In the previous two articles in our series for Chinese numbers, numbers up to 1000 and numbers above 1000, we provided a complete guide for rules and examples of how the number system works from basic one to ten with Chinese characters, and all the way up to a trillion and beyond in Mandarin Chinese.
But spelling out these Chinese numerals may just be step one, the more important thing is to know how to properly use them in our daily life.
This article is a simple guide (but in detail) for the most common usages for numbers in our daily life - counters and ordinal numbers.
The most obvious task for numbers is, no doubt, to count things.
We've touched on this topic in the guide for numbers up to 1000.
To simply count from 1 up, we say:
一,二,三,四,五……
This is literally Chinese numerals starting from 1.
But more often, we would count specific things, and to do that, measure words must be used in combination with numbers.
As a refresher, some examples are given here.
Chinese | Pinyin | English | |
1 | 一个橘子 | yī gè jú zi | an orange |
2 | 两个人 | liǎng gè rén | two people |
3 | 三名学生 | sān míng xué shēng | three students |
4 | 四位老师 | sì wèi lǎo shī | four teachers |
5 | 五只小狗 | wǔ zhǐ xiǎo gǒu | five dogs/puppies |
6 | 六头猪 | liù tóu zhū | six pigs |
7 | 七对耳环 | qī duì ěr huán | seven pairs of earrings |
8 | 八双筷子 | bā shuāng kuài zi | eight pairs of chopsticks |
9 | 九副眼镜 | jiǔ fù yǎn jìng | nine pairs of glasses |
10 | 十本小说 | shí běn xiǎo shuō | ten novels |
11 | 十一张纸 | shí yī zhāng zhǐ | eleven sheets of paper |
12 | 十二片叶子 | shí èr piàn yè zi | twelve leaves |
13 | 十三块牛肉 | shí sān kuài niú ròu | thirteen pieces of beef |
14 | 十四根香肠 | shí sì gēn xiāng cháng | fourteen sausages |
15 | 十五条蛇 | shí wǔ tiáo shé | fifteen snakes |
16 | 十六把刀 | shí liù bǎ dāo | sixteen knives |
17 | 二十件衣服 | èr shí jiàn yī fú | twenty clothes |
18 | 两百辆车 | liǎng bǎi liàng chē | two hundred cars |
The format of counting items is number + measure word + item.
The number part is the same as Chinese numerals, which we introduced in Chinese numbers I and II. The only exception is two, here we would use 两 instead of 二.
As for the measure words, it's a whole topic by itself. This is because there are many different measure words for different things in Chinese.
Here, some common ones are introduced.
The most general measure word is 个, as given in examples 1-2 above.
In examples 2-4, we are counting people. While you can use the universal one - 个, more specific measure words are used for people with different identities and professions. 名 can be used generally for people, while 位 is more respectful.
In examples 5 and 6, 只 and 头 are both animal measure words. 只 is typically used for small animals, while 头 is used for large animals.
For examples 7-9, all of 对, 双, and 副 means a pair of something.
对 can be used for inanimate things, like jewelry, as well as a pair of people that are matched up (couples, twins, etc.). All of them also exist individually but with a "partner".
双 is generally used for things that come together, like limbs and organs (e.g., hands, feet, legs) as well as things to put on limbs (e.g., shoes and socks).
As for 副, the usage is less obvious. It's generally used when something as a whole consists of a pair of two parts. Therefore, a pair of glasses uses 副. However, as a convention, people also use 副 for pairs of bracelets (both 对 and 副 work) and gloves.
In example 10, 本 is used for books, including novels, magazines, dictionaries, and anything that's bound together.
In example 11, 张 is used for flat things. Like sheets of paper (not bound together), stamps, tables, and sometimes chairs.
In example 12, 片 is used for flat pieces of things. Like leaves and pieces (slices) of bread. However, 片 can also be used for large areas of things, like meadows and the ocean.
In example 13, 块 also means pieces, but the shape is lumpy. Or you can translate it into blocks of things. So, for pieces of meat (beef, chicken, pork, etc.) and cake, we can use 块.
For examples 14-15, both 根 and 条 are used for long things.
根 is generally used for cylindrical long things, and they are typically stiff, like bananas, sausages, needles, steel bars, instrument strings, chopsticks (if counting each one), cigarettes, etc.
While for 条, it's generally used for flat and long things, and they are typically flexible, like snakes, fish, scarves, pants (in Chinese, a pair of pants is considered an individual item), legs (if counting each one), rivers, etc.
