Lesson SixWhat number is this In this lesson we will focus on some more numbers in Chinese. So far we have learned the numbers one to ten. Let us count from 1 to10 together in Chinese. 一yī one, 二èr two, 三sān three, 四sì four, 五wǔ five, 六liù six, 七qī seven, 八bā eight, 九jiǔ nine and 十shí ten. Count the numbers from 11 to 19. Please note how the following numbers are formed. 十一shíyī: ten one = eleven, 十二shíèr: ten two = twelve, 十三shísān: ten three = thirteen, 十四shísì: ten four = fourteen, 十五shíwǔ: ten five = fifteen, 十六shíliù: ten six = sixteen, 十七shíqī: ten seven = seventeen, 十八shíbā: ten eight = eighteen and十九shíjiǔ: ten nine = nineteen. The numbers 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 are formed in the following way. Try to say these numbers in Chinese. 二十èrshí: two tens = twenty, 三十sānshí: three tens = thirty, 四十sìshí: four tens = forty, 五十wǔshí: five tens = fifty, 六十liùshí: six tens = sixty, 七十qīshí: seven tens = seventy, 八十bāshí: eight tens = eighty and 九十jiǔshí: nine tens = ninety. We know how to count from 1 to 99 in Chinese. How do you say numbers over 99 in Chinese? Basic expressions Let's learn the words
Let's try to do the following maths questions in Chinese. 100x1 = 100 100x2 =200 100x3 =300 100x4 =400 100x5 =500 100x6 =600 100x7 =700 100x8 =800 100x9 =900 The word for 1,000 is
Let’s practise the following maths questions. 1,000 x 1 = 1,000 1,000 x 2 = 2,000 1,000 x 3 = 3,000 Now read the following yourselves: 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000
万wàn ten thousand is a common unit in Chinese. This concept can be awkward for English speakers to grasp. Say the following maths questions. 10,000 x 1 = 10,000 10,000 x 2 = 20,000 10,000 x 3 = 30,000 10,000 x 4 = 40,000 Read the following numbers. 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,000 Examples of the numbers above ten thousand. 十 万shíwàn 100,000 二十万èrshíwàn 200,000 九十万jiǔshíwàn 900,000 一百万 yìbǎiwàn1,000,000 九百万jiǔbǎiwàn 9,000,000 一千万yìqiānwàn 10,000,000 九千万jiǔqiānwàn 90,000,000 As you may have noticed, 一百万yìbǎiwàn a hundred ten thousand, which means a million, is not a monosyllabic word in the Chinese counting system.
亿100 million is also a unit in the Chinese counting system. 十 亿shíyì 1,000,000,000 十二亿 shíèr yì 12,000,000,000
ConversationLet’s put the numbers into context. I would like to ask you the following questions: a. 你 家 有 多 少 人？ nǐ jiā yǒu duōshao rén your family have how many people How many people are there in your family?
b. (your answer in Chinese)
a. 你 们 班 有 多 少 人？ nǐmen bān yǒu duōshao rén your class have how many people How many people are there in your class?
b. (your answer in Chinese)
a. 英 国 有 多 少 人？ yīngguó yǒu duōshao rén U.K have how many people How many people are there in the U.K?
b. (your answer in Chinese )
a. 中 国 有 多 少 人？ zhōngguó yǒu duōshao rén China have how many people How many people are there in China?
b. (your answer in Chinese) Try to ask questions using these new words. Don’t worry about making mistakes. As the Chinese saying goes ‘failure is the mother of success’. Try to learn from mistakes. Notes on expressionsThe tone change of the number word一 yī one. We mentioned the tone-change of ‘不’ bù not in Lesson 5. Have you noticed that 一 one is in the first tone originally, but is pronounced in the fourth tone when it is followed by a first, second, or third tone? Read the following: 一 百 yìbǎi a hundred (the word one is followed by a third tone). 一 千 yìqiān a thousand (the word one is followed by a first tone). 一 年yìnián a year (the word one is followed by a second tone). When一 yī one is followed by a fourth tone, it is pronounced in the second tone as in the following. 一 万 yíwàn ten thousand (the word ‘one’ is followed by a fourth tone). 一 亿 yíyì a hundred million (the word ‘one’ is followed by a fourth tone). 一 个 yíge one [GE] (the word ‘one’ is followed by a fourth tone, although it is marked as a neutral tone). Tape version Part one: new words
Part two: expressions
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