Big numbers: 百, 千, 万
数词 / numerals
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
… 万 … 千 … 百 … 十 …
Chinese counts in ten-thousands (万 wàn), not thousands: 10,000 = 一万, 100,000 = 十万, 1,000,000 = 一百万.
Steps: 百 (100), 千 (1,000), 万 (10,000). 3,580 = 三千五百八十. 零 marks inner zeros: 205 = 两百零五 / 二百零五, 1,005 = 一千零五.
Before 百, 千, 万, 两 is common: 两百, 两千, 两万. In prices the last unit is often dropped in speech: 两百五 = 250.
Examples
这个手机三千八百块。
Zhège shǒujī sānqiān bābǎi kuài.This phone costs 3,800 yuan.
这家店有两万多个评价。
Zhè jiā diàn yǒu liǎngwàn duō ge píngjià.This shop has over 20,000 reviews.
一共一百零五块。
Yígòng yìbǎi líng wǔ kuài.That's 105 yuan in total.
我们公司有一千五百个人。
Wǒmen gōngsī yǒu yìqiān wǔbǎi ge rén.Our company has 1,500 people.
Common mistakes
✗ 十千 (10,000) → ✓ 一万.
一百五 = 150 (not 105); 105 = 一百零五.