Temperature in Chinese: 四十点一度 Is 40.1, and 四十一点二度 Is 41.2
A temperature and a distance are both a number with a unit on the end, which makes them sound like the easy part of the language. They are, right up until the number has a decimal in it. Then the whole reading turns on where one syllable falls, and there is nothing else in the sound to help you.
This guide covers the two shapes: 度 (dù, degrees) with a decimal in the middle, and 公里 (gōng lǐ, kilometres) with a three-digit number in front. Both come with real Mandarin audio.
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Temperature in Chinese puts 点 in the middle and 度 at the end
The shape is: whole number, 点 for the decimal point, the digit after it, then 度.
点 is the same decimal word used in every other number, so the way decimals work here holds no surprises on its own. What makes temperature harder than a bare decimal is that the numbers cluster. Body readings live between about 35 and 42 degrees, so almost everything you hear starts with 三十 or 四十 and differs only in the last two syllables.
Countfu's temperature clips sit in that same band, because it is where one decimal digit changes what somebody does next. 36.6 is a normal reading. 37.3 is worth a second look. 39.8 sends you to a doctor. The difference between those is a single syllable in the middle of five.
四十点一度 and 四十一点二度: one syllable, a whole degree apart
Here are the two readings that give this page its title. Play them one after the other.
Both are five syllables. Both contain sì shí, a yi, a diǎn and dù. The only thing that separates 40.1 from 41.2 is which side of 点 that yi sits on, and at speaking speed that is a very small thing to hang a whole degree on.
The mistake it produces is not a near miss. Miss the position and you write 40.12, or you write 40.1 when the reading was 41.2. In a clinic that is the gap between fine and not fine.
| Heard | Written | Where the 一 is |
|---|---|---|
| 四十点一度 | 40.1 | after 点, so it is the decimal |
| 四十一点二度 | 41.2 | before 点, so it is part of 41 |
| 四十点一二度 | 40.12 | after 点, with a second digit behind it |
The tone tells you which side it is on. Look at the pinyin above. In 四十一点 the 一 is yì, fourth tone, because it is part of a counted number and takes the ordinary tone change before 点. In 四十点一 it is yī, first tone, because digits read out after a decimal point are a digit string, and digit strings never shift tone. So the syllable carries its own position. Once you can hear yì against yī, the ambiguity disappears. The 一 tone change guide covers where else this cue works.
One more word worth knowing: 摄氏 (shè shì) is Celsius and goes in front of the number, and 零下 (líng xià) is below zero, so a winter forecast can open with 零下五度 for minus 5. In daily speech Celsius is assumed and left out.
Distance is 公里, and the number is read in full
公里 is the kilometre. The unit is the simple part. What makes distances harder than weights is that road numbers run into the hundreds, and three-digit numbers have two shapes that nothing in English prepares you for.
The first is a zero in the middle:
The empty tens place is spoken. 零 (líng) goes in to mark it, and without that syllable the number would be 150. This is the same rule that runs through every Chinese number, and it has its own guide, but a distance is one of the places it turns up most, because road and rail figures land on numbers like 105 and 108 constantly.
The second shape is a one in the tens place:
English says "a hundred and thirteen" and never names the one ten. Chinese does: 一百 then 一十 then 三. The bare 十 only stands alone at the front of a number, as in 十三 for 13. Put a hundreds place in front and the ten gets its digit back.
Notice that both 一 in that clip are yì, fourth tone. They are counted, not spelled out, so both take the tone change, which is the opposite of what happened after 点 in the temperature above.
公里 also means speed. Per hour is usually dropped, so 一百二十公里 is 120 km as a trip length and 120 km/h on a speed sign. Only the situation separates them.
The two shapes side by side
| Measure | Unit | Shape | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 度 | number + 点 + one digit + unit | 三十六点六度 = 36.6° |
| Distance | 公里 | number in full + unit | 一百零五公里 = 105 km |
Height and weight take two more shapes, including one where the unit replaces the decimal point: see the height and weight guide.
How to train it
Nothing on this page is complicated to understand, and understanding it will not help you at speed. 四十一点二度 is over in about a second, there is no spare information in it, and if you spend that second working out where the 一 went, the next sentence has already started.
The fix is hearing many of them back to back and answering immediately, so a mistake is corrected while the sound is still in your head. Try these cold, answers below:
- 三十七点三度 (sān shí qī diǎn sān dù)
- 四十一点五度 (sì shí yì diǎn wǔ dù)
- 一百零八公里 (yì bǎi líng bā gōng lǐ)
- 一百二十三公里 (yì bǎi èr shí sān gōng lǐ)
37.3 degrees, 41.5 degrees, 108 km, 123 km. The aim is for the digits to arrive already grouped, with no step in between where you rebuild the number from its parts.
Get the decimal on the right side of 点
Countfu plays real Mandarin measurements and numbers, you type the digits. Free on the App Store.
Get countfu on the App StoreRelated reading
- Height and Weight in Chinese: 一米七五 and 六十五公斤: the other two measurement shapes, including the metre used as a decimal point.
- 百分之 and 点: Percentages and Decimals in Chinese: how 点 behaves in every other kind of number.
- 零 (Líng) in Chinese Numbers: One Zero Covers Any Gap: the rule behind 一百零五.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say temperature in Chinese?
Say the whole number, then 点 (diǎn) for the decimal point, then the digit after it, then 度 (dù) for degrees. 36.6 degrees is 三十六点六度. Celsius is assumed in daily speech, so 摄氏 (shèshì) is normally left out unless the scale has to be stated.
Is 四十一点二度 41.2 or 40.12?
It is 41.2. Everything before 点 is the whole number, so 四十一 is 41 and the single 二 after 点 is the decimal. For 40.12 you would hear 四十点一二度, with both digits after 点. The same syllables appear in both, and only their position around 点 separates them.
Why does 一 change tone before 点 but not after it?
Before 点 the 一 is part of a counted number, so the ordinary tone change applies and 四十一点 comes out as sì shí yì diǎn. After 点 the digits are read one by one as plain digit names, and digit strings take no tone change, so 四十点一 is sì shí diǎn yī. The tone of that one syllable tells you which side of the decimal point it is on.
How do you say a distance in Chinese?
A plain number followed by 公里 (gōnglǐ, kilometre): 88 km is 八十八公里 and 105 km is 一百零五公里. The same word covers speed when a car or a road sign is the subject, so 一百二十公里 on a sign is 120 km/h.
Why is 113 一百一十三 and not 一百十三?
Because a ten in the middle of a number keeps its own digit. 十 stands alone only when it starts the number, as in 十三 for 13. Once a hundreds place is in front of it, you get 一百一十三 (yì bǎi yì shí sān), where English says one hundred and thirteen with no word for the one ten.