Of course, the rules are not always restricted, both 根 and 条 work for things like ropes, braids, chains, etc.
In example 16, 把 is typically used for things with handles, including certain tools, furniture, and silverware. Some examples are chairs, forks, umbrellas, hammers, scissors, and knives.
In example 17, 件 is often used for clothes. But it can also be used for events or things that take place - 一件事 means one thing (can be any general thing that happens, but not objects/items).
In example 18, 辆 is a measure word for vehicles, including cars, buses, bikes, etc.
Although we've mentioned a handful of different measure words here, we only covered far from half of them! But this is a good starting point.
As you progress in Chinese language skills, you'll be able to learn more and use different measure words properly!
As a side note, sometimes people also use dozens in Chinese - the word is 打 (dá).
一打啤酒 (yī dá pí jiǔ) - a dozen beers
一打铅笔 (yī dá qiān bǐ) - a dozen pencils
It can generally be used for any items that count 12 for each part.
Sometimes in Chinese, we count things without a measure word. In other words, the objects themselves come with "measure", or they are units themselves.
Some examples are:
Chinese | Pinyin | English | |
1 | 两次/遍 | liǎng cì/biàn | twice |
2 | 一百人 | yī bǎi rén | a hundred people |
3 | 三小时 | sān xiǎo shí | three hours |
4 | 五天 | wǔ tiān | five days |
5 | 两年 | liǎng nián | two years |
6 | 二十二岁 | èr shí èr suì | 22 years old |
In example 2, we can see that 人 (people/person) can be used directly after a number, which is similar to 一百个人 with the measure word 个. Here, for 人, with or without 个 both works.
In examples 3-5, when we count for a period of time, including seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years, we use number + time period.
Note that we must use 个 for months (月), for example, 四个月 instead of 四月. This is because the former means four months, while the latter means the fourth month or April.
The last example is how we count for age: number + 岁.
And for all the numbers used in these examples, when we count 2, we use 两 not 二.
A special occasion that happens often is we when want to count halves.
Half an hour, 3 and a half pieces, 2 and a half years, half of an apple…
How do we do this in Chinese?
The answer is using the word 半 (bàn), which means "half" in Chinese.
The general formats are given here:
半 + measure word + object - half of something
半 + object (with measure) - half of something
X + measure word + 半 + object - x and a half something
X + object (with measure) + half - x and a half something
For clearer demonstration, some specific examples following these formats are given below:
半个苹果, half an apple
两个半苹果, 2 and a half apples
半根香蕉, half a banana
三根半香蕉, 3 and a half bananas
半分钟, half minutes
三分半, three and a half minutes
半小时, half an hour
两个半小时, 2 and half hours
半个月, half a month
三个半月, 3 and a half month
半天, half a day
四天半, 4 and a half days
半年, half a year
五年半, 5 and a half years
半岁, half years old
六岁半, 6 and a half years old
Apart from counting, numbers are also commonly used for orders and rankings.
It's actually quite straightforward to use Chinese numerals as ordinal numbers.
The most common form for ordinal numbers is 第 (dì) + number:
第一,第二,第三……
First, second, third…
The numbers here are the same as Chinese numerals, including two, which is 二. This is where it's different from the Chinese counters that we discussed above, where 两 is used for two.
Some more specific use cases for ordinal numbers are:
第一天 (dì yī tiān), first day
第二名 (dì èr míng), second place
第三个 (dì sān gè), the third one
第四次 (dì sì cì), the fourth time
Here, the format is 第 + number + measure word/object, and this is the general way used for ordinal numbers.
But there are also other forms of ordinal numbers used without 第, for example:
二号 (èr hào), number two
二月十二号 (èr yuè shí èr hào), February 12th
三哥 (sā gē), third brother (older than you)
四弟 (sì dì), fourth brother (younger than you)
六楼 (liù lóu), sixth floor
When used without 第, the word following the number is not a measure word, but directly the object with the order indicated by the number.
Something to keep in mind is that anything, when used without 第, becomes a counter, then we must include 第 to explicitly make it an ordinal number.
For example, 一天 (one day) vs. 第一天 (first day).
Overall, using numbers for counting and ordering is straightforward, and is very common in our everyday life. Hence, this is an important topic for Chinese learners.
In addition to what we've talked about here, there are also other situations where we use numbers, for one, mathematics of course. For another, prices to pay for things - something we encounter almost every day.
The next and last article in our series will discuss in detail more common usages for numbers in Chinese.