Everything you need to count, give a date, tell the time and pay in Chinese. Chinese numbers are very regular: once you know one to ten and four more characters, you can say any number.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Means | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 十一 | shíyī | 11 | ten + one |
| 十九 | shíjiǔ | 19 | ten + nine |
| 二十 | èrshí | 20 | two tens |
| 二十一 | èrshíyī | 21 | two tens + one |
| 九十九 | jiǔshíjiǔ | 99 | nine tens + nine |
| 一百 | yìbǎi | 100 | 百 = hundred; say the 一 |
| 一百零五 | yìbǎi líng wǔ | 105 | a gap in the middle is read as 零 |
| 一百一十 | yìbǎi yīshí | 110 | after 百, ten is 一十, not 十 |
| 一千 | yìqiān | 1,000 | 千 = thousand |
| 两千零二十六 | liǎngqiān líng èrshíliù | 2,026 | 两 before 千 and 万 is more common than 二 |
| 一万 | yíwàn | 10,000 | 万 = ten thousand; Chinese groups big numbers by four digits |
| 十万 | shíwàn | 100,000 | ten 万 |
| 一百万 | yìbǎiwàn | 1,000,000 | a hundred 万 |
| 一亿 | yíyì | 100,000,000 | 亿 = a hundred million |
Use 二 èr for counting, in phone numbers, in dates and inside bigger numbers (十二, 二十). Use 两 liǎng in front of a measure word: 两个人, 两本书, 两点 (two o'clock). Before 百 either is heard; before 千 and 万, 两 is more usual.
| Chinese | Pinyin | Means | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 二〇二六年 | èr líng èr liù nián | the year 2026 | Years are read digit by digit |
| 九月 | jiǔ yuè | September | Months are just number + 月: 一月 is January, 十二月 is December |
| 三十号 | sānshí hào | the 30th | 号 in speech, 日 rì in writing |
| 二〇二六年九月三十日 | èr líng èr liù nián jiǔ yuè sānshí rì | 30 September 2026 | Big to small: year, month, day |
| 星期一 | xīngqī yī | Monday | 星期 + 1 to 6 is Monday to Saturday |
| 星期天 | xīngqī tiān | Sunday | Also 星期日; 周一…周日 is common in writing |
| 今天几月几号？ | jīntiān jǐ yuè jǐ hào? | What is the date today? | |
| 今天星期几？ | jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? | What day is it today? |
| Chinese | Pinyin | Means | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 三点 | sān diǎn | 3:00 | 点 = o'clock |
| 两点 | liǎng diǎn | 2:00 | 两, not 二 |
| 三点十分 | sān diǎn shí fēn | 3:10 | 分 = minutes |
| 三点零五分 | sān diǎn líng wǔ fēn | 3:05 | 零 before single-digit minutes |
| 三点半 | sān diǎn bàn | 3:30 | 半 = half |
| 三点一刻 | sān diǎn yí kè | 3:15 | 一刻 = a quarter; 三刻 = 45 minutes |
| 差五分四点 | chà wǔ fēn sì diǎn | 3:55 | 差 = short of, five to four |
| 早上七点 | zǎoshang qī diǎn | 7 in the morning | The part of the day comes first: 早上 上午 中午 下午 晚上 |
| 现在几点？ | xiànzài jǐ diǎn? | What time is it? |
Time words go before the verb, and the order is big to small: 我明天上午九点去学校。 (I go to school at nine tomorrow morning: literally I tomorrow morning nine o'clock go school.)
| Chinese | Pinyin | Means | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 元 | yuán | yuan (written) | On price tags and in formal speech |
| 块 | kuài | yuan (spoken) | 五块钱 = five yuan |
| 毛 | máo | 0.1 yuan (spoken) | Written 角 jiǎo |
| 十块五 | shí kuài wǔ | 10.50 yuan | The last unit is often dropped |
| 多少钱？ | duōshao qián? | How much is it? |
Readings on numbers, time and dates: 数字真有趣 Numbers Are Fun · 几月几号 Months and Dates in Chinese · 几点了 Asking the Time in Chinese · 昨天今天明天 Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow · 已经十点了 Already Ten O'Clock · 迟到了 Running Late · 手表和时间 The Watch and Time · 什么时候 When in Chinese