This guide covers basic Mandarin Chinese counting and ordinal expressions with examples to help you learn numbers and order quickly.
Numbers
Numbers in Mandarin Chinese follow a logical pattern based on ten, making them straightforward to learn with practice.
1 - 10
Here are the numbers from 1 to 10, which form the foundation for larger numbers in Mandarin Chinese.
| Hanzi Character(s) | Pinyin Word(s) | English Word(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | yī | one | |
| 二 | èr | two | |
| 三 | sān | three | |
| 四 | sì | four | |
| 五 | wǔ | five | |
| 六 | liù | six | |
| 七 | qī | seven | |
| 八 | bā | eight | |
| 九 | jiǔ | nine | |
| 十 | shí | ten |
11 - 20
Numbers from 11 to 20 build on shí (十) by adding digits 1 through 9 after it, making them easy to remember.
| Hanzi Character(s) | Pinyin Word(s) | English Word(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 十一 | shí yī | eleven | |
| 十二 | shí èr | twelve | |
| 十三 | shí sān | thirteen | |
| 十四 | shí sì | fourteen | |
| 十五 | shí wǔ | fifteen | |
| 十六 | shí liù | sixteen | |
| 十七 | shí qī | seventeen | |
| 十八 | shí bā | eighteen | |
| 十九 | shí jiǔ | nineteen | |
| 二十 | èr shí | twenty |
Ordinals
Ordinals in Mandarin Chinese use dì (第) before a number to show position or rank, and they work with both small and large numbers.
| Hanzi Character(s) | Pinyin Word(s) | English Word(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 第一 | dì yī | first | |
| 第二 | dì èr | second | |
| 第三 | dì sān | third | |
| 第四 | dì sì | fourth | |
| 第五 | dì wǔ | fifth |
Usage
Use ordinals for things like floors, chapters, dates, and competitions by placing dì (第) before the number and then the measure word if needed.
Measure Words
Measure words come after numbers to classify what you're counting, and the specific word depends on the type of item—like gè (个) for general things or zhāng (张) for flat items.
| English Category | Measure Word | Pinyin Word | Hanzi Character(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General / item | 个 | gè | 个 | |
| Book(s) | 本 | běn | 本 | |
| Flat thing(s) | 张 | zhāng | 张 | |
| Animal(s) | 只 | zhī | 只 | |
| Bottle(s) | 瓶 | píng | 瓶 |
Summary
Numbers build logically from 1 to 10 and then use shí (十) for tens; ordinals add dì (第) before a number; and measure words classify what you count.
Last updated: Fri Oct 24, 2025