Counting in Chinese 1–100
Every number from zero to one hundred with characters, pinyin and audio — the whole system builds from just twelve words
0 – 10: the building blocks
11 – 100: the same words, recombined
Big round numbers
Counting in Chinese is famously the easiest part of the language: learn twelve words — 零 through 十 plus 百 — and you can say every number to one hundred, because the system is perfectly regular. Eleven is "ten-one" (十一), twenty is "two-ten" (二十), twenty-one is "two-ten-one" (二十一). No eleven/twelve/twenty exceptions like English.
The audio matters more than it looks: 四 (sì, four) and 十 (shí, ten) differ only by tone and one consonant, and mishearing 14 (十四) as 40 (四十) is the classic market mistake. Every number here is playable, so drill the pairs your ear confuses — then check yourself in the TonePerfect app.
How do you count to 100 in Chinese?
1–10 are 一二三四五六七八九十. Then stack: 11 = 十一 (ten-one), 20 = 二十 (two-ten), 21 = 二十一, 99 = 九十九, and 100 = 一百. Twelve words generate everything.
What is the difference between 二 and 两?
Both mean two. 二 (èr) is for counting and numbers (二十 twenty); 两 (liǎng) is used before measure words and big units: 两个人 two people, 两千 two thousand. Say 两 when "two of something".
Why do 十四 and 四十 sound so similar?
14 is shísì (ten-four) and 40 is sìshí (four-ten) — same syllables, opposite order, and tones 2-4 versus 4-2. Slow the audio down, drill both, and confirm with the seller's calculator when shopping in China — locals do too.
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