Lesson 2: Numbers 0-100
Master Chinese numbers, measure words, and how to ask quantities with 几 and 多少.
Overview
Numbers are everywhere: prices, phone numbers, dates, floors in a building, ages. The good news is that the Chinese number system is more logical than English. Once you learn 1-10 and the words for 100 and 1000, you can build any number you like. This lesson also introduces the all-important concept of measure words, which you will need every time you count something in Chinese.
Take numbers seriously from day one. Students who rush past this lesson later stumble when they reach prices, dates, and addresses.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson you can:
- Say and write numbers from 0 to 100
- Use the correct measure word with 个, 本, 张, and 杯
- Ask "how many?" using 几 for small numbers and 多少 for larger ones
- State your age and phone number in Chinese
Vocabulary
| Character | Pinyin | Type | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 零 | líng | number | zero | 零度 (zero degrees) |
| 一 | yī | number | one | 一个人 |
| 二 | èr | number | two | 二十 (twenty) |
| 两 | liǎng | number | two (with measure words) | 两个苹果 |
| 三 | sān | number | three | 三本书 |
| 四 | sì | number | four | 四点 (four o'clock) |
| 五 | wǔ | number | five | 五月 (May) |
| 六 | liù | number | six | 六号 (number six) |
| 七 | qī | number | seven | 七天 (seven days) |
| 八 | bā | number | eight | 八月 (August) |
| 九 | jiǔ | number | nine | 九点 (nine o'clock) |
| 十 | shí | number | ten | 十五 (fifteen) |
| 百 | bǎi | number | hundred | 一百 (one hundred) |
| 几 | jǐ | question | how many (small) | 你有几本书？ |
| 多少 | duōshao | question | how many/much | 多少钱？ |
Grammar Focus
Pattern 1: Number + measure word + noun
Structure: Number + Measure Word + Noun
Chinese requires a measure word between a number and a noun. The most common measure word is 个, which works for people and many generic objects. Other common ones: 本 for books, 张 for flat things like tickets and paper, 杯 for cups of drinks. There is no way around this: skipping the measure word sounds wrong to native speakers.
| Example | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 三个人 | sān gè rén | three people |
| 两本书 | liǎng běn shū | two books |
| 一张票 | yī zhāng piào | one ticket |
Common mistake: saying 两 before most measure words, but using 二 when combining numbers like 二十二 (twenty-two). Use 两 only directly before a measure word, not inside compound numbers.
Pattern 2: 几 vs 多少 for "how many"
Structure: 几 + measure word + noun (expects a small number, under 10) vs 多少 + noun (any quantity)
Both words ask "how many" but with different expectations. 几 implies the answer will be a small number and always needs a measure word. 多少 can follow directly before the noun without a measure word, and is used when the quantity could be large or unknown.
| Example | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 你有几个朋友？ | Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè péngyou? | How many friends do you have? |
| 班里有多少学生？ | Bān lǐ yǒu duōshao xuésheng? | How many students are in the class? |
| 你买了几张票？ | Nǐ mǎile jǐ zhāng piào? | How many tickets did you buy? |
Common mistake: using 几 when asking about price. Always use 多少 for prices: 多少钱, never 几钱.
Pattern 3: Building numbers 11-99
Structure: Tens digit + 十 + units digit
Chinese numbers from 11 to 99 are completely regular. Eleven is literally "ten-one" (十一), twenty is "two-ten" (二十), thirty-five is "three-ten-five" (三十五). There are no exceptions and no irregular forms like "twelve" or "forty."
| Example | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 十一 | shíyī | eleven |
| 二十五 | èrshíwǔ | twenty-five |
| 九十九 | jiǔshíjiǔ | ninety-nine |
Common mistake: saying 一十 for ten is technically correct in some dialects but sounds unusual in standard Mandarin. For standalone "ten," just say 十.
Dialogue
Buying fruit at a market stall.
顾客: 你好！苹果多少钱？ Nǐ hǎo! Píngguǒ duōshao qián? Hello! How much are the apples?
摊主: 一块五一斤。你要几斤？ Yī kuài wǔ yī jīn. Nǐ yào jǐ jīn? One fifty per jin. How many jin do you want?
顾客: 我要两斤。一共多少钱？ Wǒ yào liǎng jīn. Yīgòng duōshao qián? I want two jin. How much is that altogether?
摊主: 一共三块钱。 Yīgòng sān kuài qián. Three yuan altogether.
顾客: 好的，谢谢！ Hǎo de, xièxie! Great, thank you!
摊主: 不客气！再见！ Bù kèqi! Zàijiàn! You are welcome! Goodbye!
Practice
Exercise 1: Fill in the blank
- 我有 __ 本书。(three)
- 班里有 __ 学生？(how many, expect large number)
- 我今年 __ 岁。(twenty-two)
- 你要 __ 杯咖啡？(how many, small number)
- 一百 __ 五十 = 一百五十。(plus, no character needed, just note the pattern)
Exercise 2: Translate to Chinese
- I have five friends.
- How many books do you have?
- She is thirty-eight years old.
- Two cups of tea, please.
- There are forty-six students in the class.
Exercise 3: Answer these questions
- 你今年几岁？
- 你有几个兄弟姐妹？
- 你的电话号码是多少？
Cultural Note
The number 8 holds special significance in Chinese culture because its pronunciation bā sounds similar to 发 (fā), meaning to prosper or get rich. For this reason, phone numbers, licence plates, and even apartment floors containing many 8s command premium prices. The number 4, on the other hand, sounds like 死 (sǐ), meaning death, and is often considered unlucky. Many buildings in China skip floor 4 entirely, going straight from 3 to 5. When you give your phone number in Chinese, you read each digit individually, so 138 becomes yāo sān bā. Note that in this context, 1 is said as 幺 (yāo) rather than 一 (yī) to avoid confusion with 七 (qī) over the phone.