Tips & Techniques: Numbers In Mandarin

There are two forms of the number two (2) in Mandarin: er̀ and liǎng:

• Er̀ (二) is used in the tens and digits places of numbers (e.g. 1 - 99). For example in the number 2222, the last two digits "xx22" would be written with er̀. The first two digits (22xx), would be written with the other form of "two" (liǎng). Er̀ is also used for reciting phone numbers.
• Liǎng (兩) is an alternative way of saying "two". It is commonly used in the hundreds and greater places of numbers. It is also used to count things: two sides, two books, two cars.

Zero(es) can be omited when it shows up in the right-most digits.
E.g. 740: qībǎisì (七百四) instead of qībǎisìshílińǵ (七百四十零)
or 2800: liǎngqiǎnbā (兩千八) instead of liǎngqiǎnbābǎilińglińg (兩千八百零零).

If a number ends with one or more zero after two or more nonzero digits, the last unit can be omitted.
In other words, the unit for y in the number xy00 can be omitted.

Where there are one or more zeroes in-between non-zero number(s), "lińg" must be inserted to avoid confusion.
In other words, "lińg" must be inserted before y in the number x00y to avoid confusion with xy00.

Numbers with two or more digits are constructed using a multiplicative pattern, e.g.:

x * 10,000s
x * 1,000s
x * 100s
x * tens
ones

First the digit x (e.g. 1 to 9), then the place (e.g. shí, bǎi, qiǎn, wàn, ỳi, zhaò); then the next digit and place, etc. For example:

 48,652 = 4 * 10,000 + 8 * 1,000 + 6 * 100 + 5 * 10 + 2 =   sì wàn bā qiān liù bǎi wǔ shí er

Two (2) digit numbers are constructed with shí, or 十 as the connetor.

Three (3) digit numbers use bai to connect the hundreds place to the tens and ones place.

Four (4) digit numbers use qian to connect the thousands place to the hundreds, tens and ones place.

Five (5) digit numbers use wan to connect the ten-thousands place to the thousands, hundreds, tens and ones place.

In Mandarin, large numbers are divided into groups of fours (myriad) instead of the way it is grouped in English, groups of threes (thousands). Example grouping includes wàn (10000, 萬), yì (1,0000,0000, 億) zhào (1,0000,0000,0000, 兆). Therefore,in Mandarin 1,234,567,890 is regrouped here as 12,3456,7890. Each major number division is four zeroes longer than the one before it, thus 10000 × wàn (萬) = yì (億).