十
shí
10
Big numbers in Chinese
English groups digits in threes, Chinese in fours. That is where 万 and 亿 come from — and why millions take some getting used to.
Place values
Why Chinese counts in 万
English splits a number into threes: thousand, million, billion. Chinese splits it into fours: 万 (10,000) and 亿 (100,000,000). So a million is "a hundred ten-thousands", 一百万, and a billion is "ten hundred-millions", 十亿.
- To convert a number, split off groups of four digits from the right: 1234|5678 is 一千二百三十四万五千六百七十八.
- 1,000,000 → 100|0000 → 一百万.
- China’s population, about 1,400,000,000 → 14|0000|0000 → 十四亿.
- A two before 万 and 亿 is 两: 两万 (20,000), 两亿 (200,000,000).
Grammar rule: Big numbers with 万 and 亿
Examples
两万五千
liǎng wàn wǔ qiān
25,000
十五万
shí wǔ wàn
150,000
一百万
yì bǎi wàn
1,000,000
三百五十万
sān bǎi wǔ shí wàn
3,500,000
一亿
yí yì
100,000,000
十四亿
shí sì yì
1,400,000,000
More about numbers
Frequently asked questions
How do you say a million in Chinese?
A million is 一百万 (yì bǎi wàn): a hundred times 万 (10,000).
How do you say a billion in Chinese?
A billion is 十亿 (shí yì): ten times 亿 (100,000,000).
What does 万 mean?
万 (wàn) is 10,000. In Chinese it is a place value of its own, the way a thousand is in English: 三万 is 30,000, 十万 is 100,000.
Tomyo
Learn Chinese words with spaced repetition
Numbers stick when you use them. Tomyo reviews your words on a schedule so what you learn is still there a month later.