汉语语法第四讲：Chinese Numerals: Cardinal Numbers 1-99

Chinese Numerals: Cardinal Numbers 1-99
Chinese numerals are 一个 fascinating system, and understanding their structure can be quite helpful in learning the language. Here’s a breakdown of cardinal numbers 1-99:
1. Basic Units:
1 – 10: 1
yī (一) – one
èr (二) – two
sān (三) – three
sì (四) – four
wǔ (五) – five
liù (六) – six
qī (七) – seven
bā (八) – eight
jiǔ (九) – nine
shí (十) – ten
2. Teens (11-19):
Teens are formed by combining the unit number with “shí” (十).
Example:
shí yī (十一) – eleven
shí èr (十二) – twelve
shí sān (十三) – thirteen
3. Numbers 20-99:
These numbers are formed by combining the tens digit with the unit digit.
Example:
èr shí (二十) – twenty
sān shí (三十) – thirty
sì shí (四十) – forty
wǔ shí (五十) – fifty
liù shí (六十) – sixty
qī shí (七十) – seventy
bā shí (八十) – eighty
jiǔ shí (九十) – ninety
Adding units to tens: Simply place the unit number after the tens number.
èr shí yī (二十一) – twenty-one
sān shí èr (三十二) – thirty-two
sì shí sān (四十三) – forty-three
Example Sentences:
Wǒ yǒu yī gè píngguǒ. (我有一个苹果。) – I have one apple.
Tā men yǒu èr gè rén. (他们有两个人。) – They have two people.
Wǒmen yǒu sān gè gǒu. (我们有三条狗。) – We have three dogs.
Tā shì shí èr suì. (他是十二岁。) – He is twelve years old.
Wǒmen yǒu èr shí liù gè xuésheng. (我们有二十六个学生。) – We have twenty-six students.
Note:
The number “one” (yī) is often omitted when used in conjunction with a unit of measurement, such as “yī gè” (一个) – one.
When speaking about age, the Chinese use “suì” (岁) – years old, instead of “years.”