How difficult is Traditional Chinese after studying Simplified Chinese? By Serene Zawaydeh. November 12, 2026
简体字还是繁体字？簡體字還是繁體字？
Simplified Chinese is used for teaching Standard Mandarin Chinese
and is used in HSK exams, 汉语水平考试，which is
the Chinese language proficiency test. Simplified Chinese is used in Mainland
China. Traditional Chinese is used in Taiwan and in Hong Kong. You don’t need
to know Traditional Chinese for HSK exams.
Traditional Chinese 繁体字 looks a
lot more complicated than Simplified Chinese 简体字. Simplified Chinese is complicated
enough to learn, and it is not so “Simple” as the name suggests. There are
thousands of Characters that need to be learnt, and there isn’t a specific set
of Alphabets. Google Translate has both, but sometimes it provides a different
word, instead of providing the same word in Traditional Chinese, as noted while
preparing this article.
How difficult are Traditional Chinese characters, compared to
Simplified Chinese characters?
The word 龙means dragon
in Simplified Chinese, is 龍 in
Traditional Chinese.
This video shows the evolution of the character into 龙。
I thought I’d share some of my notes and
observations about Simplified and Traditional Chinese, without looking at all
characters.
There are words that are the same in both Simplified and
Traditional Chinese. Following are some examples.
我、你、他、她、它、不、同、家庭、眼睛、座 、 折 、常、 符合、 田、 狗、熊、 故事、 坐、肉 、走、 是 、 藏、情、 油、 路、矛盾 、没有、提醒、 智慧 、信用卡、井、近、花、耳朵、猜、爸爸、猴子 、制、百、黑、大，太、木、休、本、足球、冰、水、湖、瘦 、老、 完、元、晚、珍惜、期待、尚、常 、月、朋友 、 又、白、 粉 、致 、游泳、答、回、 天、系、哭、倒、果、副、付、正、真、缺、快、模、以前、似乎 、所以、女、奶奶、牛奶、考、生、日、星期、待、持、新 、黑、 在、手 、盒子、 竹、毛、聿。
Notice here that in Chinese, there is a special comma for listing items, and the Chinese full stop is a small circle. Theses punctuation marks are not available in English.
The first thing that is different in traditional
Chinese, is 们which is used for plural in words like 我们 , 你们， 他们，她们。This is because 门 (which means door), itself is
different in Traditional Chinese and is written as 門。therefore, this is reflected in the plural form for these
words which is preceded with 人 to make the character 们. The plural becomes:
我們、你們、她們、他們、它們。
The word 开in Simplified Chinese is 開 in Traditional Chinese. It is inside the門 character in Traditional Chinese.
开心果 is written as 開心果, which is Pistachios. 开心means happy 開心，with 开being open, and 心being heart. An open heart is happiness or joy. Happy fruit is pistachios. Have you ever noticed the smile in pistachios?
开心果 - 開心果
The word 间in Simplified Chinese is written as間 in Traditional Chinese.
问 in Simplified Chinese is 問 in Traditional Chinese.
简 in Simplified Chinese is 簡 in Traditional Chinese.
There are words that we learned as stand-alone words in Simplified
Chinese, and also have an abbreviation in Simplified Chinese. The stand-alone
word appears as a whole, instead of the abbreviation in Traditional Chinese.
The word 言 in Simplified Chinese means “word”. It
can be part of two characters, such as 语言 which means
language, and 言语which means speech. In Simplified Chinese, some words that are related
to speech start with an abbreviated form of 言 looks like 讠, which appears on the left-hand side of the
character. For example, the word “语” in Simplified Chinese, is written as 語 in Traditional Chinese. This part 讠 is called 言字旁。
Following are other similar examples,
which have the 讠 on the left-hand
side.
1语 2 话 3讨4谈5谁6设计 7请 8 读9 谢谢 in Simplified Chinese, are written as
1語 2 話 3討4談5誰6設計 7請 8 讀 9 謝謝 in Traditional Chinese.
There are other words that have the 言 on the right-hand
side, or in the lower part of the character, and there are other strokes along
with it that come on the left- hand side and above it. In this case, 言 appears as a whole character and is combined with the other strokes on
the left or above it, constituting the new character with new meaning.
For example， 信
trust； 自信 confident；信息 news，信用卡 credit card.
Notice that has a person 人on the left and word 言 on the right, and together it becomes 信
trust,
the person’s words lead to trust. This word is the same in traditional and
simplified. 言 did not change into 讠。
The word 这 in Simplified
Chinese is 這 in Traditional Chinese. This shows another modification of 言 in the inner part which is appears in 文字。However， 文字is the same in Simplified and Traditional
Chinese.
