Learn the Basics of Chinese Numbers: Count from 1 to 10 in Mandarin

Learning the basic numbers is a foundational skill for any adult. Numbers show up in all aspects of life, so we become quite used to how they work in our native language. However, learning even just the basics in another language can offer quick benefits, whether it's giving one insight into another way of thinking, or allowing one to make sense of prices or labels when traveling.

Luckily, starting with the numbers in Chinese is especially useful and straightforward. Many of the characters are often simpler in form, or in other words, they have fewer strokes than many other characters in Chinese. They also only consist of one syllable, so they can serve as good practice with the tones and sounds of Mandarin Chinese. Let's get into this exciting new number system.

Overview

The Numbers 1-10

One - (yī)一

Mnemonic: written with a single stroke, this character intuitively represents the number one.

It's important to note that even though the pinyin representation has a "y," the actual pronunciation of the word is simply "ee" without an initial consonant.

Two - (èr)二

Mnemonic: Written with two strokes, this character is another one that just makes sense.

Note that this sound is not quite the English "are" nor is it quite like the "arr" of a pirate; instead, the tongue is more forward in the mouth and the sound of the "r" is brief.

Three - (sān)三

Mnemonic: It's formed by three horizontal lines.

The vowel is similar to "ah" when indicating surprise. The other two consonants are similar to their English counterparts.

Four - (sì)四

Mnemonic: The character for four is square, with four sides.

The vowel here does not exist in English, however, it shouldn't be too hard to say. If you make an "oo" sound like in "Sue," you'll notice that your lips become quite rounded. All you need to do to say this correctly is to "unround" those lips by relaxing them. This will feel quite unnatural at first. It will be helpful to try mimicking the sound of the audio to fine-tune your ability.

Five - (wǔ)五

Mnemonic: The character for five kind of looks like a 5.

It's important to note that even though this character is written with "w" in pinyin, it's generally going to be pronounced as simply "oo" without any consonant sound.

Six - (liù)六

Mnemonic: This character kind of looks like a hat with legs. It's missing the head of which there are 6 main features: 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 nose, and 1 mouth.

This is another case where the pinyin can be misleading. The standard pronunciation of this character ends in an "oh" sound that rhymes with "low," and not in an "oo" sound suggested by the "u" in the pinyin. Some speakers may say the latter, though, depending on their dialect.

Seven - (qī)七

Mnemonic: This character resembles a hook that has made a catch. Lucky, just like the number 7.

This sounds very similar to "chee" but do note that it is not the exact same. To make this sound your tongue should be slightly further back.

Eight -(bā)八

Mnemonic: It depicts two steep lines, but they're not quite ninety degrees; rather, it stops short at eighty.

There's two ways you can think about this sound. 1. It's like "bah" but your vocal chords don't vibrate. 2. It's like "pah" but there's puff of air when you say it.

Nine - (jiǔ)九

Mnemonic: Similar to above but it now has a ninety degree bend.

The pinyin "j" is similar to the "j" in English but it has some key differences. Your tongue will be farther forward in the mouth and your vocal chords shouldn't be vibrating when you say it. If you pronounce it as "Joe" with the correct tone, you can probably be understood.

Ten - (shí)十

Mnemonic: It resembles a cross, and ten marks the crossover from the one's place to the ten's place.

This consonant is similar to "sh" in English but you need to curl your tongue backward towards the roof of your mouth. This vowel is actually completely different from the one in 四 sì (four). It's very similar to the "ur" in the word "purse."

Forming Numbers Greater than 10

It's actually quite straightforward to form numbers bigger than 10. You just need to know two things:

Examples:

All of the numbers from 11-99 follow this pattern. There are specific characters for 100, 1,000, and 10,000. These are (bǎi)百 , (qiān)千, and (wàn)万 , respectively. However, they must be paired with another number; they cannot stand alone.

While knowing the numbers is no doubt useful, it's just a small piece of the pie when learning a language. If you're looking for a comprehensive approach for learning Chinese from the basics all the way to fluency, we recommend you check out our Mandarin courses and software. If that sounds interesting, you can sign up and start your free trial today.