Count to 10 in Chinese
The Chinese language is all based on pronunciation, which is what makes it rather difficult for non-native speakers. This article will teach you how to count from zero to ten in Chinese, complete with pronunciation guides and phonetic spellings. Show your talents off once you've perfected the skills and impress your friends and family!
Steps
- Study how to count from 0 to 10 in Chinese until you memorize it, and show it off to other people!
- 0 零 : Ling. You say it with an upward inflection.
- 1 一 : Ee. You say it with a long "e" sound.
- 2 二 : Are. You say the letter "r" with a downward inflection.
- 3 三 : San. You say it without an inflection.
- 4 四 : Suh. This word is hard to be represented by using English letters, however it is closest to "suh" with a downward inflection.
- 5 五 : Woo. You pronounce this word with a downward-up inflection.
- 6 六 : Lee-yoo. When you say this, you partially omit the "y" so that the "ee" blends into the "oo". It sounds pretty similar to "Leo". It is pronounced with a downward inflection.
- 7 七 : Chee. You say this without an inflection.
- 8 八 : Bah. You say this without an inflection.
- 9 九 : Jee-yoh. This is similar to saying 6, where the "ee" blends into the "oh". This is pronounced with a downward-up inflection
- 10 十 : Shure. You say this with an upward inflection.
Phonetic Spellings
- Zero: Ling
- One: Yi
- Two: Er
- Three: San
- Four: Si
- Five: Wu
- Six: Liu
- Seven: Qi
- Eight: Ba
- Nine: Jiu
- Ten: Shi
Tips
- An upward inflection is when you raise the pitch of your voice. You usually do this at the end of a question.
- Double-digit numbers are composed of saying one single-digit and another. For example, "eleven" would be: Shee-ee (shi-yi)
- A Downward inflection is the opposite. You lower the pitch of your voice, as with a sigh.
- A downward-up inflection is a mixture of both. You lower the pitch of your voice, and then bring it back up.
- Numbers larger than 99 have special added words. You have to learn each one individually.
