Numbers 0-999; 二 vs 两; 半
【一07】数词
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
Chinese numbers are perfectly logical. Learn 零 (0) to 十 (10), then 百 (100).
• 11 = 十一 (ten-one), 15 = 十五
• 20 = 二十 (two-ten), 25 = 二十五
• 99 = 九十九, 100 = 一百, 206 = 二百零六 (零 fills the empty tens slot).
二 or 两? For counting or inside a number, say 二 (二, 十二, 二十). But before a measure word (个, 本…), say 两: 两个人, 两本书. For 200 you hear both 二百 and 两百.
半 = “half”: 半个小时 (half an hour), 八点半 (8:30).
For phone numbers, digits are read one by one, and 1 is often said yāo so it isn't confused with 七 (qī).
Examples
我们班有二十五个学生。
Wǒmen bān yǒu èrshíwǔ ge xuésheng.There are 25 students in our class.
我要两个包子。
Wǒ yào liǎng ge bāozi.I'd like two steamed buns.
这本书一百一十五页。
Zhè běn shū yìbǎi yīshíwǔ yè.This book has 115 pages.
我等了半个小时。
Wǒ děngle bàn ge xiǎoshí.I waited half an hour.
Common mistakes
✗ 二个人 → ✓ 两个人.
✗ 十二 ≠ 二十: 十二 = 12, 二十 = 20 (order matters!).
✗ 二百六 = 206 → no: 二百六 = 260; 206 = 二百零六.