Big numbers, 零 gaps, and 两 vs 二
Chinese groups big numbers by 万 (wàn, ten thousand), not thousands: 十万 = 100,000, 一百万 (yìbǎiwàn) = 1,000,000. Build from the biggest unit down: 三千五百 (sānqiān wǔbǎi, 3,500). Insert 零 (líng) for an internal gap: 一百零五 (yìbǎi líng wǔ, 105), 一千零二十 (1,020) — 一百五 alone means 150. Use 两 (liǎng), NOT 二 (èr), before a measure word and 百/千/万: 两个人 (liǎng gè rén), 两百, 两千. Keep 二 in the tens/units and ordinals: 十二 (shí'èr, 12), 二十, 第二 (dì-èr). So 22 = 二十二, but 2 books = 两本书.
Tell the time 点/分/刻/半; date big-to-small
Ask 现在几点？(Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?). Use 点 (diǎn, o'clock), 分 (fēn, minute), 刻 (kè, quarter), 半 (bàn, half): 三点 (3:00), 三点一刻 (sān diǎn yí kè, 3:15), 三点半 (3:30). Note 2 o'clock is 两点 (liǎng diǎn) but 12 o'clock is 十二点 (shí'èr diǎn). Add 上午/下午/晚上 for am/pm/evening: 晚上七点 (7pm). Dates run BIG to SMALL — year, month, day, weekday: 二〇二四年七月八号星期一 (Monday 8 July 2024). Read the year digit by digit (二〇二四, not 两千…). Use 号 (hào) in speech, 日 (rì) in writing.
Word order: time-when vs duration; prices
A time-WHEN phrase goes BEFORE the verb: 我们晚上七点吃饭 (Wǒmen wǎnshang qī diǎn chīfàn) — we eat at 7pm. A DURATION (how long) goes AFTER the verb: 我等了半个小时 (Wǒ děng le bàn gè xiǎoshí) — I waited half an hour; with an object, copy the verb: 我学中文学了三年 (xué le sān nián). Units: 三个小时, 三个月 take 个; 二十分钟, 三天, 三年 do not. Prices: ask 多少钱 (duōshao qián); spoken 块/毛/分, written 元/角/分: 三十五块五毛 (35.5 yuan). Foreign money: 英镑 (pound), 欧元 (euro), 美元 (US dollar).
Drawn from real examiner reports.
Wrong or missing measure word (量词)
Chinese has no plural ending, so quantity = number + the CORRECT 量词 + noun, and 个 does not fit every noun. ✗ 一个书 → ✓ 一本书 (yì běn shū); ✗ 三个茶 → ✓ 三杯茶 (sān bēi chá); ✗ 两个票 → ✓ 两张票 (liǎng zhāng piào — flat things take 张). Learn each noun with its 量词: 本 (books), 张 (flat things), 杯 (cups), 条 (long things), 位 (people, polite), 口 (family). And two tickets = 两张票, not 二张票.
Wrong/omitted 量词 is a stock error, and with no plural inflection quantity rests entirely on number + 量词 (general FL trap; plural ambiguity noted June 2023 1CN0/2H).
Time-when placed after the verb (calque)
A time-WHEN expression must come BEFORE the verb, unlike English which often puts it last. ✗ 我去上海明天 (calque of "I go to Shanghai tomorrow") → ✓ 我明天去上海 (Wǒ míngtiān qù Shànghǎi). ✗ 我们见面下午三点 → ✓ 我们下午三点见面 (jiànmiàn = meet). Order = subject – time – (place) – verb. A DURATION is different — it follows the verb (我等了半个小时). Check the clock/calendar time sits before the verb.
(general FL trap)
Impossible or unchecked number/time
Numbers, times and prices must be PLAUSIBLE — reread what you wrote. A unit slip turns 四十分钟 (sìshí fēnzhōng, 40 minutes) into an absurd 一个月零四十个小时 (one month and forty hours). ✗ 星期八 (no eighth weekday) → ✓ 星期日/星期天 (Sunday); ✗ 十三月 → ✓ 十二月 is the last month. A clock time uses 点/分, but a LENGTH of time uses 个小时/分钟/天. Give ONE quantity per mark — no choice such as 三个/四个.
Written answers should be plausible — 40 minutes vs an unintended one month and forty hours — and a 1-mark response should give a single answer, not a slash-separated choice (June 2023 1CN0/1H).
Dropping 零 in an internal gap
When a number has an empty internal place you MUST insert 零 (líng), or the value changes. ✗ 一百五 does NOT mean 105 — it is 150 (一百五十 shortened). ✓ 105 = 一百零五 (yìbǎi líng wǔ); ✓ 1,020 = 一千零二十; one 零 covers several empty places: 一千零五 (1,005). Add no 零 when the gap is at the END: 一百五十 (150), 三千五百 (3,500). Read big unit down, adding 零 where a middle place is skipped.