Simplified Chinese: 这个文字
Traditional Chinese: 這個文字
The word 保护 to protect,
in Simplified Chinese, is 保護 in Traditional Chinese. 护 starts with 言 in Traditional Chinese, and the
right-hand side has been completely changed in Simplified Chinese.
The word 詹
in Simplified Chinese is quite similar to the Traditional Chinese 詹, with the 言 appearing.
The font used on MS word, which is Calibri, does not show the slight change in
the right and left curves which appears on the online translation tool.
There are words that have 言 on the lower part as part of a character. For example, 信誉reputation. The character on the right 誉, is composed of 兴 , as in 高兴，and 言 is below it to form 誉. In traditional Chinese, the 言 stays, and the upper part 兴 changes into 興. The lower part of it does not change. The upper part of the character looks like E’s in front of each other, and 同 in between. Here is a Zoomed version of this character.
兴 vs 興
The following website provides animation
for the stroke order, and this is the page that provides 興 the stroke order for the character 興 https://zdic.net/hans/
Deep Seek:
- 舁 (yú): This represents "two
pairs of hands lifting something together." The "E"-like
shapes you see on the left and right are a stylized, structural evolution
of these four hands.
- 同 (tóng): This sits in the middle and
means "together" or "joint effort."
Together, they create
the original meaning of "lifting up together" or "rising,"
which is why the character came to mean "to rise" or "to
prosper".
So what does the traditional 学look like, compared to the traditional 高兴？
高兴 Simplified 高興 Traditional
学 Simplified 學 Traditional
The upper part is not exactly the same. The 學 has two x on top of each other in the middle. You need to Zoom into the characters to see the details of Chinese characters. 學生， 學校，大學 are 学生student， 学校school, 大学 respectively in Simplified Chinese.
学 vs 學
Looking at the word 学 study in Simplified
Chinese. It has three dots on the top. In traditional Chinese, 學, it has the two E’s facing each other, and there are two x’s in the
middle. The lower part is the same. Once we know this, it becomes easier to understand
the words in Traditional Chinese, that have 学written in
Traditional Chinese.
The word 学习, to study, in
Simplified Chinese, is 學習in Traditional Chinese. There is only one 习 in Simplified
Chinese compared to two, with白 at the bottom,
to make the word in 習 in Traditional Chinese. 翅膀 is the same in both
Simplified and Traditional and has two 习.
汉语 is 漢語 in Traditional Chinese,
with 漢 being a lot different than 汉 in Simplified Chinese.
What about the word which has one vertical
line on top, and two dots, one from left to right, and one from right to left,
such as 常， and 尚? It turns out that these two word are the same in Traditional and Simplified
Chinese. They were added to words at the beginning of this article, which are
the same.
Simplified Traditional
红 紅
经 經 Link to Stroke
animation
巢 巢
系统 系統
丝绸 絲綢
周 週
过 過
Following is a Simplified Chinese, along with
the Traditional Chinese for comparison.
Simplified Chinese:
很高兴经常学习汉语。这个汉字怎么写？谁能读一读这个句子？我觉得这个方法很有意思。你们认识这个词吗？我觉得"爱"字可以加个"心"，没问题。不知道为什么这个词里的"心"被删除了。
Traditional Chinese:
很高興經常學習漢語。這個漢字怎麼寫？誰能讀一讀這個句子？我覺得這個方法很有意思。你們認識這個詞嗎？我覺得「愛」字可以加個「心」，沒問題。不知道為什麼這個詞裡的「心」被刪除了。
Note: 么→麼, 汉→漢, 这→這, 写→寫, 谁→誰, 读→讀, 语→語, 觉→覺, 个→個, 词→詞,
认→認, 为→為, 爱→愛, 删→刪, 里→裡.
写is寫 in Traditional
Chinese. 妈妈 is 媽媽 , and 吗 is 嗎.
Looking at a complete sentence in
Simplified Chinese, and changing it into Traditional Chinese.
Simplified Chinese:
这个句字怎么写？
Traditional Chinese:
這個句字怎麼寫？
We notice that 个 in Simplified
Chinese, is 個 in Traditional Chinese. The left-hand part is 人 appears in
many words in Simplified Chinese words, and the right-hand part has 古 inside the square, both
of which we learnt as stand-alone words in Simplified Chinese.
