Numbers: 0 to 100, Then 百, 千, 万, and 亿

Chinese numbers are one of the most logical systems you'll ever learn. Once you know the words for 0 through 10, you can build almost everything else by following a clear pattern. There are only a couple of quirks to watch for, and we'll cover those too.

The building blocks: 0 to 10

Start by memorizing these eleven words. Everything else is built from them.

0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
零 líng	一 yī	二 èr	三 sān	四 sì	五 wǔ	六 liù	七 qī	八 bā	九 jiǔ	十 shí

That's the hard part, and it's not even that hard.

11 to 99: just combine

Here's where the logic kicks in. Chinese builds these numbers exactly the way they sound in math.

Teens are "ten + digit":

• 11 = 十一 shí yī (ten one)
• 15 = 十五 shí wǔ (ten five)
• 19 = 十九 shí jiǔ (ten nine)

Round tens are "digit + ten":

• 20 = 二十 èr shí (two ten)
• 50 = 五十 wǔ shí (five ten)
• 90 = 九十 jiǔ shí (nine ten)

Everything in between stacks the two ideas: "digit + ten + digit":

• 21 = 二十一 èr shí yī (two ten one)
• 45 = 四十五 sì shí wǔ
• 88 = 八十八 bā shí bā

So if you can do the math, you can say the number. No memorizing forty separate words.

100 and up: 百, 千, 万

To go higher, you just add bigger place words:

• 百 bǎi = hundred

• 千 qiān = thousand

• 万 wàn = ten thousand

• 100 = 一百 yì bǎi

• 200 = 两百 liǎng bǎi

• 1,000 = 一千 yì qiān

• 5,000 = 五千 wǔ qiān

• 10,000 = 一万 yì wàn

Notice you say 一百 (one hundred), not just 百. You include the 一.

The big one: 万 and 亿

Here's the thing that trips up English speakers. English groups big numbers by thousands: thousand, million, billion. Chinese groups by ten-thousands.

• 万 wàn = 10,000
• 亿 yì = 100,000,000 (a hundred million)

So instead of "one million," Chinese thinks of it as "one hundred ten-thousands":

• 1,000,000 = 一百万 yì bǎi wàn (a hundred wan)

This feels strange at first, but you get used to it. The key is to stop translating "million" directly and start counting in 万. A big population or a salary will all be measured in 万.

Two things to watch for

两 vs 二. Both mean "two," but they're used differently.

• 二 èr is for counting and in numbers: 二十 (twenty), 第二 (second).
• 两 liǎng is for "two of something," before a measure word: 两个人 (two people), 两本书 (two books).

So you count "一, 二, 三" but you say 两个, not 二个. For the hundreds and thousands, you'll usually hear 两百 and 两千 rather than 二百, 二千.

零 for inner zeros. When a number has a zero in the middle, you say 零 líng to mark the gap:

• 105 = 一百零五 yì bǎi líng wǔ (one hundred, zero, five)
• 1,008 = 一千零八 yì qiān líng bā

You only need one 零 even if there are several zeros in a row, and you don't say it for zeros on the end. So 100 is just 一百, no 零 needed.

A handy shortcut: 十 alone

When 十 starts a number on its own, you can drop the 一 in front of it. For "ten" you just say 十, not 一十. But once it's inside a bigger number, the 一 may come back: 110 is 一百一十.

Quick recap

Learn 0 to 10, then build everything by combining. Teens are ten-plus-digit, round numbers are digit-plus-ten, and the big place words 百, 千, 万 stack on top. The two main traps are counting in 万 instead of millions, and using 两 instead of 二 before a measure word. Get comfortable with those and Chinese numbers become almost effortless.