(general FL trap)
Date order and reading the year
Dates go BIG to SMALL — year, month, day, weekday — the reverse of common English order. ✗ 八号七月 (day before month, calque of "8th of July") → ✓ 七月八号 (qī yuè bā hào, 8 July). Full: 二〇二四年七月八号星期一 (Monday 8 July 2024). Read a YEAR digit by digit: ✓ 二〇二四年 (èr líng èr sì nián) — ✗ not 两千零二十四年. Use 号 (hào) for the day in speech, 日 (rì) in writing.
(general FL trap)
The belief that 二 (èr) and 两 (liǎng) both just mean two and can be swapped freely
二 (èr) and 两 (liǎng) both mean "two" but are NOT interchangeable. Use 两 before a MEASURE WORD and 百/千/万: ✓ 两个人 (liǎng gè rén), ✓ 两杯茶, ✓ 两百块, ✓ 两点 (2 o'clock). Use 二 in the tens/units digit and ORDINALS: ✓ 十二 (shí'èr, 12), ✓ 二十二, ✓ 第二 (dì-èr), ✓ 二楼. So 12 o'clock = 十二点 and the second time = 第二次. Wrong choices like 二个人 or 第两 are errors — decide by the word's job, not meaning.
Wrong 个 in a length of time
A duration needs the right unit, and only some take 个. 小时 (hour) and 月 (month) DO take 个: 三个小时 (sān gè xiǎoshí), 三个月; 星期 (week) too: 三个星期. But 分钟 (minute), 天 (day) and 年 (year) do NOT: ✓ 二十分钟, ✓ 三天, ✓ 三年 — ✗ 三个年, ✗ 三个天. And the whole duration follows the verb: 我住了三个星期 (wǒ zhù le sān gè xīngqī), not 我三个星期住了.
(general FL trap)
First decide 两/二 and the 量词
Before writing a quantity, settle two things. 两 or 二? Use 两 (liǎng) before a measure word and 百/千/万 (两点, 两张票), but 二 (èr) in the tens/units and ordinals (十二, 第二). Then pick the 量词 for the noun — 张 tickets, 杯 drinks, 本 books — not 个. These two choices carry the accuracy marks.
Put time in the right place
Sort the time words first. A clock or calendar time goes BEFORE the verb: 我明天去, 晚上七点吃饭. A length of time goes AFTER the verb: 等了半个小时, copying the verb if there is an object (学中文学了三年). Order a date big to small (年-月-号-星期) and read the year digit by digit: 二〇二四年.
Sense-check and match the question word
Sense-check every number task: no 星期八, no 十三月, no impossible price or duration, and exactly ONE answer per mark. Then match the exact question word: 几点 wants a clock time, 多久 a length of time, 多少钱 an amount. Answering 多久 (how long) with a 什么时候 (when) reply scores nothing.
This grammar topic (Section G, G7) covers numbers up to 1,000,000, ordinal numbers with 第, stating quantities (number + measure word + noun), telling the time and the date, currencies and prices, and the two word-order rules that trip learners up: a length of time (duration) goes AFTER the verb, but a clock/calendar time goes BEFORE the verb. These building blocks appear in every skill and every theme.
| 汉字 | Pinyin | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 十 / 二十 / 九十九 | shí / èrshí / jiǔshíjiǔ | 10 / 20 / 99 |
| 一百 / 一百零五 | yìbǎi / yìbǎi líng wǔ | 100 / 105 |
| 一千 / 一千零二十 | yìqiān / yìqiān líng èrshí | 1,000 / 1,020 |
| 一万 / 十万 | yíwàn / shíwàn | 10,000 / 100,000 |
| 一百万 | yìbǎiwàn | 1,000,000 |
Say the numbers 1 to 10 in Chinese (with pinyin).
用中文（汉字）写出下面四个数字，并标出拼音：8、20、105、1000。
Level-of-response questions with model answers and mark scheme rubrics.
你想邀请一个中国朋友周末一起去看电影。请给他/她写一条微信留言，内容要写清楚以下几点：（1）哪一天、几点看电影（写出日期和时间）；（2）在哪儿见面，几点见面；（3）一张票多少钱。请用中文（汉字）书写，约80-90字，注意日期、时间和价钱都要写清楚、合理。（8分）
你们学校的中文杂志在征集「难忘的一天」的文章。请写一篇文章，描述你最近很忙、也很开心的一天，内容包括：（1）那天是哪一天，你几点起床、几点出门（写出具体的日期和时间）；（2）你做了哪些事，每件事花了多长时间，花了多少钱（用时长和价钱）；（3）那天给你什么感受，以后你想不想再过这样的一天，为什么。请用中文（汉字）书写，约130-150字，注意时间点放在动词前、时长放在动词后，量词和"两/二"用对。（16分）
这是一段口语角色扮演（Role Play）。情境：你在中国的电影院买票。你（考生）扮演顾客，老师扮演售票员。请你用中文完成下面的任务： （1）说你想买几张什么票（例如：两张学生票）； （2）问一场电影几点开始； （3）回答售票员一个关于你想看哪一天的问题（说出日期）； （4）问一张票多少钱、一共多少钱； （5）礼貌地感谢并结束对话。（约10分）
