Chinese Numbers 1 to 100 — The Complete Guide

The Magic Pattern

Here's the secret: to count from 1 to 99 in Chinese, you only need to know eleven words — the numbers 1 through 10 (一 to 十), plus one more for 100 (百 bǎi). Everything else is just combining them with a simple formula:

[how many hundreds] + 百 + [how many tens] + 十 + [ones digit]

Some concrete examples so you can see the formula in action:

• 25 = 二十五 (èr shí wǔ) — literally "two-ten-five" (2 × 10 + 5)
• 78 = 七十八 (qī shí bā) — literally "seven-ten-eight" (7 × 10 + 8)
• 41 = 四十一 (sì shí yī) — literally "four-ten-one" (4 × 10 + 1)
• 100 = 一百 (yī bǎi) — literally "one-hundred"

If you can multiply and add, you can count in Chinese. It really is that straightforward.

Count by Tens

Master the tens first — they're the backbone of the whole system:

#	Hanzi	Pinyin	Literal Meaning
10	十	shí	ten
20	二十	èr shí	two-ten
30	三十	sān shí	three-ten
40	四十	sì shí	four-ten
50	五十	wǔ shí	five-ten
60	六十	liù shí	six-ten
70	七十	qī shí	seven-ten
80	八十	bā shí	eight-ten
90	九十	jiǔ shí	nine-ten
100	一百	yī bǎi	one-hundred

Putting It Together — Selected Examples

Here are some key numbers that show how the pattern works across different ranges:

#	Hanzi	Pinyin	Breakdown
11	十一	shí yī	10 + 1
15	十五	shí wǔ	10 + 5
21	二十一	èr shí yī	2 × 10 + 1
32	三十二	sān shí èr	3 × 10 + 2
43	四十三	sì shí sān	4 × 10 + 3
56	五十六	wǔ shí liù	5 × 10 + 6
67	六十七	liù shí qī	6 × 10 + 7
78	七十八	qī shí bā	7 × 10 + 8
89	八十九	bā shí jiǔ	8 × 10 + 9
99	九十九	jiǔ shí jiǔ	9 × 10 + 9

The Zero Rule — 零 (líng)

What about numbers with a zero in the middle? Chinese uses 零 (líng) to mark a gap where a digit is missing. Unlike English, where we say "one hundred and one," Chinese inserts 零 wherever there's a break in the digit chain:

• 101 = 一百零一 (yī bǎi líng yī) — literally "one-hundred-zero-one"
• 205 = 二百零五 (èr bǎi líng wǔ) — "two-hundred-zero-five"
• 308 = 三百零八 (sān bǎi líng bā) — "three-hundred-zero-eight"

Note: you only use 零 once per gap, even if there are multiple consecutive zeros. 1,001 is 一千零一 (yī qiān líng yī), not "一千零零一."

Two Words for Two — 二 vs 两

Chinese has two words for "two," and mixing them up is one of the most common beginner mistakes:

• 二 (èr) — used for counting, ordinal numbers, and as a digit. Think math, phone numbers, and the number 2 itself.
• 两 (liǎng) — used before measure words when talking about quantities. If you're saying "two of something," you almost always need 两.

For example: 两个人 (liǎng ge rén) means "two people" — saying "二个人" is wrong and will immediately mark you as a learner. Similarly, two o'clock is 两点 (liǎng diǎn), not 二点. But when reciting digits — like room 202 — you say 二零二 (èr líng èr).

Ready to Go Further?

Once you're comfortable with 1–100, the same pattern scales to thousands and beyond. If you enjoyed this guide, check out these related articles:

• Lucky & Unlucky Numbers in Chinese Culture — why 8 is auspicious and 4 is avoided
• How to Say Phone Numbers in Chinese — including why 一 becomes yāo
• Chinese Numbers 1 to 10 — the essential building blocks

🔢 Try the interactive Chinese Numbers tool → — type any number 0-99,999 and see it in Chinese with pinyin and audio.