么
in Simplified Chinese is 麼 in Traditional Chinese. The whole component 广，with two 木，appears in the Simplified Chinese word 嘛,
along with a 口at the left.
写in Simplified Chinese is 寫 in Traditional
Chinese. Here we say another word that has the line in Simplified Chinese, and
how it is written in Traditional Chinese. The part in the middle which looks
like two E in front of each other, also appears in Simplified Chinese words.
Looking at the word 舅舅 in Simplified Chinese, which means uncle from the mother’s side
(mother’s brother). We notice that it is the same in Traditional Chinese. The
lower part is 男，which means male，as in 男人 which means man. The upper part in 男is 田which means field,
and the lower part is 力which means strength, as men used to work
in the field. They are all the same in Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
The word 心 heart, is one
of the words that appear a lot in Simplified Chinese, both as a stand along
character, and as part of other words. For example. 小心。 小means little, and 心 means heart.
When combined together, they give the meaning: be careful. These are all the
same in both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
The word 爱 means love in
Simplified Chinese. In traditional Chinese, we can see the “heart” component. 愛, which is a line in Simplified Chinese. It would have been nice to keep
the 心 though in 爱。It is interesting to note that the lower component
爱，is similar to the second character that appears in the word 朋友 which means friend. 家is also the same.
The word 打 beat, is the
same in traditional and simplified Chinese. However, in the word 热hot in Simplified Chinese, the upper left-hand part is different in
traditional Chinese, and the word becomes 熱
in traditional Chinese. This new different component includes 土
land
in Simplified Chinese, and the whole component 坴
in
Simplified Chinese, means land according to Pleco.
The word for Mandarin Chinese is 普通话 in Simplified Chinese, which is
written as 普通話 in Traditional Chinese. Note that Taiwan uses the
term 國語for Mandarin, which explains why Google Translate translated 普通话into 國語，which is
written as国语 in Simplified Chinese.
- Deep Seek: When you encounter "國語" in Taiwan, you can understand it as
"Taiwan's Mandarin," which has a different name and some
localized differences from the "普通话" you
are learning.
When I entered 经常 in Simplified Chinese, Google Translate provided only 常in traditional Chinese. 经is 經，with the lower part 工being the same
in both words.
Simplified Chinese:
不管你来自哪个国家，通过你的努力，你什么都能学会，要试一试。
Traditional Chinese:
不管你來自哪個國家，通過你的努力，你什麼都能學會，要試一試。
The word 国 in Simplified Chinese is written as 國 in Traditional Chinese。We learnt this inner component
in Simplified Chinese as a stand-alone character, which is 或, as in 或者 which means or, and 或许 which means perhaps。This same part
remains the same in Traditional Chinese. So these words are written as 或許, 或者 in Traditional Chinese, and here we
see the 言 appearing in 许。
中国 China, in Simplified Chinese, is written 中國 in Traditional Chinese.
Several countries have the word “国” in their Chinese name. For example, 美国 USA，英国 Britian， 德国Germany，法国France. These
countries are written as 美國，英國， 德國，法國 in Traditional Chinese respectively.
国王means King, and 王国 means Kingdom, and are written as 國王 and 王國。
However, there are countries which are
Kingdoms, which do not have the word 国 in Chinese. For
example, Jordan is a Kingdom. In Chinese, it is 约旦 in Simplified
Chinese, and it is 約旦 in Traditional Chinese, without the word 国 in the name of the country when translated to Chinese。Compare 丝绸silk in Simplified versus 絲綢 in Traditional, noticing
the second word 绸 versus綢。We also came across 经 in Simplified vs 經 in
Traditional。
There are other countries that are
Kingdoms, but don’t have the word 国. For example, Saudi
Arabia is沙特阿拉伯 in Simplified Chinese. Saudi Arabia’s name in Traditional Chinese is 沙烏地阿拉伯
and in Hong Kong it is 沙地阿拉伯.
The character 沙appears in
the word 沙漠which means
desert, although Saudi Arabia’s name in Arabic does not refer to desert.
The word 玉 jade is inside the 国 in Simplified Chinese. 玉 is the same in Simplified and Traditional
Chinese.
The word 系 in Simplified
Chinese is quite similar to the character in Traditional Chinese.
The word 点 in simplified
Chinese, is written as 點 in Traditional Chinese. In traditional
Chinese, we notice that there is the word that we learnt as a
stand-alone word in Simplified Chinese, which is 黑
which means black. It appears as a whole in the traditional Chinese.
