Tutorial 4: Numbers from 10 to 99 - Chinese Numbers Explained

十

Now let's move on to higher numbers, ten (10):

十

shí

, and higher. Ten combines with other numbers in different ways to make larger numbers. The numbers immediately above ten are formed with a 十 followed by a digit. So in Chinese counting above ten is like saying "ten (plus) one", "ten two", "ten three", etc. Here are the numbers 10-19, the 'teens':

Teens
10	十	shí	ten
11	十一	shí yī	eleven
12	十二	shí èr	twelve
13	十三	shí sān	thirteen
14	十四	shí sì	fourteen
15	十五	shí wŭ	fifteen
16	十六	shí liù	sixteen
17	十七	shí qī	seventeen
18	十八	shí bā	eighteen
19	十九	shí jiŭ	nineteen

Starting with twenty we see how ten

十

shí

is different from the other numbers. Ten is a multiplier, meaning that when it follows a digit it multiplies that number. So for example

二十

èr shí

means 2 * 10 = 20. It's important to recognize the difference between this and

十二

shí èr

(12) above. A digit after a ten is just added to the ten, but a digit before the ten is multiplying it. Here is the table of tens, you may notice that to say ten you don't put the 一 in front of 十. For higher multiples of ten you have to put a digit in front of the ten:

Multiples of Ten
10	十	shí	ten
20	二十	èr shí	twenty
30	三十	sān shí	thirty
40	四十	sì shí	forty
50	五十	wŭ shí	fifty
60	六十	liù shí	sixty
70	七十	qī shí	seventy
80	八十	bā shí	eighty
90	九十	jiŭ shí	ninety

Also remember that you never use 十 and 两 together in any context:

Neither

十两

shí liǎng

nor

两十

liǎng shí

is correct.

So while you use 两 in front of 个 to say 'how many' if there are only two things, don't use 两 in larger numbers that end in two. For example, if there are 12 things, you would say:

Twelve Eggs
twelve	(unit)	eggs
十二	个	鸡蛋
shí èr	gè	jī dàn

To make more complex 2-digit numbers, you simply combine combine the ten-multiple with another digit. To say 42, for example, you have:

四十二

sì shí èr

, "four ten(s) (plus) two". Here are some more examples:

Two-digit Numbers
22	二十二	èr shí èr	twenty two
37	三十七	sān shí qī	thirty seven
45	四十五	sì shí wŭ	forty five
51	五十一	wŭ shí yī	fifty one
60	六十九	liù shí jiŭ	sixty nine
70	七十六	qī shí liù	seventy six
80	八十八	bā shí bā	eighty eight
99	九十九	jiŭ shí jiŭ	ninety nine

Next let's turn to some practical applications with numbers of one or two digits: times and dates.

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Next: Telling Time

Chinese Numbers for iPhone & iPad lets you practice numbers and counting anytime, anywhere you are. Has two modes to input numbers and a challenging game to test your translation skills.

Chinese Numbers Explained

The Teens: 10 - 19

Multiples of Ten

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