Counting in Chinese?
These hand gestures make it easy.

Simple, fast hand gestures for counting in Chinese are one of the most ingenious inventions of Chinese culture (aside from noodles, paper and fireworks!). The beauty of these signals is that you can count from zero to nine just by using one hand. And you don't need to be a nine fingered mutant!

The first time my Chinese girlfriend tried to communicate with these gestures...I didn't get it. For her what was everyday, run-of-the-mill common knowledge was “Greek” to me. So she stopped using them.

You, however, have a chance to learn them. You could use them while bartering with a Chinese merchant. The next time you enter a Chinese restaurant with a large group, you can let the staff know how many are in your group - with a quick flash of a single hand. Maybe 2 hands if you're in a big group.

Or if it's a fast food place, you can use your hand to order combo #6.

When you see the Chinese stock market on TV, you can follow all the action.

And when your Chinese girlfriend uses these, you'll understand what she's trying to say.

Counting in Chinese:

• 0 sounds like “leeng”.

  

• 1 is pronounced “ee”

  when you are counting in Chinese, or talking about a quantity. But when you hear people talking about the actual number - for instance, when she's giving you her phone number, it's often called "yow".
  

• 2 sounds like “are”.

  
  

• 3 is “sun”.

  (NOTE: You can also use the gesture for 2 with an extended thumb!)
  

• 4 is like “suh”.

  
  

• 5 is “woo”.

  Probably up until now you're wondering what's the point. Everybody knows these hand gestures. It's about to get more interesting though - hold on to your seat!
  
  

• 6 is “leo”.

  
  
  

• 7 is “chee”

  ...as in cheese.
  
  

• 8 sounds like “baa”.

  
  

• 9 is “joe”.

  
  Note that this gesture means “death” in Taiwan. If you're visiting Taiwan, you want to be careful with this one!

• And 10 is like “shuh".

  Here are four different hand gestures used for the number ten.
  
• This one is the most common - I've seen it used many times:
  
• This one is not very common, some people might not understand it. But it's really neat because you only need one hand!
  
• And of course - the very familiar:
  
  
  

Want to see the hand signs in action? This short video let's you hear the pronouciation and see more clearly how to move your hands:

You might have noticed I didn't include the gesture for five where all the fingers are pinched together at the tips. It's the same gesture that every Italian speaker uses when they want to emphasize a point. So why would I not include it when so many other sources do?

Mainly because some people think it represent 5 and other places and people in China insist it means 7. I'd hate for you to order a combo #5 using your fingers and end up with a plate of full of chicken feet instead.

So I chose to leave that hand gesture out altogether.

And here's something really cool.

Did you know you can say "I love you" to your Chinese girlfriend just with 3 numbers? Click here to find out which Chinese numbers have a hidden meaning.