Beside it is the word 占 which we also learnt as a stand-alone word in
Simplified Chinese. So two words, 黑and 占 when combined
together into one Character in Traditional Chinese, become the word 点in Simplified
Chinese. So the four dots below in 点，are a truncation of 黑.
The word 贝 in Simplified
Chinese, is 貝 in Traditional Chinese, and has 目 on the top. Similarly, we find this difference in other words。
Simplified Chinese: 1贝 2 员工 3圆 4演员 5婴儿元 6负 7 现在 8现金 9赢 10则
Traditional Chinese: 1貝 2 員工 3圓 4演員 5嬰兒元 6負 7 現在 8現金 9贏 10則
Notice that in the word 儿 in Simplified Chinese， is 兒 in
Traditional Chinese. Therefore， 儿子in Simplified Chinese is兒子in Traditional Chinese with two E’s facing each other on top, and the
lower part only is what is shown in Simplified Chinese.
The word 车car in
Simplified Chinese. is 車 in Traditional Chinese.
Simplified Chinese: 1车 2裤子 3仓库 4东西 5栋 6晕倒 7导致 8仓储 9启示
Traditional Chinese: 1車 2褲子 3倉庫 4東西 5棟 6暈倒 7導致 8倉儲 8啟示
Notice that 车, 东in Simplified Chinese are 車，東 in Traditional
Chinese
The Simplified Chinese word公共汽车 means bus, and is used
in Mainland China. In Taiwan, the term 公車 is used every day for bus. In Hong Kong,
the term 巴士
is used. Google Translate used the term 公車 in Traditional Chinese, for 公共汽车Simplified Chinese, which is misleading, as
explained by Deep Seek. 公共汽车 should be written as 公共汽車 in Traditional Chinese.
Simplified Chinese
1鱼 2海鲜 3新鲜 4鸟5鸡蛋 6乌 7机器人 8写 9与 10吗 11蝴蝶 12不客气 13气氛
14辅导15导游 16 来 17 换 18篮球 19距离 20隐藏 21 临 22 情况 23 医生24 医院 25身体
26 射击 27游戏 28 游泳 29 会 30 云 31 签证 32 会议 33书 34笔
Traditional Chinese
1魚 2海鮮 3新鮮 4鳥5蛋 6烏 7機器人 8寫 9與 10嗎 11蝴蝶 12不客氣 13氣氛
14輔導15 導覽 16 來 17 換 18 籃球 19 距離 20 隱藏 21 臨 22 情況 23 醫生24 醫院 25身體
26射擊 27 遊戲 28 游泳 29 會 30 雲 31 簽證 32 會議 33書 34 筆
Fish is鱼 in Simplified
Chinese, and 魚 in Traditional Chinese. 海鲜 is海鮮 in traditional Chinese。
鸡 in Simplified Chinese is 雞. But 鸟is 鳥 in Traditional Chinese.
导游 in Simplified Chinese
is 導遊 in Traditional Chinese. 道
is used in Simplified Chinese as a stand-alone character.
来 in Simplified Chinese is written as 來 in
Traditional Chinese, with two 人。人is used as a stand-alone word and comes in
different characters in Simplified Chinese, such as 坐，which is the
same in traditional Chinese. Additionally,
篮球 in Simplified Chinese is 籃球 in Traditional
Chinese. The left-hand side which is abbreviated into two vertical lines,
appears in other words in Simplified Chinese, such as 藏 which is the
same in both。
临 in Simplified Chinese, is 臨 in Traditional
Chinese. 品 which is shown in Traditional Chinese, is a stand-alone word in
Simplified Chinese and is abbreviated into the lower right part in 临。
情况 is 情況 Traditional Chinese, with the difference being in 况 versus 況 in Traditional Chinese, with the three dots becoming two in Simplified。 Meanwhile， 油 is the same in both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
In Traditional Chinese, the dots in 雨 are directed towards
the center. 雾has a complete part that was removed, which also appears in other
characters in Simplified Chinese. which appears in the first character in 矛盾。 矛盾is the same in both Simplified and
Traditional.
医生 and 医院 in Simplified Chinese, removes additional characters that are in
Traditional Chinese, 醫生， 醫院. That is quick and sufficient indeed. The additional parts, appear in
other words in Simplified Chinese. 没有 and 提醒 are the same in both Simplified and Traditional.
身体 is 身體 in Traditional Chinese.
骨头 is 骨頭 in Traditional Chinese； 歌曲 is the same, and 豆 is the same.
土豆potato, is the same in Traditional Chinese, according to Deep Seek.
