Numbers and counting

Contents

  1. The number system
    1. zêg8 / ig8 • “one” and no6 / ri6 • “two”
    2. Reciting number strings
    3. duan1 and lêng5 as placeholders for zeroes
  2. Telling time
    1. Times of day
    2. Reading the clock
  3. Dates and the calendar
    1. Basic terms
    2. Days of the week
    3. Relative terms
    4. Seasons of the year
    5. Holidays and festivals
  4. Counting money
  5. Weights and measures
  6. References and further reading

The number system

The number system in Teochew is like other Chinese languages: counting is in base-ten, and there is a special name for ten-thousand, bhuang7 萬. A million would hence be zêg8(4)bêh4(8)bhuang7 一百萬 “one hundred ten-thousand”.1

Definition IPA Peng’im Character
zero leŋ⁵⁵ lêng5
null kʰaŋ³³ kang1
one tsek⁵ zêg8
one* ik² ig4
one^ iou³³ iou1
two no³⁵ no6
two* zi³⁵ ri6
three sã³³ san1
four si²¹³ si3
five ŋou³⁵ ngou6
six lak⁵ lag8
seven tsʰik² cig4
eight poiʔ² boih4
nine kau⁵³ gao2
ten tsap⁵ zab8
eleven tsap²ik² zab8(4)ig4 十一
twelve tsap²zi³⁵ zab8(4)ri6 十二
thirteen tsap²sã³³ zab8(4)san1 十三
twenty zi¹¹tsap⁵ ri6(7)zab8 二十
twenty-one zi¹¹tsap²ik² ri6(7)zab8(4)ig4 二十一
hundred peʔ² bêh4
one hundred tsek²peʔ² zeg8(4)bêh4 一百
one hundred and one tsek²peʔ² tũã³³ik² zeg8(4)bêh4­duan1ig4 一百單一
one hundred and two tsek²peʔ² tũã³³zi³⁵ zeg8(4)bêh4­duan1ri6 一百單二
one hundred and ten tsek²peʔ² ik²tsap⁵ zeg8(4)bêh4­ig4(8)zab8 一百一十
one hundred and eleven tsek²peʔ² ik²tsap⁵ik² zeg8(4)bêh4­ig4(8)zab8(4)ig4 一百一十一
one hundred and twelve tsek²peʔ² ik²tsap⁵zi³⁵ zeg8(4)bêh4­ig4(8)zab8(4)ri6 一百一十二
two hundred no¹¹peʔ² no6(7)bêh4 兩百
thousand tsʰõĩ³³ coin1
ten thousand buaŋ¹¹ bhuang7

zêg8 / ig8 • “one” and no6 / ri6 • “two”

Teochew has two different words each for “one” and “two”. Compare the situation in Mandarin where there are two words for “two”: èr 二 and liǎng 兩.

Zêg8 一 “one” and no6 兩 “two” are used when counting off the numbers in sequence and for counting things (cardinal numbers):

tsek² puŋ³⁵ tsɯ³³

zêg8(4)-bung2(6) ze1

本 書

one-CL book

a book

***

no¹¹ tiou¹¹ hɯ⁵⁵

no6(7)-diou5(7) he5

條 魚

two-CL fish

two fish

ig8 一 “one*” and ri6 二 “two*” are used under the following circumstances:

(a) As part of numbers above ten

tsap²ik⁵

zap8(4)ig8

ten one*

eleven

***

zi¹¹ tsap² ik⁵

ri6(7)zab8(4)ig8

two* ten one*

twenty-one

Except for one-hundred, two-hundred, one-thousand, two-thousand, etc. and their compounds.

tsek² peʔ² zi¹¹tsap²ik⁵

zêg8(4)-beh8(4)-ri6(7)zab8(4)ig8

百二十一

one hundred two* ten one*

one hundred and twenty-one

***

no¹¹ cõĩ³³ no¹¹ peʔ² zi¹¹tsap²zi³⁵

no6(7)-coin1-no6(7)-bêh8(4)-ri6(7)zap8(4)ri6

百二十二

two thousand two hundred one* ten two*

two thousand two hundred and twelve

This is similar to Mandarin, where 2222 would be liǎngqiān-liángbǎi-èrshí-èr. However, in Mandarin, èr 二 is used in counting from one to ten, instead of liǎng 兩.

(b) To denote the order of things (ordinal numbers), e.g. in ranks and dates

tõĩ¹¹ zi³⁵

doin6(7)-ri6

rank two*

second

***

zi¹¹ tsek²

ri6(7)-zêg4

two* uncle

Second Uncle (father’s younger brother)

For familial terms, the eldest relation of a given rank is denoted by dua7 大 instead of ig8 一, e.g. dua7gou1 大姑 “father’s eldest sister”. The youngest relation is denoted by soi3 細, e.g. *soi3(2)gou1 *“father’s youngest sister”.

