Numbers and Counting in Cantonese

In Brief

Cantonese numbers are highly regular: 11 is “ten-one” (十一 sap6 jat1), 20 is “two-ten” (二十 ji6 sap6), and 53 is “five-ten-three” (五十三 ng5 sap6 saam1). The main beginner distinction is that 二 ji6 is used inside numbers, while 兩 loeng5 normally means “two” before a classifier: 兩個人 loeng5 go3 jan4, “two people.”

Overview

Numbers are among the most useful A1 building blocks. You need them for prices, ages, times, dates, addresses, telephone numbers, and quantities. Cantonese uses the same decimal logic as English—units, tens, and hundreds—but builds most number words more transparently. Once you know 1–10, you can produce every cardinal number (a number telling “how many”) up to 100 with only a few patterns.

This article gives Traditional Chinese characters together with Jyutping, a romanization system that writes Cantonese pronunciation in the Latin alphabet. The final digit is a tone number, not part of the number being counted: 三 saam1 means “three,” and the 1 marks its Cantonese tone. Say the syllable and its tone together when practising.

English has only one ordinary word two, but Cantonese makes a useful distinction between 二 ji6 and 兩 loeng5. Learning that contrast early will make both your counting and your noun phrases sound much more natural.

How It Works

The basic numbers: 0–10

Cantonese	Jyutping	Number
零	ling4	0
一	jat1	1
二	ji6	2
三	saam1	3
四	sei3	4
五	ng5	5
六	luk6	6
七	cat1	7
八	baat3	8
九	gau2	9
十	sap6	10

Two pronunciation details deserve attention. 五 ng5 begins with a syllabic ng: the nasal sound itself carries the syllable. 七 cat1 begins with a sound close to the ts in English cats, not English k.

Building 11–19: ten + unit

Put 十 sap6 before the final unit. There is no word equivalent to English -teen.

Cantonese	Jyutping	Number	Literal pattern
十一	sap6 jat1	11	ten-one
十二	sap6 ji6	12	ten-two
十五	sap6 ng5	15	ten-five
十九	sap6 gau2	19	ten-nine

For 10 itself, say simply 十 sap6. Do not add 一 jat1 before it in ordinary counting.

Building the tens: unit + ten

From 20 onward, place the multiplier before 十 sap6. Add another unit after it when needed:

digit + 十 + digit

Cantonese	Jyutping	Number	Literal pattern
二十	ji6 sap6	20	two-ten
二十一	ji6 sap6 jat1	21	two-ten-one
三十	saam1 sap6	30	three-ten
四十八	sei3 sap6 baat3	48	four-ten-eight
五十三	ng5 sap6 saam1	53	five-ten-three
九十九	gau2 sap6 gau2	99	nine-ten-nine
一百	jat1 baak3	100	one-hundred

Unlike English, Cantonese does not insert anything like and in 53. It is simply 五十三 ng5 sap6 saam1. If the ones digit is zero, stop at 十: 50 is 五十 ng5 sap6, not a form ending in 零 ling4.

二 ji6 and 兩 loeng5: two different jobs

This is the central usage rule.

• Use 二 ji6 when “two” is a digit or part of a number: 二 ji6 (2), 十二 sap6 ji6 (12), 二十 ji6 sap6 (20), 二十二 ji6 sap6 ji6 (22).
• Use 兩 loeng5 for a quantity of two before a classifier (a counting word placed between a number and a noun): 兩個人 loeng5 go3 jan4, “two people.”

The basic noun-counting pattern is:

number + classifier + noun

Cantonese	Jyutping	English	Pattern
一個人	jat1 go3 jan4	one person	一 + 個 + 人
兩個人	loeng5 go3 jan4	two people	兩 + 個 + 人
三個人	saam1 go3 jan4	three people	三 + 個 + 人
兩本書	loeng5 bun2 syu1	two books	兩 + 本 + 書
兩隻貓	loeng5 zek3 maau1	two cats	兩 + 隻 + 貓

English can put a number directly before a countable noun: two books. Cantonese normally requires the classifier 本 bun2: 兩本書, literally “two-classifier-books.” 個 go3 is a common general classifier, but it does not replace every specific classifier.

