num.
A full count of ten tens, marked by adding one stroke to 白. One hundred; often used loosely for “many” or “all kinds of.” One (一) tally mark above 白 turns white into a complete set of 100.
百
Common Usage & Traps
- 一百 — one hundred
- 两百 — two hundred (casual)
- 一百个 — one hundred items
- 百分之 — percent (literally hundred parts of)
- 百分之五十 — fifty percent
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二百块 (casual)两百块二百 is not broken, but it sounds formal or stiff in daily chat. For casual money talk, 两百块 sounds more natural.
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百个一百个When you mean exactly 100, you need 一 before 百. 百个 alone sounds like you dropped the 一.
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五十百分之百分之五十Chinese puts 百分之 first, then the number. English says fifty percent, but Chinese says fifty out of a hundred with 百 leading.
Should I say 两百 or 二百 for 'two hundred'?
Say 两百 in daily chat; 二百 is stiff, not broken.
For 200, both 两百 and 二百 exist. In casual speech, people usually say 两百. 二百 sounds formal, like reading a bank balance or doing math. If you're texting a friend about splitting a 200-yuan bill, say 两百. But in fixed phrases like 二百五, keep 二百.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Casual money talk | 两百块 | 二百块 (stiff) |
| Formal reading | 二百 | 两百 (too casual) |
| Insult 二百五 | 二百五 | 两百五 |
Can I just say 百个 when I mean exactly 100 items?
Say 一百个 for exactly 100; 百个 alone sounds incomplete.
When you mean exactly 100, you need 一 before 百. 百 alone is not a standalone number in modern spoken Chinese. So 'I bought 100 dumplings' is 我买了一百个饺子. Saying 我买了百个饺子 sounds like you dropped the 一. For 'over 100', say 一百多个; for 'several hundred', say 几百个.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Exact 100 items | 一百个 | 百个 |
| Over 100 items | 一百多个 | 百多个 |
| Several hundred | 几百个 | 百个 |
How do I say '50 percent' with 百?
Say 百分之五十; Chinese puts the hundred first, not the number.
Chinese builds percentages as 百分之 plus the number. So 50 percent is 百分之五十, not 五十 percent. Think of it as 'fifty out of a hundred' with 百 leading the phrase. For 3 percent, say 百分之三. For 100 percent, say 百分之百.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | 百分之五十 | 五十百分之 |
| 3% | 百分之三 | 三百分之 |
| 100% | 百分之百 | 一百百分之 |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
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.
- Scene #1
零 百 千万亿，可以医椅衣。
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