Reciting number strings

When reciting strings of numbers, such as telephone numbers, kang1 (“null”) is often used in place of lêng5, and iou1 (“one^”) in place of tsêg8.

i³³ kai¹¹ tiaŋ¹¹ue¹¹ ho¹¹be⁵³ si¹¹ tsʰik² iou³³ iou³³ kʰaŋ³³ tsʰik² ŋou³⁵

I1-gai5(7) diang6(7)uê7 ho7bhê2 si6(7) cig8(4)-iou1-iou1-kang1-cig8(4)-ngou6.

伊個 電話 號碼 是 七幺幺空七五。

He-CL telephone number is seven one^ one^ null seven five.

His telephone number is 711075.

duan1 and lêng5 as placeholders for zeroes

In numbers above one hundred, zeroes in the tens, hundreds, etc. places can be filled in with placeholder words. Duan1 is only used for the tens place, while lêng5 is used for the rest.

no¹¹ tsʰõĩ³³ leŋ¹¹dũã³³ ik²

no6(7)coin1-lêng5(7)duan1-ig4

兩千零單

two thousand zero [placeholder] one*

two oh-oh one

Telling time

Times of day

Definition IPA Peng’im Character
day time zik²kua³³ rig8(4)gua3 日~
night time mẽ¹¹kua²¹³ mên5(7)gua3 暝~
morning, dawn meŋ¹¹kʰi⁵³ mêng5(7)ki2 眠起
forenoon tsĩẽ¹¹kua²¹³ ziên5(7)gua3 前~
noon zik²tau²¹³ rig8(4)dao3 日晝
afternoon e¹¹kua²¹³ ê6(7)gua3 下~
dusk mẽ¹¹hŋ³³ mên5(7)hng1 暝昏
night zik²am²¹³ rig8(4)am3 日暗
midnight pũã⁵³mẽ⁵⁵ buan3(2)mên5 半暝

Before the adoption of modern timekeeping, the passing of time at night was marked in Chinese cities by the night watch. The night was subdivided into five equal “watches” gên1 更, which were announced by a drum or gong.2 This is the origin of the phrase san1gên1-buan3(2)mên5 三更半夜 “in the dead of night”.

Reading the clock

Hours of the clock (o’clock) are represented by [number] + diam2 點. Add buan3 半 for half-past the hour. Classifiers are not necessary.

sã³³ tiam⁵³

san1-diam2

three hour

three o’clock

***

sã³³ tiam³⁵ pũã²¹³

san1-diam2(6)-buan3

點半

three hour half

half-past three

For one and two o’clock, use zêg8 一 “one” and no6 兩 “two” respectively, rather than ig4 and ri6 二. However, ri6(7)diam2 “two o’clock” is idiomatic in Hokkien.

Diam2 點 is related to diam2(6)zêng5 點鐘 “hour”, however, a phrase like san1-diam2(6)zêng5 三點鐘 would refer to the duration of time of three hours, rather than three o’clock.

To distinguish between a.m. and p.m., qualify the clock time with the phase of the day.

meŋ¹¹kʰi⁵³ tsʰik⁵tiam⁵³

mêng5(7)ki2 cig4(8)diam2

眠起 七點

morning seven-hour

seven a.m.

***

mẽ¹¹hŋ³³ tsʰik⁵tiam⁵³

mên5(7)hng1 cig4(8)diam2

暝昏 七點

evening seven-hour

seven p.m.

In addition to the bottom of the hour, the hour is subdivided into five-minute intervals, ri7 字, corresponding to the markings on a clockface. ri7 must be used with the classifier gai5 個.

tsʰik⁵tiam⁵³ tsʰik⁵ kai¹¹ zi¹¹

cig4(8)diam2 cig4(8)-gai5(7)-ri7

七點 七個

seven-hour seven-CL mark

seven thirty-five

When asking the time, use the interrogative for countable “how many” gui2 幾:

tsi³⁵tsuŋ⁵⁵ kui³⁵ tiam⁵³ / tsi³⁵tsuŋ⁵⁵ tsʰik⁵tiam⁵³ sã³³ kai¹¹ zi¹¹

zi2(6)zung5 gui2(6)-diam2? zi6(2)zung5 cig4(8)diam2 san1-gai5(7)-ri7.

只陣 點?只陣 七點 三個字。

now [how-many]-hour? now seven-hour three-CL mark.

What time is it? It’s seven fifteen.

