Chinese numbering

Chinese

Speakers of the Chinese language use three written numeral systems: the globally used Hindu-Arabic system, and two ancient Chinese systems: the classic character-based (phonetic) writing system that is still used in some ceremonies, commercials, or when Bank notes are written like checks (since their complexity makes counterfeiting difficult). The other is a positional system, the huama (in traditional Chinese, 花碼; in simplified Chinese, 花码; pinyin, huāmǎ; literally, 'flowery or fancy numbers') that is being gradually supplanted by Arabic. Currently, the huāmǎ system is the only surviving variation of the rod number system and is used exclusively in Chinese markets, such as Hong Kong.

All blue Chinese characters in this article are links to their respective Wiktionary entries.

Chinese numerals

There are nine characters, these characters represent the numbers from one to nine, and the rest represent larger numbers like tens, hundreds, thousands... There are two sets of Chinese numerical characters: one for colloquial writing and one for contexts commercial or financial The latter is known as dàxiě (in traditional Chinese, 大寫; in simplified Chinese, 大写), and arose because traditional numerals were very simple, and therefore very easy to understand. adulterate writing extra strokes:

S stands for "simplified", T stands for "traditional".

in simplified and traditional Chinese, 幺; pinyin, yāo; literally, 'the least', is widely used in mainland China instead of yī in series of numbers such as telephone numbers, etc., to avoid confusion between that and other similar-sounding words. It is never used to count, and neither is it in Taiwan (except for soldiers in the Chinese army, police, and the emergency number 119), or in Hong Kong or Macao (unless they are speaking Standard Mandarin). It is believed that it comes from Egyptian but it has Chinese beginnings. It was created 500 BC. c.

Hand gestures

Numbers can be suggested in China by hand gestures, almost all from one hand. The numbers from one to ten are displayed as follows:

1. Extended index finger.
2. Straight and middle fingers forming a V.
3. Extended index, middle and annular fingers.
4. All extended fingers except the thumb, which is closed.
5. Extended index and thumb.
6. Separate finger and thumb, the other closed fingers (symbolic of the Chinese "six" number: Đu, liù).
7. Thumb tips are touched. Only the thumb and the first two fingers are open, the rest closed.
   • In Taiwan and Hong Kong it is made with thumb and index fingers.
8. The thumb and index are separated (like a "L"), both hands faced, the other fingers closed (i.e., bā "oche").
   • In Taiwan and Hong Kong, the thumb, index and medium.
9. All closed fingers except the index, which displays an open hook on the base ("nine", ji coli).
   • In Taiwan and Hong Kong, the thumb and three more fingers
10. It can be represented in the following ways:
    • Hand tight in the form of a fist, turn to the observer.
    • Index and half fingers crossed.
    • Both extended index fingers, symbolizing a cross (Philip, "Ten").

Number Construction

Multi-digit numbers are built following a multiplicative principle: first the digit (from 1 to 9), then the place (10, 100...), and then the next digit.

In Mandarin Chinese, the multiplier 兩 (liǎng) is used more than 二 (èr) for all numbers greater than 200 and with the numeral "2". Both uses are considered correct. In Cantonese, 二 (yi⁶) is used to represent the "2" in any number. In the Chaozhou (Teochew) dialect, south of Min, 兩 (not⁶) is used for this purpose. Thus we have that:

In the following numbers, from 11 to 19, the first one (一) is usually omitted. In some dialects (such as Shanghainese), when there are only two significant digits in the number, the "one" to the left (but never the word ten, don't get confused) and zeros are omitted, but this is not grammatically correct. Sometimes the one before "ten" in the middle of a number, such as 213, it is omitted, which is also grammatically incorrect. So we have:

In certain ancient texts like the Protestant or Lyric Bible, numbers like 114 can be written as [100] [10] [4] (百十四).

For numbers greater than a myriad, the same grouping of figures as in English applies, though for convenience, in groups of four rather than groups of three: for example, 1,234,567,890 would be regrouped as 12.3456, 7890 (thousand separator commas are used). From a myriad onwards, each number word represents a value 10,000 times the previous one: 10,000 × wàn (萬) = yì (億), 10,000 × yì (億) = zhào (兆). If one of the groups is between 10 and 19, the number "one" to the left is omitted as in the previous point. An example can be seen in the following table (the numbers in parentheses indicate that they have been written grouped as a single number, without expanding into several):

Interior zeros preceding the units position (as in 1002) must be named explicitly, to avoid ambiguity with zeros that are colloquially omitted in other numbers such as 1200. A zero is sufficient for that purpose. When the zero is in front of another digit (tens, hundreds, etc.), the explicit zero is not ambiguous and therefore is optional, although recommended.

