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  <h1>Big numbers in Chinese</h1>

  <p>The manner in which large numbers are broken down in Chinese is a little different from English. Unlike in English, where large numbers are broken down by the number of thousands they have, Chinese forms numbers between 10,000 and 100,000,000 based off of how many tens of thousands they have (with another set of rules for numbers 100,000,000 onwards that will be explained later). While the structure can be difficult to grasp for some learners, there are some easy ways to remember how to form these big numbers.</p>

  <h2 id="different-units">Different Units</h2>

  <p>Mandarin has two units that English doesn't have (or at least, it has unique words for these units, whereas English describes them with combinations of other units). These are:</p>

  <ul>
    <li><span class="hanzi">万</span> (<span class="pinyin">wàn</span>): ten thousand</li>

    <li><span class="hanzi">亿</span> (<span class="pinyin">yì</span>): hundred million</li>
  </ul>

  <h2 id="ten-thousand---万-wàn">Ten Thousand - <span class="hanzist">万</span> (<span class="pinyinst">wàn</span>)</h2>

  <p><span class="hanzi">万</span> (<span class="pinyin">wàn</span>) comes up the most often and is the largest stumbling block for most people learning Mandarin numbers. In English, numbers are usually broken up into chunks of three digits. Because of <span class="hanzi">万</span> (<span class="pinyin">wàn</span>), it's easier to break numbers up into groups of four in Mandarin. In English, we split "twelve thousand" numerically into "12,000" (chunks of three digits). Split it the Chinese way, "1,2000," and the Chinese reading "<span class="hanzi">一万两千</span>" (one wan and two "thousand" = <span class="pinyin">yīwàn liǎngqiān</span>) makes more sense.</p>

  <p>One way to remember how to write out numbers 10,000 through 99,999 in Chinese characters is that in Chinese, the comma is (mentally) moved one digit to the left. For example, 11,000 could be thought of in tens of thousands as "1,1000," with <span class="hanzi">万</span> (<span class="pinyin">wàn</span>) replacing the comma, and then what's left written as <span class="hanzi">一千</span> (<span class="pinyin">yīqiān</span>): <span class="hanzi">一万一千</span> (<span class="pinyin">yīwàn yīqiān</span>).</p>

  <table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
    <tbody>
      <tr>
        <th width="15%">
          <p>Typical split</p>
        </th>

        <th width="15%">
          <p>Chinese split</p>
        </th>

        <th width="25%">
          <p>Characters</p>
        </th>

        <th width="35%">
          <p>Pinyin</p>
        </th>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>10,000</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>1,0000</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">一万</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">yīwàn</span><br/></p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>12,000</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>1,2000</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">一万二</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">yīwàn èr</span><br/></p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>13,200</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>1,3200</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">一万三千两百</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">yīwàn sānqiān liǎngbǎi</span><br/></p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>56,700</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>5,6700</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">五万六千七百</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">wǔwàn liùqiān qībǎi</span><br/></p>
        </td>
      </tr>
    </tbody>
  </table>

  <h2 id="one-hundred-million---亿-yì">One Hundred Million - <span class="hanzist">亿</span> (<span class="pinyinst">yì</span>)</h2>

  <p>After 99,999,999, there is yet another new numerical unit, <span class="hanzi">亿</span> (<span class="pinyin">yì</span>), which is used to express "hundred million." A number like 1,101,110,000 would be written out as "<span class="hanzi">十一亿一百一十一万</span> (<span class="pinyin">shíyī yì yībǎi yīshí-yī wàn</span>)." Again, an easier way to translate between the two methods is to write the number out in English, move the comma one digit to the left, and then insert the appropriate characters in their respective places, replacing the commas.</p>

  <h2 id="mandarin-number-structure">Mandarin Number Structure</h2>

  <table class="table big-text big-text table-striped table-bordered">
    <tbody>
      <tr>
        <th width="25%">
          <p>Numerals</p>
        </th>

