A full count of ten tens; a large number. One hundred; many, numerous, or all kinds of. One stroke (一) atop 白 (white/clear) caps a complete count of one hundred.
When counting a specific hundred people, Chinese requires the numeral 一 before 百. Bare 百人 sounds like a newspaper headline, not natural speech.
For a specific amount of money, you must say 一百块. 百块 alone is not used in spoken Chinese.
Say 一百 when counting a specific hundred; bare 百 only works inside larger numbers or fixed words.
百 is a bound numeral. On its own it cannot stand as a complete number in modern spoken Chinese. If you mean 'one hundred people', you must say 一百人, not 百人. Bare 百 appears in larger numbers like 五百 (500) or 三百五十 (350), and in fixed compounds like 百分之 (percent). Beginners often drop the 一 because English says 'a hundred', but Chinese does not allow that here.
| Context | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Counting people | 一百人 | 百人 |
| Counting money | 一百块 | 百块 |
| Inside a larger number | 五百 | 五一百 |
百 has a horizontal stroke on top; 白 does not. One stroke changes 'hundred' into 'white'.
百 and 白 differ by a single horizontal stroke at the top. 百 means 'hundred'; 白 means 'white'. If you write 白 when you mean 百, you turn 一百 (one hundred) into 一白, which is not a word. The top stroke in 百 is the only visual cue, so slow down when writing numbers.
| Character | Meaning | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|
| 百 | hundred | Has top horizontal stroke |
| 白 | white | No top horizontal stroke |
This rhythmic poem helps you practice numbers from one to ten and larger units. Listen to the beat and count along!
七八九， 十零百 。
七十五， 八百三 ，九千四，六万一。
This playful poem helps you count and practice vocabulary about clothes, students, and pets. Enjoy the rhythm while learning new words.
买了五只小猫， 七百零五 块钱。
卖了六只小狗， 四百零九 元钱。
Read about a work trip to Beijing where a group of colleagues takes a very large airplane. Practice weather words and actions in a simple travel story.
我们坐的飞机很大，是 五百 人的大飞机。
This playful poem turns numbers into a rhythm of daily life. As you read, practice counting, days of the week, and common time words in a fun, memorable way.
零 百 千万亿，可以医椅衣。
Read this short story about people waiting in the rain for a new phone. You will practice numbers, time, and everyday vocabulary.
苹果十九很贵， 八千七百多 块钱。
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