Learn Chinese for Free - Lesson 1
Today's Chinese characters:
一二三十
Here we are with your first Chinese characters! How do you feel? When I started to learn Chinese characters I felt pleasantly excited and at the same time terrified!
That's why I have carefully selected the characters in this first lesson. I want to soften as much as possible the impact.
Are they not the simplest signs you've ever seen? They are four numbers, number 1, number 2, number 3, and number 10, respectively.
Using our first, simple, pretty today's characters, you're going to learn how to write and read in Chinese the following numbers:
1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 20, 21, 22, 23, 30, 31, 32, and 33.
| Character Knowledge Meter |
|---|
|
2.04%
Today with this lesson your knowledge of Chinese characters will reach 2.04% of all the Chinese language usage! |
Characters' Essentials
ATTENTION: When alone, before 十 or at the end of a word or a sentence, it is pronounced in the first tone. When it precedes a syllable of the first, second or third tone, it is pronounced in the fourth tone. It is pronounced in the second tone when it is followed by a fourth tone.
| - | One |
| - | Two |
| - | Three |
| - | Ten |
Description and Examples
Combining the above four Chinese characters, more numbers can be obtained.
For example, writing 一 after 十, we get number eleven.
十一 eleven
Writing 二 or 三 after 十, we get numbers twelve or thirteen, respectively.
十二 twelve
十三 thirteen
On the other hand, if we put 二 or 三 before 十, we obtain numbers twenty or thirty, respectively.
二十 twenty
三十 thirty
ATTENTION: Number ten doesn't need 一 before 十. Anyway, as you're going to learn in a future lesson, if 十 is inside a bigger number, such as 310 or 3010, 一 is needed before it. |
What if we write 二 before and after 十? Well, we get number 22!
二十二 twenty-two
Other examples:
二十一 twenty-one
三十一 thirty-one
三十三 thirty-three
Exercise
Using Chinese characters, write, on paper, the following numbers:
| 1 | |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | |
| 13 | |
| 20 | |
| 21 | |
| 22 | |
| 23 | |
| 30 | |
| 31 | |
| 32 | |
| 33 |
That's all for today. I wish you like my website and go on clicking and clicking on its other sections!
Characters' Details
Chinese Character 1 of 1000
appearance score: # 2
frequency: 1.5765677%
ATTENTION: When alone, before 十 or at the end of a word or a sentence, it is pronounced in the first tone. When it precedes a syllable of the first, second or third tone, it is pronounced in the fourth tone. It is pronounced in the second tone when it is followed by a fourth tone.
| - | One, 1; same; also; whole; wholehearted; single; each |
| - | As soon as |
| - | (A note, equivalent to 7, of the scale in gongchepu, a traditional Chinese musical notation) |
| - | (Used as structural particle: 1. indicating that the action occurs once, lasts for a short time or is a try; 2. used before a verb or a verbal measure word to indicate an action and its result; 3. used before certain words for emphasis) |
There's no difference between the simplified and the traditional version of this character.
Chinese Character 2 of 1000
appearance score: # 157
frequency: 0.1382431%
| - | Two, 2 |
| - | (ATTENTION: For details about the different use of 二 and 两, please see 两) |
| - | Different |
There's no difference between the simplified and the traditional version of this character.
Chinese Character 3 of 1000
appearance score: # 125
frequency: 0.1572432%
There's no difference between the simplified and the traditional version of this character.
Chinese Character 4 of 1000
appearance score: # 112
frequency: 0.1751663%
There's no difference between the simplified and the traditional version of this character.
I will contact you ASAP!