Systems for large numbers

For numeral characters greater than 萬 (wàn) / myriad wikt, four systems came into existence:

In modern Chinese, only the second system is used to express numbers. Although there is some controversy about the value of 兆 (zhào), usage is generally consistent across Chinese communities, just as it is in Japan. However, most people do not recognize numerals greater than 兆 (zhào) (10¹²) and dictionary definitions for these can be inconsistent.

SI prefixes

The symbol 兆 (zhào) = 10⁶ still exists, specifically as a translation for the SI Mega prefix (prefix), since otherwise there would be no Chinese numeral for that particular value. This translation has caused great confusion.

Complicating things further, a recent attempt to translate SI prefixes used larger, rarer numerals for larger multiples, such as 京 (jīng) for giga, and rarer fractional numbers for small fractions, such as 纖 (xiān) for nano, creating even more values for each numeral.

Today, both the PRC (Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao) and the ROC (Taiwan) governments have adopted standard methods using phonetic transliterations for prefixes. However, there are differences between the characters used in each method, and the definition of 兆 (zhào) is different between the two standards. The table below this text reflects the transcriptions in both systems with the most recent translation.

Currently, the huāmǎ system is only used to represent prices in Chinese markets or on traditional handwritten invoices. Following the Unicode version 3.0 standard, these characters are called Hangzhou-style numerals. This indicates that it is not only used by Cantonese in Hong Kong. In the Unicode 4.0 standard, an erratum was added that read:

The Suzhou numerals (in Chinese sūzhōu măzi) are special gloves used by merchants to represent prices of goods. The use of "HANGZHOU" in the names is inappropriate.

This misuse is still in effect in the Unicode standard.

In huāmǎ, special symbols are used instead of Chinese numerals. The digits are positional. When written horizontally, the numeric value is written in two rows, for example:

The top row contains the numeric symbols, for example, 〤〇〢二 means 4022. The bottom row consists of one or more Chinese characters representing the unit of the first digit in the first row. The first part in the bottom row indicates the order of the first digit in the top row, such as qiān (千) for a thousand, bái (百) for a hundred, shí (拾) for ten, a space for one, etc. The second part denotes the unit of measure, such as yuán (元 for dollar), máo (毫 or 毛 for 10 cents), xiān (仙 for 1 cent), lǐ (里 for Chinese mile), or any other. If the characters shí yuán, (拾元, "10 dollars") are under the digits 〤〇〢二, it is read as 40 dollars and 22 cents.

Note that the decimal point is implied when the first digit 4 is placed in the tens place. This is very similar to modern scientific notation for floating point numbers where the significant digits appear in the mantissa and the position is specified in the exponent.

When written vertically, this example is written:

The digits of Suzhou numerals are defined between U+3021 and U+3029 in Unicode.

Zero is represented by a circle, probably the numeral '0', the letter 'O' or the 〇 character can serve that function. Zeros are unnecessary in this system. There are additional characters that represent 10, 20, 30, and 40: 十, 卄, 卅, and 卌, respectively.

Digits one through three have vertical and horizontal versions so they can be alternated if they match together into the same number. Usually the first digit uses the vertical version. Example:21 is written as || -(〢一) instead of || | (〢〡), which can be confused with 3.

Hand gestures

There is a common method of using a hand to represent the numbers one through ten. While the five fingers on a hand can represent the numbers one through five, the numbers 6 through 10 have special signs that can be used in business in day-to-day communication.

Miscellaneous

During the Ming and Qing dynasties (when Arabic numerals were first introduced to China), some Chinese mathematicians used Chinese characters as digits in a positional system. After the Qing dynasty, both these and the Suzhou numerals were replaced by Arabic numerals in mathematical scripts.

Traditional Chinese characters are also used in Japan and Korea. In vertical text (read from top to bottom) the norm is to use characters for numbers, while in horizontal text, Arabic characters are more common. Chinese numerals are also used decoratively just like Roman numerals in Western culture. These may appear alongside the Arabic numerals on the same sign or document.