 一千零一 (gap where hundreds and tens would be)
1,010 = 一千零一十

Multiple consecutive zeros are represented by a single 零.