Lesson 2: Numbers 1-20 | Chinese A1

Warm-up

Numbers Are Everywhere / 数字无处不在

Numbers are one of the first things you need in any language. Phone numbers, prices, addresses, ages — you use them every day. In Chinese, numbers are very logical (11 = 十一 = ten-one). English numbers are a bit more irregular, but don't worry — we'll learn the patterns!

数字是任何语言中最先需要学习的内容之一。电话号码、价格、地址、年龄——每天都在用。中文数字很有规律（11 = 十一）。英语数字稍微不规则，但别担心——我们会学习规律！

Vocabulary / 词汇

Numbers 1-10 / 数字 1-10

Click each card to reveal the Chinese translation. These 10 numbers are the building blocks!

点击每张卡片查看中文翻译。这10个数字是基础！

one /wʌn/

一 (yī)

Tap to flip

two /tuː/

二 (èr)

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three /θriː/

三 (sān)

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four /fɔːr/

四 (sì)

Tap to flip

five /faɪv/

五 (wǔ)

Tap to flip

six /sɪks/

六 (liù)

Tap to flip

seven /ˈsev.ən/

七 (qī)

Tap to flip

eight /eɪt/

八 (bā)

Tap to flip

nine /naɪn/

九 (jiǔ)

Tap to flip

ten /ten/

十 (shí)

Tap to flip

Numbers 11-20 / 数字 11-20

Numbers 11-12 are unique words. Numbers 13-19 follow a pattern: they end in "-teen" (like "thirteen"). And 20 is "twenty." In Chinese, these are perfectly logical (11 = 十一, 12 = 十二), but English is irregular!

11和12是特殊的单词。13-19遵循一个规律：以“-teen”结尾。20是“twenty”。中文里这些数字完全有规律（11=十一，12=十二），但英语是不规则的！

eleven /ɪˈlev.ən/

十一 (shí yī)

Tap

twelve /twelv/

十二 (shí èr)

Tap

thirteen /θɜːrˈtiːn/

十三 (shí sān)

Tap

fourteen /fɔːrˈtiːn/

十四 (shí sì)

Tap

fifteen /fɪfˈtiːn/

十五 (shí wǔ)

Tap

sixteen /sɪksˈtiːn/

十六 (shí liù)

Tap

seventeen /sev.ənˈtiːn/

十七 (shí qī)

Tap

eighteen /eɪˈtiːn/

十八 (shí bā)

Tap

nineteen /naɪnˈtiːn/

十九 (shí jiǔ)

Tap

twenty /ˈtwen.ti/

二十 (èr shí)

Tap

Key Phrases / 关键句型

Using Numbers / 使用数字

I am ___ years old

/aɪ æm ___ jɪərz oʊld/

我___岁了 (wǒ ___ suì le)

Tap to flip

My phone number is...

/maɪ foʊn ˈnʌmbər ɪz/

我的电话号码是... (wǒ de diàn huà hào mǎ shì...)

Tap to flip

How old are you?

/haʊ oʊld ɑːr juː/

你几岁了？ (nǐ jǐ suì le?)

Tap to flip

Real Conversation / 真实对话

At the Registration Desk / 在登记处

Read this conversation where two people share their ages and phone numbers.

阅读这段对话，两个人在分享他们的年龄和电话号码。

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At a Registration Desk

在登记处

Hi! How old are you?

嗨！你几岁了？

I am nineteen years old. And you?

我十九岁了。你呢？

I'm twenty. What's your phone number?

我二十岁。你的电话号码是多少？

My phone number is five-five-five, one-two-three-four.

我的电话号码是 555-1234。

Thank you! See you later.

谢谢！回头见。

Grammar Spotlight / 语法要点

"-teen" vs "-ty" / “-teen”和“-ty”的区别

One of the trickiest things in English numbers is the difference between "-teen" (13-19) and "-ty" (20, 30, 40...). They sound very similar! In Chinese, numbers are perfectly regular — 11 is 十一 (ten-one), 20 is 二十 (two-ten). English is not so logical!

