Chinese Numbers and Counting 0 to 100

Level: beginner (HSK 1). Chinese numbers are wonderfully regular. Once you know the ten digits and the word 十 (shí, ten), you can build every number up to 99 by rule — no irregular forms like English “eleven” or “twelve”. The one twist is a second word for “two”, 两 (liǎng), used when you count things.

The rule

A digit is a single number word. Chinese has ten of them, 零 (líng, 0) through 九 (jiǔ, 9), plus 十 (shí, 10). From these you build the rest:

• Teens = 十 (shí) + digit. 11 is 十一 (shíyī), 12 is 十二 (shí’èr), 15 is 十五 (shíwǔ).
• Tens = digit + 十 (shí). 20 is 二十 (èrshí), 30 is 三十 (sānshí), 90 is 九十 (jiǔshí).
• In between, join them. 21 is 二十一 (èrshíyī), 45 is 四十五 (sìshíwǔ), 99 is 九十九 (jiǔshíjiǔ).

So the pattern is “how many tens, then how many ones”. 100 is 一百 (yìbǎi), literally “one hundred”.

The one thing to watch is “two”. The counting number is 二 (èr), and it is the form inside bigger numbers: 二十 (èrshí, 20), 十二 (shí’èr, 12). But when “two” comes directly before a measure word (a counting word), you switch to 两 (liǎng): 两个 (liǎng ge, two of something), not 二个 (èr ge).

The digits 0 to 10

How the tens are built

Example sentences

Common mistakes

• ❌ 二个人 (èr ge rén) → ✅ 两个人 (liǎng ge rén). Before a measure word, “two” is 两 (liǎng), not 二 (èr).
• ❌ 两十 (liǎngshí) → ✅ 二十 (èrshí). Inside a number, “two” stays 二 (èr): twenty is 二十 (èrshí).
• ❌ 一十一 (yīshíyī) for 11 → ✅ 十一 (shíyī). You do not say “one ten” for the teens; 11 is just 十一 (shíyī).
• ❌ 一百一 (yìbǎi yī) for 101 → ✅ 一百零一 (yìbǎi líng yī). Read an inner zero with 零 (líng); 一百一 (yìbǎi yī) means 110, not 101.
• ❌ Saying 一 (yī) in a flat first tone before 岁 (suì) → ✅ say yí before a fourth-tone syllable: 一岁 (yí suì, one year old).

A short conversation

A: 你家有几口人？ (Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?) — How many people are in your family? B: 四口人。我有两个妹妹。 (Sì kǒu rén. Wǒ yǒu liǎng ge mèimei.) — Four. I have two younger sisters. A: 这个多少钱？ (Zhè ge duōshao qián?) — How much is this? B: 三十五块。 (Sānshíwǔ kuài.) — Thirty-five yuan.

Usage notes

• The system keeps going past 100. 百 (bǎi) is hundred, 千 (qiān) is thousand, 万 (wàn) is ten-thousand. At HSK 1 you mainly need 0-100, but the building logic is the same.
• 两 (liǎng) also fronts big round numbers. For 200 and 2000, speakers usually say 两百 (liǎngbǎi) and 两千 (liǎngqiān) rather than 二百 (èrbǎi); both are understood, but 两 (liǎng) is more common here.
• Digit strings are read one by one. Phone numbers, room numbers and years are read digit by digit, and the digit 1 is usually said 幺 (yāo) on the mainland so it is not mistaken for 七 (qī, seven): a phone number with a 1 in it is read with 幺 (yāo).
• Money needs a measure word too. The everyday word for the yuan is 块 (kuài): 三十五块 (sānshíwǔ kuài, 35 yuan). This is why the number sits with a counting word, just like other nouns.

Compared with…

• Numbers vs measure words. A number almost never touches a noun directly; a measure word sits between them, and that is where 两 (liǎng) replaces 二 (èr). Say 两个人 (liǎng ge rén, two people), not 二个人 (èr ge rén). Learn the counting words on Measure Words and 个 (ge).
• 二 (èr) vs 两 (liǎng) in one line. 二 (èr) is the pure number and lives inside tens (二十, èrshí); 两 (liǎng) appears right before a measure word (两杯, liǎng bēi). More patterns are in the Chinese grammar section.

Practice

Quick recap before you practise.

Quiz

Recap cheat-sheet

Next

• Learn the counting words these numbers attach to: Measure Words and 个 (ge)
• Back to the Chinese grammar section
• New here? Start with Start Learning Chinese Here