The word for “minutes”, hung1zêng1 分鐘, uses the literary pronunciation of 分 rather than the vernacular bhung1.

Dates and the calendar

Basic terms

Definition IPA Peng’im Character
Year ni⁵⁵ ni5
Month gueʔ⁵ ghuêh8
Week loi³⁵pai²¹³ loi6bai3 禮拜
Week tsʰẽ³³kʰi⁵⁵ cên1ki5 星期
Day zik⁵ rig8

The basic terminology and patterning is similar to Mandarin. Calendar dates are reported in the order year-month-day. The number comes before the unit, and ho7 號 (“number”) is used in place of rig8 日 for “day”.

zi¹¹ kʰaŋ⁵³ iou³³ poiʔ² ni⁵⁵ sã³³ gueʔ⁵ poiʔ² ho¹¹

ri6(7)kang3(2)iou1boih4-ni5 san1-ghuêh8 boih8(4)-ho7

二空幺八年 三月 八

two-null-one^-eight-year three-month eight-number

8 March 2018

Days of the week

Days of the week from Monday (1) to Saturday (6) are reported in the format bai3 拜 + [number]; Sunday is loi2(6)bai3 禮拜 or loi2(6)bai3(5)rig8 禮拜日. For Monday and Tuesday, use the ordinal ig4 and ri6 instead of zêg8 and no6.

Relative terms

The following terms are used to refer to dates relative to the present:

Definition IPA Peng’im Character
today kiŋ³³zik⁵ ging1rig8 經日
today kĩã³⁵zik⁵ gian2(6)rig8 囝日
yesterday tsa³³zik⁵ za2(6)rig8 昨日
day before yesterday tsʰĩã³⁵zik⁵ cian2(6)rig8 前日
day before yesterday teŋ³⁵zik⁵ dêng2(6)rig8 頂日
tomorrow mũã⁵³kʰi⁵³ muan3(2)ki2 ~起
tomorrow mũã⁵³zik⁵ muan3(2)rig8 ~日
day after tomorrow au³⁵zik⁵ ao6(7)rig8 後日
this week tsi⁵³kai¹¹ loi6pai3 zi2(6)gai5(7) loi2(6)bai3 只個 禮拜
last week tsĩõ¹¹kai¹¹ loi6pai3 zion5(7)gai5(7) loi2(6)bai3 上個 禮拜
next week e¹¹(kai¹¹) loi6pai3 ê6(7)(gai5(7)) loi2(6)bai3 下個 禮拜
next Monday e¹¹kai¹¹ pai2ik4 ê6(7)gai5(7) bai3(2)ig4 下個 拜一
this year kiŋ³³ni⁵⁵ ging1ni5 經年
next year mẽ¹¹ni⁵⁵ mên5(7)ni5 夜年
last year ku¹¹ni⁵⁵ gu7ni5 舊年

In addition to words for “today”, “yesterday”, and “tomorrow”, there are specific words for “the day after tomorrow” and “the day before yesterday”, just as in Mandarin.

For weeks and months, the generic adjectives zi2(6)gai5 只個 (“this”+CL) and e6(7)gai5 下個 (“next”+CL) are used instead of adjectives specifically used for times/dates like ging1 經, which are used with days and years, e.g. ging1rig8 經日 (“today”).

With the exception of ging1 經 (“present”), the adjectives used for relative days and years are not the same.

Muan2 in muan2(6)rig8 ~日 (“tomorrow”) and mên5 in mên5(7)ni5 夜年 (“next year”) may sometimes be written with the same character 明 for semantic reasons.

Terms containing rig8 日 “day” can be substituted with mên5 夜 “night”, e.g. muan2(6)rig8 明日 “tomorrow”→ muan2mên5 明夜 “tomorrow night”.

Seasons of the year

Definition IPA Peng’im Character
Four Seasons si⁵³kʰui²¹³ si3(2)kui3 四季
Spring tsʰuŋ³³ cung1
Summer he¹¹ hê7
Autumn tsʰiu³³ ciu1
Winter toŋ³³ dong1

Holidays and festivals

Definition IPA Peng’im Character
New Year’s Day tsĩã³³gueʔ² tsiʰiu³³ek² zian1ghuêh8(4) ciu1êg4 正月初一
New Year’s Eve sã³³tsap² mẽ⁵⁵ san1zab8(4) mên5 三十夜
Lantern Festival tsap²ŋou¹¹ mẽ⁵⁵ zab8(4)ngou6(7) mên5 十五夜
Dragon Boat Festival ŋou¹¹gueʔ² tsoiʔ² ngou6(7)ghuêh8(4) zoih4 五月節
Mid-Autumn Festival poiʔ⁵gueʔ² toŋ³³tshiu³³ boih4(8)ghuêh8(4) dong1ciu1 八月中秋

Counting money

The native Teochew word for “money” is zin5 錢, cognate with Mandarin qián. In Southeast Asia, lui5 鐳 is more commonly used, deriving from Malay duit “money”/“cash”. The Malay word was, in turn, derived from Dutch duit, which was a type of coin worth 1/160 of a guilder.