英语数字最难的部分之一是“-teen”（13-19）和“-ty”（20, 30, 40...）的区别。它们听起来很像！中文数字完全有规律——11是十一，20是二十。英语就没这么有逻辑了！

💡 "-teen" (teens) vs "-ty" (tens)

-teen (13-19)	-ty (tens)	中文对比
thirteen (13)	thirty (30)	十三 vs 三十
fourteen (14)	forty (40)	十四 vs 四十
fifteen (15)	fifty (50)	十五 vs 五十
sixteen (16)	sixty (60)	十六 vs 六十

Key Difference / 关键区别

Chinese: perfectly regular — 11 = 十一 (ten-one), 20 = 二十 (two-ten)

English: irregular — 11 = eleven (unique word!), 20 = twenty (not "two-ty"!)

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Tip for Chinese Speakers

Lucky & unlucky numbers: In Chinese culture, the number 4 (四/sì) sounds like "death" (死/sǐ) and is considered unlucky. But in English, "four" has no negative meaning at all! Similarly, 8 (八/bā) is very lucky in Chinese, but English speakers don't consider it special. Numbers in English are just numbers — no luck attached! 吉利和不吉利的数字：在中文里，4（四/sì）听起来像“死”（sǐ），被认为不吉利。但在英语里，“four”没有任何负面含义！同样，8（八/bā）在中文里很吉利，但英语人并不觉得它特别。英语里的数字就是数字——没有吉凶之分！

Practice / 练习

Test What You've Learned / 测试你学到的内容

Complete these exercises to practice your English numbers. Don't worry about mistakes — they help you learn!

完成这些练习来复习英语数字。不要担心犯错——错误能帮助你学习！

Multiple ChoiceExercise 1 of 4

What number is "fifteen"?

“fifteen”是什么数字？

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Correct! Fifteen = 15. Remember: "-teen" numbers are 13-19. / 正确！Fifteen = 15。记住：“-teen”数字是13-19。

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Not quite. Fifteen = 15. "Five" = 5, "Fifteen" = 15, "Fifty" = 50. / 不太对。Fifteen = 15。“Five” = 5，“Fifteen” = 15，“Fifty” = 50。

Fill in the BlankExercise 2 of 4

Write the English word for the number 12:

写出数字12的英文单词：

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Correct! 12 = Twelve. It's one of the two unique numbers (11 and 12). / 正确！12 = Twelve。它是两个特殊数字之一（11和12）。

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The answer is "twelve." 12 = twelve. Remember: 11 (eleven) and 12 (twelve) are unique! / 答案是“twelve”。12 = twelve。记住：11（eleven）和12（twelve）是特殊的！

Multiple ChoiceExercise 3 of 4

"I am eighteen years old." How old is this person?

“I am eighteen years old.” 这个人多大了？

🎉

Correct! Eighteen = 18. "Eight" = 8, "Eighteen" = 18, "Eighty" = 80. / 正确！Eighteen = 18。“Eight” = 8，“Eighteen” = 18，“Eighty” = 80。

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The answer is 18. "Eighteen" = 18. Remember the "-teen" pattern! / 答案是18。“Eighteen” = 18。记住“-teen”规律！

Word OrderExercise 4 of 4

Put the words in the correct order to say your age:

把单词排列成正确的顺序来说你的年龄：“我二十岁”

old

years

twenty

🎉

You got it! "I am twenty years old" is how we say 我二十岁了 in English. / 你做到了！“I am twenty years old”就是英语里的“我二十岁了”。

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Close! The correct order is: "I am twenty years old." / 正确顺序是：“I am twenty years old.”

Key Takeaways / 关键要点

Numbers 1-10 are unique words: one, two, three... ten.

11 (eleven) and 12 (twelve) are irregular — just memorize them.

Numbers 13-19 end in "-teen": thirteen, fourteen, fifteen...

"-teen" (13-19) vs "-ty" (30, 40, 50...) — listen carefully for the ending!

"How old are you?" = 你几岁了？ → "I am ___ years old."

Chinese numbers are logical (十一 = 11). English numbers 11-12 are irregular!

Lesson 1: Greetings Lesson 3