Large Numbers
Hi everyone, 大家好 (dàjiā hǎo). For this lesson, we’ll be dealing with large numbers. In English, Numbers are grouped by 1,000’s , with a new term introduced for every 1,000 of the previous term:
| Numerals | English interpretation | |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 1,000 ones = 1 thousand | |
| 1,000,000 | 1,000 thousands = 1 million | |
| 1,000,000,000 | 1,000 millions = 1 billion | |
| 1,000,000,000,000 | 1,000 billions = 1 trillion |
In Chinese, large numbers are grouped by every “ten thousand” or 萬 / 万 (wàn), with a new term for every 10,000:
- 10,000 “ones” = 萬 / 万 (wàn) “ten thousand”
- 10,000 “ten thousands” = 億 / 亿 (yì) “hundred million”
- 10,000 “hundred millions” = 兆 (zhào) “trillion”
For the full table:
Click here for Traditional Chinese
| Numerals | Chinese | Pinyin | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | (yī) | "one" |
| 10 100 1,000 | 十 一百 一千 | (shí) (yībǎi) (yīqiān) | (10 “ones”) (100 “ones”) (1,000 “ones”) |
| 10,000 | 一萬 | (yīwàn) | 10,000 “ones” = 1 "ten thousand" |
| 100,000 | 十萬 | (shíwàn) | 10 “ten thousands” |
| 1,000,000 | 一百萬 | (yībǎi wàn) | 100 “ten thousands” |
| 10,000,000 | 一千萬 | (yīqiān wàn) | 1,000 “ten thousands” |
| 100,000,000 | 一億 | (yīyì) | 10,000 “ten thousands” = 1 "hundred million" |
| 1,000,000,000 | 十億 | (shíyì) | 10 "hundred millions“ |
| 10,000,000,000 | 一百億 | (yībǎi yì) | 100 “hundred millions” |
| 100,000,000,000 | 一千億 | (yīqiān yì) | 1,000 “hundred millions” |
| 1,000,000,000,000 | 一兆 | (yīzhào) | 10,000 “hundred millions” = 1 "trillion" |
Click here for Simplified Chinese
| Numerals | Chinese | Pinyin | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | (yī) | "one" |
| 10 100 1,000 | 十一百一千 | (shí) (yībǎi) (yīqiān) | (10 "ones ") (100 “ones”) (1,000 “ones”) |
| 10,000 | 一万 | (yīwàn) | 10,000 “ones” = 1 "ten thousand" |
| 100,000 | 十万 | (shíwàn) | 10 “ten thousands” |
| 1,000,000 | 一百万 | (yībǎi wàn) | 100 “ten thousands” |
| 10,000,000 | 一千万 | (yīqiān wàn) | 1,000 “ten thousands” |
| 100,000,000 | 一亿 | (yīyì) | 10,000 “ten thousands” = 1 "hundred million" |
| 1,000,000,000 | 十亿 | (shíyì) | 10 "hundred millions“ |
| 10,000,000,000 | 一百亿 | (yībǎi yì) | 100 “hundred millions” |
| 100,000,000,000 | 一千亿 | (yīqiān yì) | 1,000 “hundred millions” |
| 1,000,000,000,000 | 一兆 | (yīzhào) | 10,000 “hundred millions” = 1 "trillion" |
Notes:
- For factors of 200 and above, the character 兩 / 两 (liǎng) is used in place of 二 (èr) for 2.
- 200 = 兩百 / 两百 (liǎng bǎi); Note: 二百 (èr bǎi) may also be used in some regions
- 2,000 = 兩千 / 两千 (liǎng qiān); * Incorrect: 二千 (èr qiān)
- 2,222 = 兩千兩百二十二 / 两千两百二十二 (liǎng qiān liǎng bǎi èrshí’èr); Note: For place values below 200, use 二 (èr)
- For Chinese, there’s no need to specify every single place value. If none is specified, it’s understood to be the next place value. (need additional verification for this, as other reference sites including google translate don’t seem to agree
)
For example:- 1,200 = 一千二 (yīqiān èr); no need to specify 百 (bǎi)
This is contrary to English, where “one thousand two” = 1,002. In Chinese, zero or 零/〇 (líng) should be specified to indicate skipping the next place value:
1,002 = 一千零二 or 一千〇二 (yīqiān língèr)
- 1,200 = 一千二 (yīqiān èr); no need to specify 百 (bǎi)
- When writing dates, numerals for the year are written and read out and individually:
- Year 2020 = 二零二零年 or 二〇二〇年 (èr líng èr líng nián); Or simply 2020年
Exercises:
What numbers are these?
In Traditional Chinese
- 九百四十 (jiǔbǎi sìshí)
- 八千七 (bāqiān qī)
- 兩萬零五百 (liǎng wàn líng wǔbǎi)
- 一千五百三十二萬 (yīqiān wǔbǎi sānshí’èr wàn)
- 六億零十二萬 (liù yì líng shí’èr wàn)
In Simplified Chinese
- 九百四十 (jiǔbǎi sìshí)
- 八千七 (bāqiān qī)
- 两万零五百 (liǎng wàn líng wǔbǎi)
- 一千五百三十二万 (yīqiān wǔbǎi sānshí’èr wàn)
- 六亿零十二万 (liù yì líng shí’èr wàn)
Additional references:
- resources.allsetlearning.com/ch … in_Chinese
- lexisrex.com/Chinese-Numbers/1002 (type any number up to 1000000000000)
Change log:
- Revised structure and formatting
- Added note on 兩 / 两 (liǎng) for factors greater than 200