LessonsHSK 1 · Lesson 4
HSK 1 · Lesson 4 of 15
Numbers and age
Counting up to 9,999, asking how many, and saying how old you are. 20 words and 4 grammar points; tap the characters to hear them.
🔊 The sound in these lessons comes from your device’s own Mandarin voice, so it differs from device to device. Recorded audio will follow.
📚 Words
- Hán-Việt nhất The number one; before a measure word also 'a, an'.
- Hán-Việt nhị The number two, as used in counting, in larger numbers and in dates.
- Hán-Việt tam The number three, in counting and in figures.
- Hán-Việt tứ The number four, in counting and in figures.
- Hán-Việt ngũ The number five, in counting and in figures.
- Hán-Việt lục The number six, in counting and in figures.
- Hán-Việt thất The number seven, in counting and in figures.
- Hán-Việt bát The number eight, in counting and in figures.
- Hán-Việt cửu The number nine, in counting and in figures.
- Hán-Việt thập The number ten, also the building block of all numbers from eleven to ninety-nine.
- Hán-Việt linh The number zero, which also fills a gap inside a larger number.
- Hán-Việt lưỡng 'Two' when counting things: the form used before a measure word.
- Hán-Việt bách Hundred: the unit for counting in hundreds.
- Hán-Việt thiên The number a thousand, which always needs a number in front of it, even one.
- Hán-Việt bán Half, or 'and a half' after a number.
- Hán-Việt nhất bán Half of something, as an amount: half the people, half the money.
- Hán-Việt kỉ How many — asked when the answer is expected to be small, about ten or fewer.
- Hán-Việt đa thiểu How many, how much — the question word for amounts, prices and larger numbers.
- Hán-Việt tuế A year of age, used after a number to give someone's age.
- Hán-Việt đệ Put before a number to make it an ordinal: first, second, third and so on.
🧩 Grammar
Counting
Chinese numbers are built like Vietnamese ones: 十一 "ten-one" = 11, 二十 "two-ten" = 20, 二十五 = 25, 一百 = 100, 三千 = 3,000. A zero inside a number is said 零: 一百零五 = 105. 第 before a number makes it an order: 第一 "first", 第三天 "the third day".
- I have thirty books.
- This computer costs five thousand yuan.
二 or 两?
Both mean "two". Use 二 when counting and inside longer numbers (二, 十二, 二十, 第二). Before a measure word use 两: 两个人 "two people", 两本书 "two books" — never 二个.
- I have two younger brothers.
- Today is the twelfth.
几 or 多少?
Both ask "how many?". 几 expects a small number (under ten) and needs a measure word: 你有几个孩子？ 多少 is for any number and often goes without a measure word: 你们学校有多少学生？ For a price, ask 多少钱？ "How much is it?"
- How many children do you have?
- How many students are there at your school?
Saying your age: no verb needed
Age is said with 岁 and usually without 是: 我二十岁 "I'm twenty". Ask a child 你几岁？; ask an adult 你多大？ (literally "how big are you?").
- My little sister is eight.
- How old are you, little one?
🎯 Practice
The drill below uses only this lesson’s words. Switch the kind of drill:
Context clues Match the meaning Listen & type Fill the blank Put in order Hán-Việt bridge
Open the full practice page → · All 300 HSK 1 words