八 (bā) — 8 The luckiest number
八 sounds like 发 (fā), "to prosper." Phone numbers, license plates, and wedding dates containing 8 command premium prices. The Beijing Olympics opened on 08/08/2008 at 8:08 pm — three eights, chosen deliberately.
LANGUAGE GUIDE
Chinese Numbers: The Complete Guide
一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十
中文数字 1–100:拼音、声调与幸运数字。
从一到十,再到百千万——数字是中文里最简单的部分。为什么 8 吉利(八=发)、4 忌讳(四=死)?往下看。
From 1 to 10,000 — characters, pinyin, tones, hand gestures, lucky numbers, and the classic proverbs that Chinese numbers build.
Why Chinese Numbers Are the Easiest Part of the Language
If English said "ten-one" for 11, "two-ten" for 20, and "nine-ten-nine" for 99, children would learn to count years faster. That is exactly how Mandarin works. Once you know the ten basic numbers, everything up to 99 — and with 百, 千, 万, everything up to 99,999 — is pure, regular assembly. No "eleven," no "forty" spelled with a u, no "soixante-dix."
Chinese numbers are also everywhere in the culture's proverbs: 一诺千金 (a promise worth a thousand gold), 三思而后行 (think three times before acting), 百闻不如一见 (seeing once beats hearing a hundred times). Learn the numbers and a whole layer of meaning in classical sayings opens up.
Chinese Numbers 0–10,000 (Characters + Pinyin)
0
零
líng
1
一
yī
2
二 / 两
èr / liǎng
3
三
sān
4
四
sì
5
五
wǔ
6
六
liù
7
七
qī
8
八
bā
9
九
jiǔ
10
十
shí
100
百
bǎi
1,000
千
qiān
10,000
万
wàn
How to Count 11–100: The Pattern
| Number | Chinese | Pinyin | Logic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 十一 | shí yī | ten-one |
| 20 | 二十 | èr shí | two-ten |
| 21 | 二十一 | èr shí yī | two-ten-one |
| 99 | 九十九 | jiǔ shí jiǔ | nine-ten-nine |
| 100 | 一百 | yī bǎi | one hundred |
| 101 | 一百零一 | yī bǎi líng yī | one hundred zero one |
| 200 | 二百 | èr bǎi | two hundred |
The pattern: digit × 十 + digit. 21 is literally "two-ten-one" (二十一). For 101, insert 零 (líng, zero) as a placeholder: 一百零一. One grammatical fork to remember: 二 (èr) is "two" when counting, but 两 (liǎng) is "two" before things — 两个人 (two people), 两天 (two days).
Lucky & Unlucky Numbers in Chinese Culture
四 (sì) — 4 The unlucky number
四 sounds nearly identical to 死 (sǐ), "death." Many buildings in China skip the 4th floor entirely, just as Western buildings skip 13. Product model names avoid it; gift-giving in fours is a faux pas.
六 (liù) — 6 Smooth and lucky
六六大顺 (liù liù dà shùn) — "double six, everything goes smoothly" — makes 6 a favorite for license plates and phone numbers. In the I Ching hexagram system it also represents the yin lines.
九 (jiǔ) — 9 Long-lasting and imperial
九 sounds like 久 (jiǔ), "long-lasting" — ideal for weddings and anniversaries. It was also the emperor's number: the Forbidden City famously has 9,999 rooms, and imperial dragons were drawn with nine scales.
七 (qī) — 7 Mixed — lucky in love, careful with death
七 sounds like 起 (qǐ, "to rise") and is part of Valentine's Day (七夕, the seventh day of the seventh month). But 7 is also associated with funeral rites (头七, the seventh day after death), so context matters.
Chinese Proverbs Built on Numbers
Numbers appear in classical Chinese sayings constantly — sometimes literally, sometimes as classical emphasis for "many" or "all."
一诺千金 Yī nuò qiān jīn
A promise worth a thousand pieces of gold — one (一) times a thousand (千) in five characters. From the Han dynasty story of Ji Bu, whose word was so reliable it was valued above currency.
三思而后行 Sān sī ér hòu xíng
Think three (三) times before you act. In Chinese, "three" often simply means "several" — a scaling number rather than a literal count, just like English "a thousand times no."
百闻不如一见 Bǎi wén bù rú yī jiàn
Hearing a hundred (百) times is not as good as seeing once (一). Attributed to Han dynasty general Zhao Chongguo — numbers doing the work of emphasis.
十年树木，百年树人 Shí nián shù mù, bǎi nián shù rén
It takes ten (十) years to grow a tree, a hundred (百) years to cultivate a person. From Guanzi — education is the longest game there is.
百里不同风，千里不同俗 Bǎi lǐ bù tóng fēng, qiān lǐ bù tóng sú
A hundred li apart, different winds; a thousand (千) li apart, different customs. The li (里, about half a kilometer) is the classical measure of distance.
万物负阴而抱阳 Wàn wù fù yīn ér bào yáng
The ten thousand (万) things carry yin and embrace yang. In classical Chinese, 万物 — "ten thousand things" — simply means "everything in existence."
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Chinese numbers 1 to 10?
一 (yī), 二 (èr), 三 (sān), 四 (sì), 五 (wǔ), 六 (liù), 七 (qī), 八 (bā), 九 (jiǔ), 十 (shí). Zero is 零 (líng), one hundred is 百 (bǎi), one thousand is 千 (qiān), and ten thousand is 万 (wàn).
How do you count to 100 in Chinese?
11 is 十一 (ten-one), 20 is 二十 (two-ten), 21 is 二十一 (two-ten-one), and 99 is 九十九 (nine-ten-nine). The system is fully regular — once you know 1 through 10, you can count to 99 without learning anything new, and 100 is simply 一百.
What is the difference between 二 and 两?
Both mean "two." Use 二 (èr) when counting or doing math, and 两 (liǎng) before measure words and nouns: 两个人 (two people), 两天 (two days), 两年 (two years). A simple rule: if the "two" attaches to something, use 两.
Why is 8 lucky and 4 unlucky in Chinese culture?
Homophones: 八 (bā) sounds like 发 (fā, "to prosper"), making 8 the luckiest number — the Beijing Olympics opened on 08/08/08 at 8:08 pm. 四 (sì) sounds like 死 (sǐ, "death"), so many buildings skip the fourth floor and gifts come in sets of three, never four.
How do you say large numbers like 10,000 in Chinese?
Chinese groups numbers by ten-thousands, not thousands: 万 (wàn) = 10,000, 十万 = 100,000, 百万 = 1,000,000. So 50,000 is 五万 ("five ten-thousands") — learning to think in chunks of 万 is the key step for big numbers.
Numbers Are Just the Beginning
Explore 690+ genuine Chinese proverbs — with characters, pinyin, and full cultural context — or start with how to say thank you in Chinese.