For a beginner, the reliable rule is: 二 in the number itself; 兩 before a classifier. Later sections explain places where the choice is more nuanced.

Reading a quantity versus reading digits

A written string of digits can be treated in two ways. A quantity such as 53 follows place value and is read 五十三 ng5 sap6 saam1. A telephone number, room number, code, or similar identifier is often read one digit at a time. In digit-by-digit reading, use 零 ling4 for 0 and 二 ji6 for 2 rather than 兩 loeng5.

This difference resembles English fifty-three versus five-three. The surrounding situation tells listeners whether you mean an amount or an identifier.

Examples in Context

Cantonese	Jyutping	English	Note
我有三本書。	ngo5 jau5 saam1 bun2 syu1.	I have three books.	Number + book classifier + noun
呢度有兩個人。	ni1 dou6 jau5 loeng5 go3 jan4.	There are two people here.	兩 before 個
我想要兩杯茶。	ngo5 soeng2 jiu3 loeng5 bui1 caa4.	I would like two cups of tea.	杯 is the classifier for cups/glasses
佢買咗五隻雞蛋。	keoi5 maai5 zo2 ng5 zek3 gai1 daan2.	They bought five eggs.	A natural counted quantity
呢件衫五十三蚊。	ni1 gin6 saam1 ng5 sap6 saam1 man1.	This shirt is fifty-three dollars.	53 follows the regular tens pattern
我今年二十歲。	ngo5 gam1 nin4 ji6 sap6 seoi3.	I am twenty years old this year.	二 is part of 20
佢十二歲。	keoi5 sap6 ji6 seoi3.	They are twelve years old.	12 = ten-two
我哋有十個學生。	ngo5 dei6 jau5 sap6 go3 hok6 saang1.	We have ten students.	十 directly before the classifier
巴士仲有八分鐘到。	baa1 si2 zung6 jau5 baat3 fan1 zung1 dou3.	The bus will arrive in eight more minutes.	A time quantity
今日係七月四號。	gam1 jat6 hai6 cat1 jyut6 sei3 hou6.	Today is July 4.	Month and date use numbers
我住喺二十三樓。	ngo5 zyu6 hai2 ji6 sap6 saam1 lau4.	I live on the twenty-third floor.	23 remains a regular number form
一百個人參加。	jat1 baak3 go3 jan4 caam1 gaa1.	One hundred people are taking part.	100 + classifier + noun

Common Mistakes

Using 二 before every classifier

• Wrong: 二個人 ji6 go3 jan4
• Right: 兩個人 loeng5 go3 jan4
• Why: For an ordinary quantity of two, Cantonese normally uses 兩 before a classifier. English two does not prepare learners for this split, so memorise 兩個 as a unit.

Using 兩 inside a number from 0–99

• Wrong: 兩十 loeng5 sap6 for 20
• Right: 二十 ji6 sap6
• Why: The tens digit is part of the number’s internal structure, so use 二. The same applies to 十二 and 二十二.

Copying English word order for the teens

• Wrong: 一十六 jat1 sap6 luk6 for 16
• Right: 十六 sap6 luk6
• Why: Numbers 11–19 begin with 十 alone: “ten + unit.” The leading 一 is omitted.

Leaving out the classifier

• Wrong: 三書 saam1 syu1 for “three books”
• Right: 三本書 saam1 bun2 syu1
• Why: A classifier normally stands between a number and a noun. Here, 本 bun2 counts bound volumes such as books.

Treating Jyutping tone numbers as countable digits

• Wrong idea: Reading the 3 in sei3 aloud after the syllable.
• Right: Say sei3 as one syllable with tone 3.
• Why: Jyutping’s final numeral labels the tone. It is pronunciation information, not part of the Cantonese word for four.

