Numbers, dates and time
Numbers up to a million, when to say 二 or 两, and 第 for first and second; prices, dates and the days of the week; the time on the clock, how long something lasts, and where time words go.
Learn
Numbers, dates and time, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Count from zero to ninety-nine, and say first and second
One to ten are 一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九 and 十, and zero is 零. Bigger numbers are built as you say them: 十一 is ten-one (11), 二十 two-ten (20) and 九十九 99. Put 第 in front for first, second and so on: 第一, 第二天 (the second day).
Count in hundreds, thousands and ten thousands
百 is a hundred, 千 a thousand and 万 ten thousand: 三百, 两千. Chinese counts big numbers in ten thousands, so 50,000 is 五万 and a million is 一百万, a hundred ten-thousands. A gap inside a number is filled with 零: 105 is 一百零五, while 一百五 means 150.
Choose between 二 and 两
Use 两 for two of something, before a measure word: 两个人, 两本书, 两点 (two o'clock). Keep 二 for counting and inside longer numbers (十二, 二十), in dates (二月) and after 第 (第二). Before 千 and 万, 两 is the usual choice: 两千.
Give the date, biggest part first
A date runs year, month, day, then the day of the week: 2026年10月9日，星期五. Say the year one digit at a time (èr líng èr liù nián), and use 号 for the day when you speak: 十月九号. The days are 星期 and a number, from Monday, 星期一, to Saturday, 星期六; Sunday is 星期天 or 星期日. Your birthday follows the same pattern: 我的生日是五月三号。
Tell the time with 点, 半, 刻 and 分
点 is o'clock: 八点. Half past is 八点半, quarter past 八点一刻 and ten past 八点十分. The part of the day comes first, so 7 a.m. is 早上七点 and 8 p.m. is 晚上八点. To ask the time, say 现在几点？
Give prices in 块 and 元
Chinese money is the yuan: 元 on a price tag, 块 when you say it. 十五块 is ¥15, and 三块五 is ¥3.50, with the smaller unit left off the end. Ask a price with 多少钱？, as in 这件衣服多少钱？ Pounds are 英镑: 五英镑.
Say how old someone is
Ask a child 你几岁？ and a teenager or an adult 你多大？. Answer with the number and 岁, usually without 是: 我十五岁。 To say someone has reached an age, add 了: 我妹妹十岁了。
Say how long something lasts, after the verb
When something happens goes before the verb, but how long it lasts goes after it: 我每天看一个小时电视。 (I watch TV for an hour a day.) 我学了两年汉语。 (I studied Chinese for two years.) 小时 counts hours and 分钟 minutes, while 天 and 年 count days and years.
Numbers, dates and time key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- 零
- Zero, and the word that fills a gap inside a number: 一百零五 is 105.
- 两
- Two of something, before a measure word: 两个, 两点.
- 第
- Put before a number to make first, second or third: 第一, 第三.
- 万
- Ten thousand. Big numbers are counted in it, so 50,000 is 五万.
- 号 and 日
- The day of the month: 号 when you speak, 日 in writing. 十月九号 is 9 October.
- 星期
- Week. With a number after it, a day of the week: 星期一 is Monday.
- 点
- O'clock, after the hour: 三点 is three o'clock.
- 半
- Half: 三点半 is half past three.
- 块 and 元
- The yuan, China's money: 元 in writing, 块 in speech.
- 岁
- Years old, straight after the number: 我十五岁.
Common mistakes in Numbers, dates and time
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Using 二 before a measure word, as in 二个人 or 二点.
Two of something is 两: 两个人, 两点. Keep 二 for counting and for numbers like 十二.
Saying 10,000 as ten thousands, 十千.
Chinese has its own word, 万: 10,000 is 一万, 50,000 五万 and a million 一百万.
Leaving out 零, so that 105 comes out as 一百五, which means 150.
Fill a gap inside a number with 零: 一百零五 is 105.
Writing the date in English order, as in 9日10月2026年.
Go from big to small: year, month, day. 2026年10月9日.
Putting how long before the verb, as in 我一个小时看电视.
How long goes after the verb: 我看一个小时电视. When goes before it: 我晚上看电视.
Practice
Try a Numbers, dates and time question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Which is 3,000?
- 三百
- 三万
- 三千
- 三十千
Show the answer and the working
Answer: 三千
千 is a thousand: 三千 is 3,000.
- 百: hundred.
- 千: thousand.
- 万: ten thousand.