Cardinal numerals less than 10,000
Cardinal numerals (基数词) are numerals used for counting: one, two, three. They are used to indicate the number of objects, people, occurrences, etc.
Arabic numerals are used
Arabic numerals are used to write numbers and figures in China. Chinese characters are used when a number should be written in words. For example “ten” instead of “10”.
Numbers are classified into digits. For example, ones, tens, hundreds and so on.
Besides the ones we know, there are some unique digits in Chinese, such as 10,000.
Let's consider each of them.
Numbers less than 100
Numerals from 0 to 10 consist of one character:
零 
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
八
九
十
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
八
九
十 Pay attention
The numeral "0" has two forms of spelling 零 and 〇.
〇 is only used in years: 二〇〇九 .
.
The ones digit is denoted by numbers from 1 to 9.
To form the numerals from 11 to 19 in tens digit, add numerals from 1 to 9 after the numeral 10.
Scheme
十
ones
Examples
十一
11
shíyī
十二
12
shí'èr
十八
18
shíbā
Pay attention
In numbers like 12, 20, 22 the "two" is only stated as 二. 两 cannot be used.
cannot be used.Add numerals from 2 to 9 in front of the word 十 to form round numbers like 20, 30, 40.
Scheme
number of tens
十
Examples
四十
40
sìshí
五十
50
wǔshí
Add numerals from 1 to 9 after the numeral tens to form numerals from 21 to 99.
Scheme
number of tens
十
ones
Examples
三十五
35
sānshíwǔ
二十九
29
èrshíjiǔ
九十八
98
jiǔshíbā
Numbers from 100 to 1000
The hundreds digit is denoted by the word 百 one hundred.
Add the numerals from 1 to 9 in front of the word 百 to form round numbers like 200, 300, 400.
one hundred.
Add the numerals from 1 to 9 in front of the word 百 to form round numbers like 200, 300, 400. Pay attention
It is necessary to say one ''一'' to say numbers like 100, 1000, 10000. It applies to all numbers from 100 and over.
For example, the number 100 is stated as 一百 .
.Examples
三百
300
sānbǎi
二百
200
èrbǎi
Pay attention
In colloquial speech, 200 is stated as 两百.
Add tens and ones digits to the hundreds digit to form numerals from 101 to 999.
Examples
四百五十三
453
sìbǎi wǔshísān
七百八十九
789
qībǎi bāshíjiǔ
一百二十
120
yìbǎi èrshí
Pay attention
If a number has the digits of hundreds and tens, but no digits of ones, the word 十 can be omitted. These are numbers that end in 0.
For example, 120 can be stated as 一百二十 or 一百二 .
or 一百二 .If the number after a hundred is from 10 to 19, the one ''一'' in the tens digit must be stated.
For example:
115 is stated as 一百一十五
719 is stated as 七百一十九
719 is stated as 七百一十九 If there is a zero in the middle of the numeral, it must also be stated.
For example:
705 is stated as 七百零五
102 is stated as 一百零二
102 is stated as 一百零二 Pay attention
If zero is not stated, the number 七百五 will be taken as 750 and the number 一百二 will be taken as 120.
Numbers from 1000 to 10 000
The thousands digit is denoted by the word 千 .
Add the numerals from 1 to 9 in front of the word 千 to form numerals like 1000, 2000, 3000.
If there are other digits in the number, write them in order.
.
Add the numerals from 1 to 9 in front of the word 千 to form numerals like 1000, 2000, 3000.
If there are other digits in the number, write them in order.Examples
五千
5000
wǔqiān
二千一百五十三
2153
èrqiān yìbǎi wǔshísān
Pay attention
In colloquial speech 2000 is stated as 两千.
If there is a zero in the middle of a numeral, it must be stated.
For example:
2022 is stated as 二千零二十二 .
If there are several consecutive zeros in the middle of a numeral, "0" is said only once.
For example:
2002 is stated as 二千零二 .
.
If there are several consecutive zeros in the middle of a numeral, "0" is said only once.
For example:
2002 is stated as 二千零二 .