To count in Mandarin, you need eleven words: 零 (líng) for zero and 一 to 十 for one to ten. Every other Chinese number is built from those plus 百 (hundred), 千 (thousand) and 萬 (ten thousand): eleven is 十一, "ten one", and twenty is 二十, "two ten". In Taiwan you'll use numbers most for prices, so this guide goes from counting to the 兩 vs 二 question, measure words, and saying and hearing prices in New Taiwan dollars.
1 to 10
- 零líng · ㄌㄧㄥˊZero
Practice 四 (sì) and 十 (shí) as a pair. Four falls sharply and ten rises. In relaxed Taiwan speech the sh of 十 often softens toward s (more on that in Taiwan Mandarin vs mainland Mandarin), so the tone is what tells them apart, and at a counter that's the difference between 4 and 10.
一 changes its tone depending on what follows. Taiwan's Ministry of Education dictionary spells out the rule: on its own or at the end of a word, 一 is yī; before a fourth tone it becomes yí; before any other tone it becomes yì (Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary). So you count yī, èr, sān, but say 一百 as yìbǎi and 一萬 as yíwàn. The phrases below write 一 the way it's said, and our tones guide covers the other tone changes worth knowing.
11 to 99: ten-one, two-ten
The teens are 十 plus a digit: 十一 (shíyī) is 11, 十五 (shíwǔ) is 15. The tens are a digit plus 十: 二十 (èrshí) is 20, 五十 (wǔshí) is 50. Put the two patterns together and you can say anything up to 99: 二十一 (èrshíyī) is 21, 九十九 (jiǔshíjiǔ) is 99. There are no new words to learn between 11 and 99.
Hundreds, thousands and 萬
- 一千yìqiān · ㄧˋ ㄑㄧㄢOne thousand
- 一萬yíwàn · ㄧˊ ㄨㄢˋTen thousand
Above 99, add 百 (bǎi) for hundreds and 千 (qiān) for thousands, biggest first, in the same order as English: 365 is 三百六十五 (sānbǎi liùshíwǔ).
Two rules cover most of the rest. A zero in the middle is said once as 零, with no unit after it: 105 is 一百零五 (yìbǎi líng wǔ). And a number that ends in tens can drop its last unit: 150 is 一百五十 or just 一百五 (yìbǎi wǔ), which always means 150, never 105 (Chinese Grammar Wiki). You'll hear the short form constantly with prices.
The one new idea is 萬 (wàn). English groups digits in threes (thousand, million); Mandarin groups them in fours, so 10,000 is 一萬, "one ten-thousand", and you keep counting in 萬 from there.
| Number | Mandarin | Built as |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | 十一 shíyī | ten, one |
| 20 | 二十 èrshí | two tens |
| 35 | 三十五 sānshíwǔ | three tens, five |
| 105 | 一百零五 yìbǎi líng wǔ | one hundred, zero, five |
| 150 | 一百五十 yìbǎi wǔshí, or 一百五 | one hundred, five tens |
| 2,000 | 兩千 liǎngqiān | two thousands |
| 10,000 | 一萬 yíwàn | one ten-thousand |
| 100,000 | 十萬 shíwàn | ten ten-thousands |
| 1,000,000 | 一百萬 yìbǎi wàn | a hundred ten-thousands |
二 or 兩?
Mandarin has two words for two. 二 (èr) is the digit: you use it when counting (一, 二, 三), inside numbers (十二, 二十), and for "second" (第二). 兩 (liǎng) means two of something and goes before a measure word: 兩個 (liǎng ge, two of them), 兩杯 (liǎng bēi, two cups). The Ministry of Education dictionary's own examples for 兩 are 兩本書, "two books", and 兩姊妹, "two sisters" (entry).
Before 百, 千 and 萬, both are correct, but in Taiwan you'll mostly hear 兩: 兩百, 兩千, 兩萬. 兩百 is two third tones in a row, so in speech the first one rises: liáng bǎi. If you remember one rule, make it this: when you're counting things, say 兩.
Measure words: how to count things
In Mandarin a number can't go straight in front of a noun. A measure word goes in between: number, measure word, noun. 三個人 (sān ge rén) is "three people", with 個 sitting between 三 and 人.
