Maths in Chinese 🔢 Time to Tackle Those

Your Complete Guide to Maths in Chinese

Maths in Chinese

Maths – a word that brought despair to so many of us back in our school days. So just to bring back those harrowing memories we thought we’d give numbers another chance and teach you about Maths in Chinese!

We’ll try not to get too technical but the fact is… some of us just loved the numbers at school (yes, I’m one of those I’m afraid – it was the only subject I was any good at)!

FIRST AND FOREMOST…

If you don’t know the numbers in Chinese, this is kind of crucial so let’s get you on refreshed…

Learn 1-20 in Chinese

SECONDLY – if you want to discover more about numbers, like the numbers up to 100, and how to apply numbers in everyday Chinese (think birthdays, phone numbers etc), go check out our numbers in Chinese guide.

It’s as thorough as any other guide on the net.

FINALLY – this is more a bonus, but if you want to get the big numbers in Chinese down… check this quick guide out.

OK – now you’re up to speed and ready to hit the ground running, let’s get started.

Maths in Chinese – Key Words & Basics

Maths in Chinese – Fractions

Maths in Chinese – Decimals

Maths in Chinese – Percentages

Maths in Chinese – Further Vocab

Maths in Chinese – FAQ’s

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Maths in Chinese – Key Words & Basics

Firstly we should learn the word for Maths itself

Maths in Chinese is 数学 shùxué. Literally number study.

Now for some more useful Maths in Mandarin vocab!

EnglishPinyinHanzi
Numbershù zì数字
Oddjī shù de奇数的
Evenǒu shù de偶数的
Plus/Addjiā fǎ加法
Minus/Subtractjiǎn fǎ减法
Times/Multiplychéng yǐ乘以
Dividechú yǐ除以
Equalsděng yú等于
Pointdiǎn
Remainderchā

So there’s 10 basic Maths words in Chinese alongside our actual word for Maths means we have… hold on… 11 nailed already (good maths)!

Now let’s apply these to some sentences:

  • 1 + 1 = 2
    • 1 加 1 等于 2
    • 1 jiā 1 děng yú 2
  • 2 + 6 = 8
    • 2 加 6 等于 8
    • 2 jiā 6 děng yú 8
  • 4 x 5 = 20
    • 4 乘以 5 等于 20
    • 4 chéng yǐ 5 děng yú 20
  • 10.5 – 3.5 = 7
    • 10点5 减 3点5 等于 7
    • 10 diǎn 5 jiǎn 3 diǎn 5 等于 7

Divide is an interesting example because it can be expressed in two ways:

Let’s take 28 ÷ 7 = 4

  • 28 除以 7 等于 4
    • 28 chú yǐ 7 děng yú 4
  • 7 除 28 等于 4
    • 7 chú 28 děng yú 4

See the difference?

When expressing it as we would in English we use 除以 but we can also write the sum as 7 / 28 = 4. In this instance we then only use 除.

Maths in Chinese – Fractions

Time to move onto fractions in Chinese…

Fraction in Chinese is 分数 fēnshù. Literally seperate number.

EnglishPinyinHanzi
One Half (1/2)二分之一èrfēn zhīyī
One Third (1/3)三分之一sānfēn zhīyī
One Quarter (1/4)四分之一sìfēn zhīyī
One Eighth (1/8)八分之一bāfēn zhīyī
One Tenth (1/10)十分之一shífēn zhīyī
Two Thirds (2/3)三分之二sānfēn zhīèr
Three Quarters (3/4)四分之三sìfēn zhīsān

NOTE – when speaking about fractions we read from top to bottom, in English we’d say:

One Third – but in Chinese we swap it round and read the denominator (thee bottom number) first – sānfēn zhīyī

Every fraction must include the 分之 to denote it is indeed a fraction.

Pretty simple, right?!

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Maths in Chinese – Decimals

This is nice and simple and doesn’t require too much of an explanation so we’ll keep it short and sweet.

In English for a decimal we say 1 POINT 5.

In Chinese we simply use the word we already learnt above for point – diǎn 点. Which means Decimal in Chinese is simply diǎn 点.

So some example of decimals in Chinese in action…

Decimal in EnglishDecimal in Chinese
1.5
0.25二五
10.6
15.71十五七一
3.1415一四一五

Notice we don’t say Zero point Twenty Five, but Zero Point Two Five – again, the same in English

Maths in Chinese – Percentages

Percentage in Chinese is 百分之 bǎi fēn zhī. Literally 100 separate.

Percentages work similarly to fractions – you have to think backwards.

So rather than say 80%, in Chinese we always say %80…

Example – 60 Percent in Chinese is 百分之六十

Percentage in EnglishPercentage in Chinese
10%百分之
25%百分之二十五
66%百分之六十六
90%百分之九十
100%百分之一百
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Maths in Chinese – Further Vocabulary

Ready to level up?

Here’s some more complex words when it comes to Maths in Chinese, in a quick-fire list for you

Ready…? Let’s go!

Maths in Chinese
  • Arithmetic – 算术 suàn shù
  • Algebra – 代数 dài shù
  • Calculus – 微积分 wēi jī fēn
  • Difference – 差 chā
  • Geometry – 几何 jǐ hé
  • Infinite – 无穷大 wú qióng dà
  • Product – 积 jī
  • Quantity – 量 liàng
  • Quotient – 商 shāng
  • Sum – 和 hé
  • Term – 项 xiàng
  • Trigonometry三角学 sān jiǎo xué

Want to pick up more related vocabulary? We made a list of Chinese School Vocabulary that are super useful!

Think of yourself as a guru in Maths AND Chinese – congratulations, you are blessed!

Tell us what we missed below, we are always up for improving and enhancing our content from the suggestions of our loyal readers!

Maths in Chinese – Quiz

Welcome to our Shower Quiz! Enter your First name and email to begin. Don't worry you can unsubscribe at any time!

First Name
Email
洗澡 (xǐzǎo)

毛巾 (máojīn)

Face Wash

Shampoo

Shower

护肤霜 (hùfūshuāng)

护发素 (hùfàsù)

丝瓜络 (sīguāluò)

Hair dryer

Body Wash

Maths in Chinese – FAQ’s

How do you say Maths in Chinese?

shù xué 数学

How do you say Number in Chinese?

shù zì 数字

How do you say Fraction in Chinese?

fēn shù 分数

How do you say Addition in Chinese?

jiā fǎ 加法

How do you say Subtract in Chinese?

jiǎn fǎ 减法

How do you say Percent in Chinese?

bǎi fēn zhī 百分之

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  1. Chellista
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