Numbers in the wild — big numbers, hedges, ratios, and repeats
B1-level Mandarin demands more than 一, 二, 三. You need exact big numbers (一百, 一千, 一万), approximations (大概, 左右, 多, 几, 来), rounded amounts (一百多, 几十), fractions and percentages (三分之一, 百分之五十), and repetition patterns (天天, 年年, 一次又一次). Most are short and combinatorial — once you see the structure, dozens of expressions fall into place. The big trap is that Mandarin counts in 万 (ten thousand), not thousands — so 30,000 is 三万, not 三十千. Approximations cluster around the noun in fixed slots: 大概 before, 左右 / 多 after. Get this scaffolding and your numbers will sound native.
Exact numbers — 百, 千, 万 (and the 万-trap)
百 bǎi = hundred. 一百 = 100. 两百 / 二百 = 200. 千 qiān = thousand. 一千 = 1,000. 五千 = 5,000. 万 wàn = TEN thousand — this is the unit Mandarin uses where English uses 'thousand'. 一万 = 10,000. 十万 = 100,000. 一百万 = 1,000,000 (one million = literally 'one hundred ten-thousands'). 一千万 = 10 million. 一亿 yì = 100 million. To say 30,000 it's 三万, NOT 三十千 (which is wrong). For 25,000 it's 两万五千 (lit. 'two ten-thousands five thousand'). Zero in the middle of a number is read with 零 líng: 一千零五 = 1,005 (one thousand zero five). Multiple internal zeros collapse to one 零: 一万零三 = 10,003. Trailing zeros may be silent: 一千五 can mean 1,500 (one thousand five [hundred]). Context decides — if precision matters, say 一千五百 in full.
大概 / 大约 / 差不多 — approximate (placed BEFORE)
Three near-synonyms for 'about / approximately', all placed BEFORE the number / amount. 大概 dàgài = roughly, probably (most common, slightly more colloquial). 大约 dàyuē = approximately (a touch more formal / written). 差不多 chàbuduō = almost / about (lit. 'differ-not-much'). 大概有一百人。 = There are about 100 people. 大约一千块钱。 = Around 1,000 kuai. 差不多两个小时。 = Almost two hours. All three can also hedge predictions: 他大概不会来。 = He probably won't come. 差不多 also stands alone as a reply: 差不多。 = Close enough / about right. The three overlap freely; pick whichever feels right. The only crisp distinction: 差不多 suggests 'just shy of', while 大概 / 大约 are neutral 'around'.
左右 / 多 / 几 / 来 — approximations placed AFTER
Mandarin loves to attach approximation markers AFTER the number. 左右 zuǒyòu (lit. 'left-right') = around / give or take. 三十岁左右 = around 30 years old. 一百块左右 = around 100 kuai. 左右 is the most common 'plus or minus' marker. 多 duō placed AFTER a number = 'more than / and a bit'. 三十多个人 = 30-some people (between 30 and 40). 一百多块 = 100-and-something kuai. Note that 多 sits between the number and the measure word for round numbers (三十多个, not 三多十个). 几 jǐ = a few (precisely 2-9). 几个朋友 = a few friends. 十几个 = 10-something (11-19). 几十 = several tens (20-90). 几百 = a few hundred. 一百几十 = 100-something. 来 lái in 十来个 / 二十来岁 = 'about / -ish'. 二十来岁 = twenty-something (in their twenties). 十来个 = about ten. Pattern: 多 is 'more than X', 几 is 'a few', 来 is 'thereabouts'. They don't combine: 十多几个 is wrong.
Big rounded amounts — 一百多, 几千, 上万
Combine the bricks for natural rounded amounts. 一百多 = 100-something. 一千多 = 1,000-something. 一万多 = 10,000-something. 几百 = a few hundred. 几千 = a few thousand. 几万 = tens of thousands. 十几万 = 100,000-something (literally 'ten-something ten-thousands'). 上百 / 上千 / 上万 with 上 shàng = 'up to / hundreds of / thousands of' — emphasizing scale: 上千个人 = thousands of people. 成千上万 chéngqiān shàngwàn is a fixed idiom = 'thousands upon thousands'. Examples: 这本书有三百多页。 = This book has 300-something pages. 会场有几千人。 = There are several thousand people at the venue. 他赚了几十万。 = He made a few hundred thousand. The combinations are endless once you see the bricks: NUMBER + 多 / 几 + COUNTER / 上 + COUNTER.
Fractions and percentages — 分之 and 百分之
Fractions in Mandarin go BACKWARD from English: denominator FIRST, then 分之 fēnzhī, then numerator. 三分之一 = 'three's-of-one' = 1/3. 四分之三 = 3/4. 十分之七 = 7/10. 二分之一 = 1/2 (though native speakers often say 一半 = half for this). Percentages are a special case: 百分之 bǎi fēn zhī + number = 'percent'. 百分之五十 = 50%. 百分之百 = 100%. 百分之十 = 10%. The structure is the same as fractions (denominator 100 / numerator). 公司的利润增加了百分之二十。 = The company's profit increased by 20%. For decimals: 点 diǎn = decimal point. 三点一四 = 3.14. 零点五 = 0.5. 一半 yībàn = a half (the most common way to say 'half', simpler than 二分之一): 一半的人 = half of the people. 一半一半 = fifty-fifty / half and half.
Repetition — 天天, 年年, 一次又一次
Mandarin makes 'every X' by reduplicating time / count nouns. 天天 = every day (= 每天 from lesson 8). 年年 = every year. 月月 = every month. 人人 = everyone. 家家 = every home / every family. 个个 = each one. Reduplication implies 'each and every, without exception' — slightly more emphatic than 每: 天天都来 = comes every single day. Note 天天 / 年年 are mostly used in subject position with 都; for object roles you'd say 每天 / 每年. For 'X again and again', use 一 + measure + 又 + 一 + measure: 一次又一次 = time and time again. 一遍又一遍 = over and over (saying / reading). 一年又一年 = year after year. Pattern: 一 + M + 又 + 一 + M. Different from 再 + V (lesson 18 = V again [once more]) — 一次又一次 emphasizes accumulation. Also: 越来越 (lesson 22 = more and more) overlaps in spirit but tracks change, not repetition: 越来越多 = more and more, 一次又一次 = again and again.
Counting traps and stylistic notes
Trap 1: 二 vs. 两. Both = 2, but 两 is used before measure words: 两个人 (two people), not 二个人. 二 is for the digit (in counting, telephone numbers, ordinal positions): 二月 = February, 第二 = second, 一二三 = one two three. For 200, both 两百 and 二百 are accepted (north prefers 二百, south prefers 两百). For 2,000 and 20,000, 两千 / 两万 are standard. Trap 2: 多 has TWO positions with different meanings. 三十多个 = 30-something (between 30 and 40 — number-internal). 三十个多 is unusual; the closest is 三十个多一点 = 30-and-a-bit. Trap 3: 半 placement — 一个半小时 = 1.5 hours (one + measure + 半 + noun), but 半个小时 = half an hour (半 + measure + noun). The 半 floats. Trap 4: when reading prices, 块 kuài (informal) = 元 yuán (formal). 35.5 yuan is 三十五块五 (informal) or 三十五元五角 (formal).