個 (ge) is the general one, for people and for most things without a more specific word. 杯 (bēi) is for anything in a cup: coffee, tea, bubble tea (our bubble tea guide uses it in every order). 張 (zhāng) is for flat things: tickets, sheets of paper, tables. 碗 (wǎn) is a bowl of rice or noodles, and 份 (fèn) is a portion or set serving, which you'll see on menus and at night market stalls.
If you don't know the right measure word, 個 is the safe guess. It won't always be correct, but you'll be understood, and the reply often hands you the right word.
Bopomo is an iPhone app for speaking Mandarin with Lin, your AI tutor, on a trip around Taiwan. The first 500 on the waitlist get the founding price. Join the waitlist.
Money in Taiwan: 元 and 塊
Taiwan's currency is the New Taiwan dollar, 新臺幣 (xīn táibì), written NT$ in English. Notes come in 100, 200, 500, 1,000 and 2,000; coins in 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 (Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan)).
There are two words for "dollar". 元 (yuán) is the one you'll see written, on menus, receipts and price tags. 塊 (kuài) is the one people say. The Ministry of Education dictionary lists both as units of money and gives 塊 as equal to 元 (entry for 塊). You can add 錢 (qián, money) after 塊: 五十塊錢 and 五十塊 mean the same thing.
元 turns up in speech too, a little more formal, the way a cashier might read out a total. If you learned prices from a mainland course, the words are the same, written 块 and 元 there; only the currency differs.
Asking and hearing the price
- 一共yígòng · ㄧˊ ㄍㄨㄥˋAltogether, in total
Point, ask 這個多少錢, and you'll get a number back, usually with 塊 and often in the short form: 一百五 for 150, 兩百八 for 280. When you pay for several things, listen for 一共, "altogether", just before the total.
Price tags use ordinary numerals, usually with 元 or a dollar sign, so reading a price is easy. Hearing one at speed is the skill to practice. Prices in shops are generally fixed; our survival phrases for Taiwan cover the market stalls where asking for a little off is fine.
Practice it out loud
Numbers are easy to read and hard to catch at speed, and the fix is saying them. Count to ten, then read the prices around you aloud the way you'd hear them: 兩百五, 一百二, 八十塊. Tap the phrases above to hear Lin's Taiwanese voice, and if zhuyin is new to you, the zhuyin chart has every sign with its sound.
In Bopomo you speak with Lin, your AI tutor, on a trip around Taiwan, and she replies to what you actually said. It doesn't score each tone yet, so compare your 四 and 十 against her clips here.
Questions
How do you count to 10 in Chinese?
一 yī, 二 èr, 三 sān, 四 sì, 五 wǔ, 六 liù, 七 qī, 八 bā, 九 jiǔ, 十 shí. Zero is 零 (líng).
What's the difference between 二 and 兩?
Both mean two. Use 二 when counting and inside numbers (十二, 二十, 第二), and 兩 before a measure word: 兩個, 兩杯. Before 百, 千 and 萬 both work, and in Taiwan you'll mostly hear 兩.
How do you say prices in Taiwan?
Say the number and 塊: 五十塊 is NT$50. 元 means the same and is what you'll see written. To ask the price, say 多少錢? ("how much?").
How do you say 10,000 in Chinese?
一萬 (yíwàn). Mandarin counts in groups of four digits, so 100,000 is 十萬 and a million is 一百萬.
Do I always need a measure word?
Between a number and a noun, yes: 一杯咖啡 is one cup of coffee. If you don't know the right one, 個 is the general measure word and you'll be understood.
Keep reading
- How to order at a Taiwan night marketWhat to say at a Taiwan night market stall, from 雞排 and 鹽酥雞 to 臭豆腐 and bubble tea: pointing, asking the price, spice levels, to go or to eat here, with Lin's voice.
- Survival Mandarin for your first trip to Taiwan: 30 phrases30 Mandarin phrases for a first trip to Taiwan: greetings, getting help, the guesthouse, food, the MRT and money, with zhuyin, pinyin and Lin's voice.
- Taiwanese Hokkien vs Mandarin: what you'll hear in TaiwanMandarin (國語, 華語) is the language everyone in Taiwan shares; Taiwanese Hokkien (台語) is the other one you'll hear. How to tell them apart, and where.