Meanwhile, Google substitutes it with 馬鈴薯mǎlíngshǔ, which is
the term used for Potato in Taiwan, rather than just providing the Traditional
Chinese characters. If you are using Google Translate to get the Traditional
Chinese, you can double check the results by asking Deep Seek.
射击 in Simplified Chinese is
射擊 in Traditional Chinese.
击 was truncated from the upper left part of the character 擊, while the remaining parts of the character occur in other words in Simplified
Chinese, with the 手 hand in the lower
part of the word being a stand-alone word, and is also part of other words that
are usually used in Simplified Chinese 手表 watch.
会 and云 in Simplified Chinese are 會 , 雲 in Traditional
Chinese. Traditional Chinese has the 雨 added at the top, which was replaced with a straight line in Simplified
Chinese.
态度 in Simplified Chinese
is態度in Traditional Chinese. It is interesting to see that the part 太in态度 is能 in Traditional Chinese,
comes as a stand-alone word, and also comes in words like 熊猫。
难
difficult
in simplified Chinese is written as 難 in traditional Chinese, with the left hand
part changing. 双double
in simplified Chinese, is 雙in
traditional Chinese. The upper part is 隹
appears in many words in Simplified Chinese. For example, 标准 in
simplified is 標準in
traditional Chinese. We notice that the whole word we learnt 票
ticket
in simplified Chinese， is the right component of the character 标
in
simplified, 標
in
traditional Chinese. We also notice the change in准
which
is準
in
traditional
Chinese.
双赢 in Simplified Chinese is 雙贏 in Traditional
Chinese. Notice 贝 in the middle of 赢 is貝 in 贏 in Traditional Chinese. The two 隹were removed
from the top 雙, and were replaced with double the character at the bottom which looks
like 又，thereby becoming 双.
The word 进 in Simplified Chinese is 進 in Traditional
Chinese， but 井is the same in both.
The word 离开 in Simplified
Chinese is離開 in Traditional Chinese. The part 隹is a
stand-alone character, and is found in many words in Simplified Chinese, but
was left out, keeping 离, which is quite enough 隹character
is a short-tailed bird. It appears in many characters in Simplified Chinese,
although they are not related birds.
爷爷in Simplified Chinese is 爺爺in Traditional Chinese. 卫in Traditional Chinese is衛in Traditional Chinese.
卫生间 which means bathroom
should be is shown as衛生間 in Traditional Chinese. There is a
different word, colloquial word for restroom, which is 厕所 in Simplified
and廁所 in Traditional Chinese. This is another example where Google Translate
provided a different word, rather than Traditional Chinese character.
考虑 in Simplified Chinese is 考慮 in Traditional Chinese, with the 田component be between 心 and 七。
人is the same in both Simplified and Traditional Chinese. 只is the same in Simplified and Traditional Chinese. But 识 is different. 认识 is 認識 in
Traditional Chinese, and 知识 is 知識 。The part 忍 that appears
in 认 in traditional Chinese, is found in Simplified Chinese in the word 忍不住, and 声音 has the part that is found in 識。
Sometimes there is a big difference in the
Traditional Chinese form for two characters that might seem very similar in
Simplified Chinese. For example, 胡子 beard, and 湖 lake in Simplified
Chinese, are 鬍子 and 湖 respectively
in Traditional Chinese. Lake is the same
in both, meanwhile beard 胡子is completely
different.
Deep Seek：
·
Traditional: 鬍 = 髟 (hair radical) + 胡 (phonetic)
- Simplified: 胡 — the entire 髟 (hair) component was dropped, leaving just the
phonetic 胡
·
This is a component deletion type of
simplification: the meaning radical was removed, and the phonetic part became
the whole character.
·
胡 itself is a character that exists independently (meaning
"reckless," "foreign," a surname) is the same in Traditional
and Simplified.
导游 tour guide ， 游戏 game ， 游泳swimming in
Simplified Chinese are 導遊 ， 遊戲 ， 游泳 respectively
in Traditional Chinese.
Deep Seek:
The difference
comes down to a merger of two originally distinct characters: 游 and 遊. In Traditional Chinese, 游 is used for
activities in the water, like 游泳 (swimming). 遊 is used for
activities on land, like travel, wandering, or 遊戲 (games/play).
When Chinese was simplified, 遊 was abolished, and all
its meanings were merged into the single character 游. That is why 游泳 stayed the same (it was already 游), but 遊戲 became 游戏 (the 遊 was replaced).
