Numbers and counting
Contents
- The number system
- Telling time
- Dates and the calendar
- Counting money
- Weights and measures
- 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 | 零 |
| null | kʰaŋ³³ | kang1 | 空 |
| one | tsek⁵ | zêg8 | 一 |
| one* | ik² | ig4 | 一 |
| one^ | iou³³ | iou1 | 幺 |
| two | no³⁵ | no6 | 兩 |
| two* | zi³⁵ | ri6 | 二 |
| three | sã³³ | san1 | 三 |
| four | si²¹³ | si3 | 四 |
| five | ŋou³⁵ | ngou6 | 五 |
| six | lak⁵ | lag8 | 六 |
| seven | tsʰik² | cig4 | 七 |
| eight | poiʔ² | boih4 | 八 |
| nine | kau⁵³ | gao2 | 九 |
| ten | tsap⁵ | zab8 | 十 |
| 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 | 百 |
| 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 | 千 |
| ten thousand | buaŋ¹¹ | bhuang7 | 萬 |
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
一本 書
one-CL book
a book
***
no¹¹ tiou¹¹ hɯ⁵⁵
no6(7)-diou5(7) he5
兩條 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
十一
ten one*
eleven
***
zi¹¹ tsap² ik⁵
ri6(7)zab8(4)ig8
二十一
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
一百二十一
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
兩 千 兩 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
第二
rank two*
second
***
zi¹¹ tsek²
ri6(7)-zêg4
二叔
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
兩千零單一
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
三點
three hour
three o’clock
***
sã³³ tiam³⁵ pũã²¹³
san1-diam2(6)-buan3
三點半
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 七個字
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 幾 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 | 年 |
| Month | gueʔ⁵ | ghuêh8 | 月 |
| Week | loi³⁵pai²¹³ | loi6bai3 | 禮拜 |
| Week | tsʰẽ³³kʰi⁵⁵ | cên1ki5 | 星期 |
| Day | zik⁵ | rig8 | 日 |
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 八號
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 | 春 |
| Summer | he¹¹ | hê7 | 夏 |
| Autumn | tsʰiu³³ | ciu1 | 秋 |
| Winter | toŋ³³ | dong1 | 冬 |
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 | 銀 |
| dollar | kʰou³³ | kou1 | 箍 |
| dollar (CL) | kai⁵⁵ | gai5 | 個 |
| ten cents | hau⁵⁵(tsi⁵³) | hao5(zi2) | 毫（子） |
| ten cents | kak² | gag4 | 角 |
| cent | huŋ³³ | hung1 | 分 |
| cent | tsam³³ | zam1 | 針 |
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 銀
five-CL dollars
$5
By extension, gai5 can be used alone to mean “dollar”:
ŋou¹¹ kai⁵⁵ lak² hau⁵⁵
Ngou6(7)-gai5 lag8(4)-hao5
五個 六毫
Five-dollars six-dimes
$5.60
In contrast, kou1 is usually used without a classifier:
ŋou¹¹kʰou³³ – ngou6(7)kou1 – 五箍 – 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
五箍半
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 半
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 | 分 |
| mace (1/10 tael) | tsĩ³³ | zin1 | 錢 |
| tael (1/16 catty) | nĩẽ⁵² | niên2 | 両 |
| catty (about 600 g) | kɯng³³ | geng1 | 斤 |
| picul (100 catties) | tã²¹³ | dan3 | 擔 |
| Ch. inch (1/10 Ch. foot) | tsʰuŋ²¹³ | cung3 | 寸 |
| Chinese foot (ca. 1/3 m) | tsʰieʔ² | ciêh4 | 尺 |
| Ch. yard (10 Ch. feet) | tɯŋ²⁵ | deng6 | 丈 |
| Ch. pace (1 Ch. feet) | pou¹¹ / huaʔ² | bou7, huah4 | 步 |
| yard (English) | be⁵² / ba¹¹ | bhê2, bha7 | 碼 |
| Ch. fathom (8 Ch. feet) | siam⁵² / tsʰim⁵⁵ | siam2, cim5 | 尋 |
| Ch. bushel (ca. 10 l) | tau⁵² | dao2 | 斗 |
| 10 Ch. bushels | tsieʔ⁵ | ziêh8 | 石 |
References and further reading
- Lǐ Yǒngmíng 李永明 (1959), 《潮州方言》, Chapter 4
- Lim Hiong Seng (1886), Lesson XXI.