Definition IPA Peng’im Character
dollar ŋɯŋ⁵⁵ ngeng5
dollar kʰou³³ kou1
dollar (CL) kai⁵⁵ gai5
ten cents hau⁵⁵(tsi⁵³) hao5(zi2) 毫(子)
ten cents kak² gag4
cent huŋ³³ hung1
cent tsam³³ zam1

The basic pattern is “NUMBER + UNIT” from the largest to smallest unit, for example:

sã³³ kai¹¹ ŋɯŋ⁵⁵ lak² hau⁵⁵ tsʰek² tsam³³

San1-gai5(7)-ngeng5 lag8(4)-hao5 cêk4(8)-zam1

三個銀 六毫 七針

Three-CL-dollars six-dimes seven-cents

$3.67

The series ngeng5 / hao5 / hung1 銀毫分 is used in mainland China, whereas the series kou1 / gag4 / tsam1 塊角針 is more prevalent in overseas Chinese usage.

Ngeng5 銀 is used with the classifier gai5 個:

ŋou¹¹ kai¹¹ ŋɯŋ⁵⁵

Ngou6(7)-gai5(7)-ngeng5

五個

five-CL dollars

$5

By extension, gai5 can be used alone to mean “dollar”:

ŋou¹¹ kai⁵⁵ lak² hau⁵⁵

Ngou6(7)-gai5 lag8(4)-hao5

六毫

Five-dollars six-dimes

$5.60

In contrast, kou1 is usually used without a classifier:

ŋou¹¹kʰou³³ – ngou6(7)kou1 – 五 – five dollars – $5

Or it can be used as a classifier for ngeng5:

ŋou¹¹kʰou³³-ŋɯŋ⁵⁵ – ngou6(7)kou1-ngeng5 – 五箍 銀 – five dollars of money – $5

Ngeng5 also means “silver”, and is part of compound words like ngeng5(7)hang5 銀行 “bank”.

Buan3 半 “half” can follow a unit to mean half that unit, just like in telling the time (see above):

ŋou¹¹ kʰou³³ pũã²¹³

Ngou6(7)-kou1-buan3

五箍

Five-dollars-half

$5.50

“$5.50” can also be expressed as ngou6(7)kou1-ngou6(7)gag4 五箍 五角.

ŋou¹¹ kʰou³³ ŋou¹¹ kak² pũã²¹³

Ngou6(7)kou1 ngou6(7)gag4 buan3

五箍 五角

Five-dollars five-dimes-half

$5.55

“$5.55” can also be expressed as ngou6(7)kou1-ngou6(7)gag4-ngou6(7)tsam1 五箍 五角 五針.

Weights and measures

Traditional Chinese units are still commonly used in some contexts, e.g. traditional Chinese medicine, especially in Hong Kong and diaspora communities. The following list is adapted from Lim (1886, pg. 135).

Definition IPA Peng’im Character
candareen (1/10 mace) huŋ³³ hung1
mace (1/10 tael) tsĩ³³ zin1
tael (1/16 catty) nĩẽ⁵² niên2
catty (about 600 g) kɯng³³ geng1
picul (100 catties) tã²¹³ dan3
Ch. inch (1/10 Ch. foot) tsʰuŋ²¹³ cung3
Chinese foot (ca. 1/3 m) tsʰieʔ² ciêh4
Ch. yard (10 Ch. feet) tɯŋ²⁵ deng6
Ch. pace (1 Ch. feet) pou¹¹ / huaʔ² bou7, huah4
yard (English) be⁵² / ba¹¹ bhê2, bha7
Ch. fathom (8 Ch. feet) siam⁵² / tsʰim⁵⁵ siam2, cim5
Ch. bushel (ca. 10 l) tau⁵² dao2
10 Ch. bushels tsieʔ⁵ ziêh8

References and further reading

  • Lǐ Yǒngmíng 李永明 (1959), 《潮州方言》, Chapter 4
  • Lim Hiong Seng (1886), Lesson XXI.

  1. The title of an annoyingly catchy Hokkien song “Tsit-pah-bān”. 

  2. Similar practices were found around the world before industrialization and mechanical time-keeping. The Romans, for example, divided the night into four watches (Latin vigiliae). 


Original content copyright (c) 2019-2021 Brandon Seah, except where otherwise indicated