Introduction
English counts in threes — thousand, million. Chinese counts in fours, and the first new milestone is 万 (wàn), which is ten thousand. Get 万 (wàn) wrong and every large number after it is wrong too. When the figure does not matter, say 好多 (hǎo duō) — loads.
Overview
Structure: Number + 万 (wàn) · 好多 (hǎo duō) + Noun
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 万 | 一万 (yí wàn) | ten thousand |
| 十万 | 十万 (shí wàn) | a hundred thousand |
| Num + 万 + MW | 两万块钱 (liǎng wàn kuài qián) | twenty thousand kuai |
| 好多 + Noun | 好多人 (hǎo duō rén) | loads of people |
| 好多 + MW + Noun | 好多个问题 (hǎo duō ge wèntí) | a whole lot of questions |
万 (wàn) is ten thousand, not a thousand:
- 一万 (yí wàn) = 10,000 · 十万 (shí wàn) = 100,000 · 一百万 (yìbǎi wàn) = 1,000,000.
- Chinese has its own digit for this, so English "a hundred thousand" is one word here: 十万 (shí wàn).
- Before 万 (wàn) the number two is 两 (liǎng), not 二 (èr): ✓ 两万 (liǎng wàn) ❌ 二万 (èr wàn).
- 好多 (hǎo duō) is the spoken 很多 (hěn duō) and goes straight onto a noun: 好多人 (hǎo duō rén).
Examples
这个学校有三千多个学生。
Zhège xuéxiào yǒu sānqiān duō ge xuésheng.
This school has over three thousand students.
这辆车要二十万块。
Zhè liàng chē yào èrshí wàn kuài.
This car costs two hundred thousand kuai.
北京有两千多万人。
Běijīng yǒu liǎngqiān duō wàn rén.
Beijing has over twenty million people.
门口有好多人。
Ménkǒu yǒu hǎo duō rén.
There are loads of people at the door.
我有好多问题想问你。
Wǒ yǒu hǎo duō wèntí xiǎng wèn nǐ.
I've got a whole lot of questions for you.
这本书卖了一万多本。
Zhè běn shū mài le yíwàn duō běn.
This book has sold over ten thousand copies.
Usage Notes
- The digits in order: 十 (shí)、百 (bǎi)、千 (qiān)、万 (wàn), then 十万 (shí wàn)、百万 (bǎi wàn)、千万 (qiān wàn)、亿 (yì).
- The quickest way to read a big figure is to break it every four digits from the right, not every three: 20,0000 is 二十万 (èrshí wàn).
- 两 (liǎng) is used before 万 (wàn)、千 (qiān)、百 (bǎi) and measure words; 二 (èr) survives in 十二 (shí'èr) and in the tens: 二十 (èrshí).
- 好多 (hǎo duō) is casual and slightly warm. In writing use 很多 (hěn duō) or 许多 (xǔduō).
- 好几 (hǎo jǐ) is its smaller cousin — "a good few": 好几个人 (hǎo jǐ ge rén).