Chinese Numbers Explained
The weight
or mass
of an object is expressed using a traditional system of weight measures that have been standardized to be easily convertible to metric units. Notice that some of these words are the same as words used for units of area. Also notice that they aren’t standardized to be multiples of ten with respect to metric units.
| Traditional Weight Units |
|---|
| 厘 | lí | 50 mg | |
| 分 | fēn | 500 mg | |
| 錢 | qián | 5 g | Chinese dram |
| 兩 | liǎng | 50 g | Chinese ounce |
| 斤 | jīn | 500 g | Chinese pound |
| 擔 | dàn | 50 kg | |
The system of metric units is based on the gram:
. Notice the two different terms for a kilogram:
and
, the first expressing in terms of a thousand grams, and the other as a way of saying a 'metric pound'.
| Metric Weight Units |
|---|
| 微克 | wēi kè | 0.0000001 | microgram |
| 毫克 | háo kè | 0.001 | milligram |
| 厘克 | lí kè | 0.01 | centigram |
| 分克 | fēn kè | 0.1 | decigram |
| 克 | kè | 1 | gram |
| 十克 | shí kè | 10 | decagram |
| 百克 | bǎi kè | 100 | hectogram |
| 千克 | qiān kè | 1000 | kilogram |
| 公斤 | gōng jīn | 1000 | kilogram |
Terms for Imperial weight units are generally loanwords:
| Imperial Weight Units |
|---|
| 盎司 | àng sī | ounce |
| 镑 | bàng | pound |
| 英石 | yīng dàn | stone
(14 pounds) |
| 吨 | dūn | ton |
Examples
| Ten grams of sugar |
|---|
| ten | gram | sugar |
| 十 | 克 | 糖 |
| shí | kè | táng |
| Three pounds of potatoes |
|---|
| three | pounds | potatos |
| 三 | 磅 | 土豆 |
| sān | bàng | tǔ dòu |
| 100 milligrams of sodium |
|---|
| one hundred | milligrams | sodium |
| 一百 | 毫克 | 钠 |
| yī bǎi | háo kè | nà |
| The car weighs two thousand kilograms |
|---|
| car | weight | two thousand | kilograms |
| 车 | 重 | 两千 | 公斤 |
| chē | zhòng | liǎng qiān | gōng jīn |
| He weighs ninety kilograms |
|---|
| he | weighs | ninety | kilograms |
| 他 | 重 | 九十 | 公斤 |
| tā | zhòng | jiǔ shí | gōng jīn |
| A kilogram equals roughly 2.2 pounds |
|---|
| one | kilo | approx. | equal to | two point two | pounds |
| 一 | 公斤 | 大约 | 等于 | 两点二 | 磅 |
| yī | gōng jīn | dà yuē | děng yú | liǎng diǎn èr | bàng |
| Apples are 8 RMB per Chinese pound |
|---|
| apple(s) | one | Chinese lb. | eight | RMB |
| 苹果 | 一 | 斤 | 八 | 元 |
| píng guǒ | yī | jīn | bā | yuán |
| Nails cost ten (US) dollars per pound |
|---|
| nails | each | pound | ten | (US) dollars |
| 钉子 | 每 | 磅 | 十 | 美元 |
| dīng zi | měi | bàng | shí | měiyuán |
Download
Chinese Numbers for iPhone & iPad
lets you practice numbers and counting anytime, anywhere you are. Has two modes to input numbers and a challenging game to test your translation skills.
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