Learn Chinese numbers by ear.
Listening-first guides for learners who know the number words on paper but cannot catch them at native speed. Written by the team behind Countfu, with native-speaker review.
Start here
Chinese Numbers 1 to 100: A Listening Guide
The foundation. How everything from 0 to 99 is built from eleven sounds, why the system is more regular than English, and the 14 vs 40 trap.
Chinese Big Numbers: How 万 and 亿 Regroup Everything You Know
Chinese groups by ten thousand, not thousand. How the 万 and 亿 ladder works and why 三十五万 is 350,000, not 35,000.
The rules and their traps
Why 三百五 Means 350 in Chinese, Not 305
Spoken Chinese drops the final unit word. Why 三百五 is 350, how 零 marks a real zero, and where this catches you in prices and rent.
Sì vs Shí: How to Stop Mishearing 4 and 10 in Chinese
Sì falls, shí rises. The tone cue that separates 4 from 10 when the consonants blur, plus the famous tongue twister.
Liang vs Er: When Two Is 两 and When It Is 二 in Chinese
Two words for the digit 2, one clean rule for which you will hear where: 两个 and 两点, but 二十二.
Real-world numbers
Chinese Prices by Ear: Kuài, Máo, and Real Shop Talk
块 and 毛, the register shops and taxis actually use, and why ¥3.50 arrives as 三块五.
Chinese Discount Numbers: Why 打八折 Means 20% Off
打八折 means you pay 80%, so the discount is 20%. The inversion, the 折 conversion table, and 百分之 percentages.
Chinese Phone Numbers: Why 1 Is Pronounced Yāo (幺)
Eleven digits in a 3-4-4 rhythm, with 幺 standing in for 1 so it never sounds like 7.
Telling Time in Chinese: Why 两点 Is 2:00, Plus 半, 刻, and 差
两点 is 2:00 and never 二点. Halves with 半, quarters with 刻, and the 差 countdown pattern.
How to Say Dates in Chinese: Year, Month, Day, in That Order
Year first, digit by digit: 二零二六年. Then month, then day, the reverse of the US order.