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Lesson 4: Counting Objects

一二三

Learn number + 个/本/块 + 名词 and 几 + 量词 + 名词? through Counting Objects.

12 words2 grammar points1 dialogues~15 min

Vocabulary12 words

一yīNumeral
Illustration for 一
  • oneUsed on its own or when counting from one to ten.

Examples

一个苹果

yígèpíngguǒ

one apple

一,二,三

yī,èr,sān

One, two, three

二èrNumeral
Illustration for 二
  • twoused when counting quantities

Examples

二月

èryuè

February

二加二等于四

èrjiāèrděngyúsì

Two plus two equals four

三sānNumeral
Illustration for 三
  • three

Examples

三个人

sāngèrén

Three people

三月

sānyuè

March

四sìNumeral
Illustration for 四
  • fourit sounds like 死 (sǐ, death), so Chinese people often avoid this number

Examples

四把椅子

sìbǎyǐzi

Four chairs

四季

sìjì

The four seasons

五wǔNumeral
Illustration for 五
  • five

Examples

五天

wǔtiān

Five days

五月五日

wǔyuèwǔrì

May 5th

六liùNumeral
Illustration for 六
  • sixA number from 1 to 10.

Examples

六本书。

liùběnshū。

Six books.

我六点起床。

wǒliùdiǎnqǐchuáng。

I get up at six o'clock.

七qīNumeral
Illustration for 七
  • sevenA number from 1 to 10.

Examples

七个人。

qīgèrén。

Seven people.

他七岁。

tāqīsuì。

He is seven years old.

八bāNumeral
Illustration for 八
  • eighta number from 1 to 10

Examples

八杯水。

bābēishuǐ。

Eight glasses of water.

现在是八月。

xiànzàishìbāyuè。

It is August now.

九jiǔNumeral
Illustration for 九
  • nineA number from one to ten.

Examples

九点上课。

jiǔdiǎnshàngkè。

Class starts at nine o'clock.

他哥哥九岁。

tāgēgejiǔsuì。

His older brother is nine years old.

十shíNumeral
Illustration for 十
  • tencounting from 1 to 10

Examples

十个苹果。

shígèpíngguǒ。

Ten apples.

我十点睡觉。

wǒshídiǎnshuìjiào。

I go to sleep at ten o'clock.

零língNumeral
Illustration for 零
  • zero

Examples

我的电话是零一二三。

wǒdediànhuàshìlíngyīèrsān。

My phone number is zero one two three.

看kànVerb
Illustration for 看
  • 1.to look; to watch; to readCan be used for watching TV, reading a book, or seeing someone.
  • 2.to visit; to see (a doctor); to consulte.g. 看病 (to see a doctor), 看医生 (visit a doctor), 看朋友 (visit a friend)

Examples

看书。

kànshū。

Read a book.

看电视。

kàndiànshì。

Watch TV.

Grammar

Quantity and Nouns (数词+量词+名词)

数词 + 个/本/块 + 名词

In Chinese, when talking about the quantity of something, you put the number first, then the measure word (such as 个 for general objects, 本 for books, 块 for money), and then the noun.

我有三个水果。

wǒyǒusāngèshuǐguǒ。

I have three pieces of fruit.

这里有两本书。

zhèliyǒuliǎngběnshū。

There are two books here.

Asking About a Small Quantity (几)

几 + 量词 + 名词?

Use 几 (jǐ) before a measure word and a noun to ask about a small quantity (usually under 10). The answer usually uses the corresponding number.

你有几个弟弟?

nǐyǒujǐgèdìdi?

How many younger brothers do you have?

桌子上有几本书?

zhuōzishàngyǒujǐběnshū?

How many books are on the table?

Dialogues

Counting Objects

A mother asks her child about the number of items in the schoolbag.

妈妈
妈妈

宝宝,你的书包里有几本书?

bǎobao,nǐdeshūbāoliyǒujǐběnshū?

Sweetie, how many books are in your schoolbag?

小花
小花

妈妈,我有一本书。

māma,wǒyǒuyìběnshū。

Mom, I have one book.

妈妈
妈妈

好。有几个水果?

hǎo。yǒujǐgèshuǐguǒ?

Good. How many pieces of fruit are there?

小花
小花

有三个水果。

yǒusāngèshuǐguǒ。

There are three pieces of fruit.

妈妈
妈妈

对,三个水果。书包里有几个本子?

duì,sāngèshuǐguǒ。shūbāoliyǒujǐgèběnzi?

That's right, three pieces of fruit. How many notebooks are in the bag?

小花
小花

有很多!我有二十个本子!

yǒuhěnduō!wǒyǒuèrshígèběnzi!

Lots! I've got twenty notebooks!

妈妈
妈妈

二十个?太多了!四个,五个,六个,妈妈来看看。

èrshígè?tàiduōle!sìgè,wǔgè,liùgè,māmaláikànkan。

Twenty? That’s a lot! Four, five, six — let Mum have a look.

小花
小花

七个,八个,九个。妈妈,是九个本子,不是二十个。

qīgè,bāgè,jiǔgè。māma,shìjiǔgèběnzi,búshìèrshígè。

Seven, eight, nine. Mum, it's nine notebooks, not twenty.

妈妈
妈妈

对,是九个。那钱呢?你有几块钱?

duì,shìjiǔgè。nàqiánne?nǐyǒujǐkuàiqián?

Right, nine. And money? How many yuan do you have?

小花
小花

我有五块钱。

wǒyǒuwǔkuàiqián。

I have five yuan.