Adding “and” inside compound numbers

• Wrong: Trying to insert an extra word into 五十三 because English may say “fifty-three” or, in larger numbers, “one hundred and…”.
• Right: 五十三 ng5 sap6 saam1
• Why: Cantonese forms 0–99 by placing the relevant number units directly together.

Usage Notes

Characters and speech

Arabic numerals are common in signs, prices, timetables, messages, and other everyday writing. Knowing the spoken forms remains essential because a price written $53 is said with the same number structure as 五十三. Traditional characters are standard in Hong Kong Cantonese writing.

Counting objects

The number system itself is regular, but real-life counting quickly brings in classifiers. 個 go3 is widely useful and can cover many people and things in casual speech, while nouns such as books, animals, vehicles, and cups have common specific classifiers. This article focuses on the number; classifier choice is a connected topic of its own.

Pronunciation matters

Cantonese numbers are not Mandarin numbers pronounced with a Cantonese accent. Some written characters are shared, but their Cantonese readings are distinct: 二 ji6, 四 sei3, and 十 sap6, for example. Learn each form with its Jyutping and tone instead of guessing from another Chinese variety.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master all of these points at A1, but they explain forms you will encounter later.

Hundreds and the role of zero

The next place-value word is 百 baak3, “hundred.” 一百 jat1 baak3 is 100, and 兩百 loeng5 baak3 is a common way to say 200 because 兩 is natural before a counting unit such as 百. In careful numerical contexts, 二百 ji6 baak3 can also occur.

When a place in the middle is missing, 零 ling4 holds that gap. For example, 105 is 一百零五 jat1 baak3 ling4 ng5. This is different from exact tens such as 150, 一百五十 jat1 baak3 ng5 sap6, where no placeholder is needed. These larger-number rules extend the same place-value system introduced above.

Ordinal numbers

An ordinal tells position in a sequence—first, second, or third—rather than quantity. Cantonese normally puts 第 dai6 before the cardinal number:

• 第一 dai6 jat1 — first
• 第二 dai6 ji6 — second
• 第三 dai6 saam1 — third

Notice 第二, not 第兩. Here “two” is part of an ordered label, so 二 is used. A classifier may follow an ordinal in a fuller phrase, as in 第二個問題 dai6 ji6 go3 man6 tai4, “the second question.”

二 and 兩 in larger expressions

The beginner rule remains dependable: use 二 in fixed numeral strings and 兩 to count two items. At larger place values, however, 兩 commonly appears before 百 baak3 and 千 cin1, so the contrast is not simply “兩 can only precede classifiers.” Formal style, digit reading, conventional expressions, and regional preference can affect the choice. Focus first on saying 二十 and 兩個 correctly; refine larger numbers as you meet them.

Special-purpose number reading

Telephone numbers and codes are identifiers rather than quantities, so speakers generally read their digits separately. Prices, years, addresses, dates, and floor numbers each develop conventional ways of being read. The core digits do not change, but deciding between place-value reading and digit-by-digit reading depends on what the number represents.

Practice Tips

1. Build numbers in both directions. Pick ten numbers from 0–100. Read 47 as 四十七 sei3 sap6 cat1, then hear or say the Cantonese and write the Arabic numeral. This prevents recognition from getting ahead of production.
2. Practise “two” in contrasting pairs. Say 二十 ji6 sap6 beside 兩個 loeng5 go3, then make pairs such as 十二本書 sap6 ji6 bun2 syu1 and 兩本書 loeng5 bun2 syu1. The contrast is easier to remember in a phrase than as an abstract rule.
3. Use numbers you genuinely need. Practise your age, familiar prices, important dates, bus routes, and the last few digits of a made-up telephone number. Keep Jyutping tone numbers visible until the tones become part of each word.

Related Concepts

• Next step: Basic Classifiers (Measure Words) — learn which counting word belongs between a number and a noun.
• Next step: Time Expressions — use numbers for hours, minutes, and everyday schedules.
• Next step: Money and Shopping — apply numbers to prices, payment, and quantities.
• Next step: Days, Months, and Dates — combine numbers with months, dates, and days of the week.