Chinese Numbers

Welcome to the sixth Chinese lesson about numbers. This time we will learn about cardinal and ordinal numbers, followed by grammar rules, then animal names, finally a conversation in Chinese to help you practice your daily phrases. Click on the sound icon to hear the words.

Cardinal and Ordinal - Chinese - Pronunciation
one 一 [yī]
first 第一 [dì yī]
two 二 [èr]
second 第二 [dì èr]
three 三 [sān]
third 第三 [dì sān]
four 四 [sì]
fourth 第四 [dì sì]
five 五 [wǔ]
fifth 第五 [dì wǔ]
six 六 [liù]
sixth 第六 [dì liù]
seven 七 [qī]
seventh 第七 [dì qī]
eight 八 [bā]
eighth 第八 [dì bā]
nine 九 [jiǔ]
ninth 第九 [dì jiǔ]
ten 十 [shí]
tenth 第十 [dì shí]
eleven 十一 [shí yī]
eleventh 第十一 [dì shí yī]
twelve 十二 [shí èr]
twelfth 第十二 [dì shí èr]
thirteen 十三 [shí sān]
thirteenth 第十三 [dì shí sān]
fourteen 十四 [shí sì]
once 一次 [yī cì]
fifteen 十五 [shí wǔ]
twice 两次 [liǎng cì]
sixteen 十六 [shí liù]
Monday 星期一 [xīng qī yī]
seventeen 十七 [shí qī]
Tuesday 星期二 [xīng qī èr]
eighteen 十八 [shí bā]
Wednesday 星期三 [xīng qī sān]
nineteen 十九 [shí jiǔ]
Thursday 星期四 [xīng qī sì]
twenty 二十 [èr shí]
Friday 星期五 [xīng qī wǔ]
seventy one 七十一 [qī shí yī]
Saturday 星期六 [xīng qī liù]
one hundred 一百 [yī bǎi]
Sunday 星期日 [xīng qī rì]

Numbers Grammar Rules

Chinese cardinal numbers refer to the counting numbers, because they show quantity. For example: I speak two languages. Ordinal numbers on the other hand tell the order of things and their rank: my first language is Chinese. The examples below use numbers in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Grammar + Rules - Chinese + Pronunciation
I have three dogs [number + noun] 我有三只狗 [wǒ yǒu sān zhǐ gǒu]
my daughter has two cats [number + noun] 我的女儿有两只猫 [wǒ de nǚ ér yǒu liǎng zhī māo]
she speaks seven languages [verb + number] 她讲7种语言 [tā jiǎng7 zhǒng yǔ yán]
my brother has one son [number + singular noun] 我哥哥有一子 [wǒ gē gē yǒu yī zǐ]
this is my second lesson [ordinal number + noun] 这是我的第二节课 [zhè shì wǒ de dì èr jié kè]
did you read the third book? [ordinal number + noun] 你读了第三本书吗？ [nǐ dú le dì sān běn shū ma?]

We're not done yet! The following is a list of animals.

cow 奶牛 [nǎi niú]

goat 山羊 [shān yáng]

donkey 驴 [lǚ]

horse 马 [mǎ]

dog 狗 [gǒu]

cat 猫 [māo]

mouse 老鼠 [lǎo shǔ]

bird 鸟 [niǎo]

Conversation in Chinese

Now we finally reach the last part, the practice of the daily conversations. These phrases are used to get to know new people, and break the ice.

English - Chinese - Pronunciation
Where are you from? 你从哪儿来？ [nǐ cōng nǎ er lái?]
I'm from the U.S 我从美国来 [wǒ cōng měi guó lái]
I'm American 我是美国人 [wǒ shì měi guó rén]
Where do you live? 你住在哪里？ [nǐ zhù zài nǎ lǐ?]
I live in the U.S 我住在美国 [wǒ zhù zài měi guó]
What do you do for a living? 您做什么工作？ [nín zuò shén mē gōng zuò?]
I'm a student 我是学生 [wǒ shì xué shēng]

Did you enjoy this lesson about numbers in Chinese? I hope so, if you have any problem with this lesson contact me with questions you have homepage. You can now check the next lesson below.