Numbers from zero to ninety-nine
Chinese Foundations · Lesson 7 of 11 · About 15 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can count from 0 to 99, read a phone number aloud, and you are ready for HSK 1 Unit 1.
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Warm-up: do you remember?
Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.
Grammar
Quick recall: where does 吗 go?
Show the answer
Answer: C, at the end of the sentence.
吗 goes at the very end: 你是学生吗？
New words
Zero to ten
| Number | Character | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 零 | líng |
| 1 | 一 | yī |
| 2 | 二 | èr |
| 3 | 三 | sān |
| 4 | 四 | sì |
| 5 | 五 | wǔ |
| 6 | 六 | liù |
| 7 | 七 | qī |
| 8 | 八 | bā |
| 9 | 九 | jiǔ |
| 10 | 十 | shí |
Listen closely to 四 (sì, four) and 十 (shí, ten): s with a flat tongue, sh with a curled one. Say them slowly until they feel different.
Eleven to ninety-nine
Bigger numbers are built like a sum: 十一 (shíyī) is ten + one = 11. 二十 (èrshí) is two tens = 20. 二十一 (èrshíyī) is 21 and 九十九 (jiǔshíjiǔ) is 99.
十五
shíwǔ
15
三十
sānshí
30
四十八
sìshíbā
48
Phone numbers: say each digit on its own. In phone and room numbers, 一 is often said yāo, so that it is not confused with 七 (qī).
一 (yī) often changes its tone inside words; you will meet that in HSK 1. When you count or read digits, it stays yī.
Speak: listen, record, compare
Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.
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Recording is not available in this browser. Listen, then repeat aloud and compare by ear.
一，二，三，四，五
yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ
one, two, three, four, five
六，七，八，九，十
liù, qī, bā, jiǔ, shí
six, seven, eight, nine, ten
九十九
jiǔshíjiǔ
ninety-nine
Practice
Characters
Which character is 6?
Show the answer
Answer: B, 六.
六 (liù) is 6. 八 (bā) is 8 and 九 (jiǔ) is 9.
Listening
Listen. Which number do you hear?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
七 qī
Show the answer
Answer: C, 7.
You heard 七 (qī): 7.
Word order
Build the number 21.
- 一
- 十
- 二
Show the answer
二十一 èrshíyī
21
Two tens (二十) and one (一): 二十一.
Your turn
Type 8 in pinyin.
Show the answer
Answer: bā
8 is bā (八), first tone: high and level.
Meaning
What number is 四十?
十四 is 14: ten first, then four.
Show the answer
Answer: A, 40.
四十 (sìshí) is four tens: 40. Fourteen is 十四, ten + four.
Fill the gap
Complete: 15 is …
十＿
Show the answer
Answer: B, 五.
十五 (shíwǔ) is ten + five.
Your mission: your numbers
Numbers are everywhere: prices, phone numbers, ages and dates.
- Say your phone number digit by digit in Chinese (use yāo for 1 if you like).
- Count from 1 to 20 out loud, then record it and listen for 四 and 十.
- Say the year you were born digit by digit: 1995 is 一九九五 (yī jiǔ jiǔ wǔ).
Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:
Review and finish
Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.
- I can count from 0 to 10 and build numbers up to 99.
- I say 四 (sì) and 十 (shí) differently.
- I read phone numbers digit by digit.
- I am ready for HSK 1 Unit 1: Meeting new people.
Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.