        <th width="15%">
          <p>Characters</p>
        </th>

        <th width="20%">
          <p>Pinyin</p>
        </th>

        <th width="30%">
          <p>English</p>
        </th>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>1,000,000,000</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">十亿</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">shí yì</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>Billion</p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>100,000,000</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">亿</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">yì</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>Hundred million</p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>10,000,000</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">千万</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">qiān wàn</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>Ten million</p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>1,000,000</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">百万</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">bǎi wàn</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>Million</p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>100,000</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">十万</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">shí wàn</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>Hundred thousand</p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>10,000</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">万</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">wàn</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>Ten thousand</p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>1,000</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">千</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">qiān</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>Thousand</p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>100</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">百</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">bǎi</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>Hundred</p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>10</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">十</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">shí</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>Ten</p>
        </td>
      </tr>

      <tr>
        <td>
          <p>1</p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="hanzi">一</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p><span class="pinyin">yī</span><br/></p>
        </td>

        <td>
          <p>One</p>
        </td>
      </tr>
    </tbody>
  </table>

  <h2 id="a-shortcut">A Shortcut</h2>

  <p>One more simple way to remember how to correctly write out large numbers is to pick one or two numbers and just memorize them. One million, for example, is <span class="hanzi">一百万</span> (<span class="pinyin">yībǎi wàn</span>). If you can memorize that, then going to <span class="hanzi">一千万</span> (<span class="pinyin">yīqiān wàn</span>) is way easier and faster, since you don't have to count all those zeroes.</p>

  <p>The recommended shortcuts are:</p>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">一百万</span><br/> <span class="vert">frequently a useful number to know</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">yībǎi wàn</span><br/> 1 million</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">十四亿</span><br/> <span class="vert">this just happens to be the population of China</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">shísì yì</span> <br/>1.4 billion</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h3 id="examples">Examples</h3>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi">五<span class="fondjaune">万</span> 两千 一百 五十二</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">wǔ<span class="fondjaune">wàn</span> liǎngqiān yībǎi wǔshí-èr</span><br/> 52,152</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">二百 九十一 <span class="fondjaune">万</span> 四千 六百 八十</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">èrbǎi jiǔshí-yī <span class="fondjaune">wàn</span> sìqiān liùbǎi bāshí</span><br/> 2,914,680</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">七百 八十九 <span class="fondjaune">万</span> 零 二百 九十八</span><br/> <span class="pinyin">qībǎi bāshí-jiǔ <span class="fondjaune">wàn</span> líng èrbǎi jiǔshí-bā</span> <br/>7,890,298</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">两千 七百 二十一 <span class="fondjaune">万</span> 四千 八百 九十六</span><br/><span class="pinyin">liǎngqiān qībǎi èrshí-yī <span class="fondjaune">wàn</span> sìqiān bābǎi jiǔshí-liù</span><br/>27,214,896</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">五 千三 百 七 十 九 <span class="fondjaune">万</span> 八 千 两 百 五 十</span><br/><span class="pinyin">wǔqiān sānbǎi qīshí-jiǔ <span class="fondjaune">wàn</span> bāqiān liǎngbǎi wǔshí</span><br/> 53,798,250</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">四亿 一千 四百 二十九 <span class="fondjaune">万</span> 四千 一百 八十二</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">sìyì yīqiān sìbǎi èrshí-jiǔ <span class="fondjaune">wàn</span> sìqiān yībǎi bāshí-èr</span><br/> 414,294,182</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">十三 亿 两千 六百 八十 </span><span class="fondjaune">万</span><br/><span class="pinyin">shísān yì liǎngqiān liùbǎi bāshí </span><span class="fondjaune">wàn</span><br/> 1,326,800,000</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi">两百 五十一 亿 五千 八百 三十六 <span class="fondjaune">万</span> 七千 二百</span><br/><span class="pinyin">liǎngbǎi wǔshí-yī yì wǔqiān bābǎi sānshí-liù <span class="fondjaune">wàn</span> qīqiān èrbǎi</span><br/> 25,158,367,200</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="Structure_of_numbers" title="wikilink">Structure of numbers</a></li>
  </ul>

  <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>

  <h3 id="books">Books</h3>

  <ul>
    <li>Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 30-31)</li>

    <li><span class="hanzi">外国人实用汉语语法(中英文对照)</span> (A Practical Chinese Grammar for Foreigners) (pp. 64-65)</li>
  </ul>
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