How to Count in Chinese & Chinese Hand Numbers 1 - 10

China can be a difficult destination for travelers who don’t speak or understand the language. In fact, the language is probably the thing that travelers to China fear most. However, one simple thing you can do to make your travels in China much easier is just knowing how to count in Chinese! Also, there is a specific set of Chinese hand numbers 1 to 10. If you know Chinese hand numbers and how to count in Chinese, you will not only reduce your fear but you will feel confident and enjoy your experience much more!

Counting in Chinese Is Essential Communication

It seems silly to think that just knowing numbers will help you during your trip, but it’s true. Counting really is one of the most basic forms of communication, and knowing how to count in Chinese will go a LONG way in helping you with basic communication. After all, counting is one of the first things we learn how to do as children. From ordering food, shopping, paying, or negotiating — knowing your Chinese numbers can give you a huge advantage and even save you some money during your trip to China.

Video – How to Count in Chinese & Chinese Hand Numbers 1 to 10

When it comes to learning how to count in Chinese, it’s not enough just to look at the word…because you need to know how to pronounce it! Pronouncing in Chinese is very difficult, especially if you aren’t used to it. So we’ve broken it down here with a video and did our best to show you with our mouths how to pronounce these Chinese numbers.

While the pronunciation may not be perfect, it’s been good enough to get us around China for more than 18 months.

** NOTE: There are many different local languages and dialects all over China. What we are teaching you here is Mandarin, the National Language of China. This is taught in school and spoken in most areas. However, in some of the southeastern areas (like Hong Kong and the surrounding areas) Cantonese is the dominant language. Although most people will understand Mandarin, if you are in very rural villages there could be some older people who do not understand it.

Refer to the Chinese Number Chart (Below)

yî	1
èr	2
sân	3
sì	4
wŭ	5
liù	6
qî	7
bâ	8
jiŭ	9
shí	10
shíyî	11
shíèr	12
shísân	13
shísì	14
shíwŭ	15
shíliù	16
shíqî	17
shíbâ	18
shíjiŭ	19
èrshí	20
èrshíyî	21
èrshíèr	22
èrshísân	23
sânshí	30
sânshíyî	31
sânshíèr	32
sìshí	40
sìshíyî	41
sìshíèr	42
wŭshí	50
liùshí	60
qîshí	70
bâshí	80
jiŭshí	90
jiŭshíjiŭ	99
yìbãi	100
yìqiân	1,000

Practice, Practice for a Stress-Free Trip!

The key here is to practice how to count in Chinese well before your trip, especially the pronunciation and the Chinese hand numbers 1 to 10. It seems so small, but counting really is one of the most basic forms of communication — and just knowing these numbers will help you SO much during your trip. After living and traveling in China for so long, we can attest to just how useful these numbers really are.