Examples that use the遊 for wandering in traditional Chinese include:
Simplified Traditional
游荡 遊蕩 To wander,
roam about without a purpose
游走 遊走 wandering,
being unfixed, migrating from place to place
漫游 漫遊 Roaming, in a
network or traveling without a fixed plan
发 in Simplified Chinese is 發in Traditional
Chinese.
模拟in Simplified Chinese is 模擬in Traditional Chinese, while 以 is the same.
New Practical Chinese Book 6 has the text in Simplified Chinese, with Traditional Chinese added at the end of the book.
Additional Information
签 in Simplified Chinese, is 簽 in Traditional Chinese. The top part is the bamboo radical 竹，which is found in many words in Simplified Chiense. The lower part is two 口 and two 人 (从). This part 亼 (jí) which is the gathering/ roof shape, with 入 "entering" and a line below it. It is found in the top part of 会。
会议 in Simplified Chinese is 會議 in Traditional Chinese.
The second character 议 in Simplified Chinese, is composed of 言 with a right component being 羊above and 我below .
盒子 is the same in Simplified and Traditional Chinese.
笔 pen in Simplified Chinese is 筆 in Traditional Chinese. It is composed of 竹 bamboo and 聿 yù which is a writing brush, which is the same in Simplified and Traditional Chinese. 笔 pen is related to book 书, and not 毛 hair / fur.
毛 is the same in Simplified and Traditional.
Numbers in Chinese
If you are new to learning Chinese, you need to know how the numbers are written in Chinese, and you need to be careful about the Zeros, as there have specific characters instead of the Zeros that are usually used. There are special characters for Hundred, Thousand and Ten Thousand, and Hundred Million. Meanwhile, in English, three zeros with comma between every three digits to make reading the numbers easier. That is totally different than Chinese.
The Chinese characters for numbers from 1 to 10 are the same in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, as well as 100 百, and 1000 千.
万 is the number 10,000 (Ten Thousand) in Simplified Chinese and is written as 萬 in Traditional Chinese.
亿 is the number 100,000,000 (One Hundred Million) in Simplified Chinese, and is written as 億 in Traditional Chinese.
One Million is 一百万 in Simplified Chinese and 一百萬 in Traditional Chinese.
Ten Million is 一千万 in Simplified Chinese, and 一千萬 in Traditional Chinese.
One Billion is 十亿 in Simplified Chinese and 十億.
0 零
1 一
2 二
3 三
4 四
5 五
6 六
7 七
8 八
9 九
10 十
100 百
1000 千
10,000 万 Simplified, 萬 Traditional.
100,000 is 十万. Simplified, 十萬 Traditional.
1,000,000 一百万 Simplified, 一百萬 Traditional
10,000,000 一千万 Simplified, 一千萬 Traditional
100,000,000 亿 Simplified, 億 Traditional
1,000,000,000 十亿 , 十億 Traditional
In Chinese, we stop counting by thousands when we reach 10,000. Chinese do not say one hundred thousand, but rather 10 万，which is Ten x Ten Thousand 10x10,000 = 100,000.
While in English, the comma is after three zeros or thousands, in Chinese, it is four zeros for 万. The 万 is used to say the numbers in 100 thousand, 1 million, 10 million as seen above. 亿 is used to say hundred million and billion.
Financial numbers are written differently.
Financial Numerals vs. Everyday Numerals
| Value | Financial (Dàxiě) | Everyday | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 零 | 零 | líng |
| 1 | 壹 | 一 | yī |
| 2 | 贰 (or 貳) | 二 | èr |
| 3 | 叁 (or 参) | 三 | sān |
| 4 | 肆 | 四 | sì |
| 5 | 伍 | 五 | wǔ |
| 6 | 陆 (or 陸) | 六 | liù |
| 7 | 柒 | 七 | qī |
| 8 | 捌 | 八 | bā |
| 9 | 玖 | 九 | jiǔ |
| 10 | 拾 | 十 | shí |
| 100 | 佰 | 百 | bǎi |
| 1,000 | 仟 | 千 | qiān |
| 10,000 | 萬 (or 万) | 萬 (or 万) | wàn |
| 100,000,000 | 億 (or 亿) | 億 (or 亿) | yì |
- The currency in Mainland China is Chinese Yuan 元，or Renminbi 人民币 ,CNY.
- The currency in Hong Kong is Hong Kong Dollar, HKG.
- The currency in Taiwan, is Taiwan Dollar, TWD.
- The currency is different and there are different exchange rates.
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