Dealing with numerals and measurements in Chinese and Japanese texts

Function of numerals

Numerals represent numbers and describe the term they belong to. This article is going to focus on the two main groups of numerals – the cardinal and ordinal numerals. Additionally, there are other groups like partitive or collective numerals. While cardinal numerals specify the quantity (e.g. 3 valves), ordinal numerals specify the order within a sequential (e.g. the 3rd valve).

The Arabic and Chinese numerical systems in comparison

What nowadays is called the Arabic numerical system was invented by Indian mathematicians and was later adopted by the West. It contains the ten digits (0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) and is based on one thousand.

The ten digits seem to be a natural source and come from counting one’s fingers. So the Chinese numerical system also contains the ten digits, but it is based on ten thousand. It is more logical, i.e. all numbers are strictly added or multiplied. For example 12 (twelve) is 10+2 (十二) and 20 (twenty) is 2x10 (二十).

There are two ways of expressing numbers in Chinese: the standard numbers and the commercial numbers (in brackets). The commercial numbers are used in a financial context or sometimes on price labels. The intention behind their complexity was to avoid fraud. These commercial numbers also exist in Japanese. However, they are rarely used and are a little different.

Please be aware that the meaning of 一兆 is not clear. While一兆 is used in Japan, Korea and Taiwan for one trillion, in the People Republic of China一兆 actually means one million and also denotes the prefix mega-. To avoid any misunderstandings, the Chinese now generally use 一百万 when they mean one million.

Cardinal and ordinal numbers

If you want to turn a cardinal number into an ordinal number, the English language makes it rather easy for you. Usually you just have to add –th at the end of the number, for example fourth. But there are still some exceptions (first, second, third etc.). In Chinese and Japanese it is even easier and very logical. You just have to put the character 第 in front of the number and you get the correct ordinal number.

The order of numerals within text

In Chinese and Japanese you need a classifier when you want to use a numeral in a phrase. The classifier depends on the noun to which the numeral is related. There are a lot of different classifiers, e.g. for people, books, big animals etc. It is somewhat similar to the articles used in some European languages. In fact, the way to learn them is exactly the same: You have to memorize them.

a) When you consult the new Chinese manual of your product, instead of

“Open the 4 valves” you will read:

打开四个阀门。

In Chinese the numeral and the classifier (in this case 个) are put before the related noun.

There is just one exception in the otherwise fool-proof logical system of the Chinese language: If you write “Open the two valves”, you can’t translate it into “打开二个阀门”. When you have to combine the number two as a cardinal number with a classifier, you have to use “两”. So the correct phrase would be:

打开两个阀门。

b) In your Japanese manual you will find the following translation:

弁を四つ開けましてください。

In Japanese the numeral and the classifier (in this caseつ) are put after the related noun (and the required particle).

In addition to the specific classifier, there also is a “one size fits all“ solution for this. If you are not sure which is the proper classifier, you can choose the common classifier: 个 (Chinese) or 個 (Japanese). Usually this works just fine.

Calendar dates

In China, the order of the date is year/month/day. The months are just called according to the sequence in the year, i.e. 1月, 2 月…12 月, and have no special names. The traditional dynastic year, according to the beginning and end of the reign of an emperor, was abolished and the Western standard introduced. Interestingly, in Taiwan the years of the Republic of China are counted, i.e. year 1 is 1912 and year 100 is 2011.

In Japan, both the Western standard and the traditional dynastic year are used. You can often find the traditional date in official documents. The years of Japanese emperors are named by the motto they choose for their reign. Here is a list of the last four emperors’ periods:

Some differences in measurements

The measurements in both languages are generally internationally standardized, i.e. no conversion is needed. Traditional measurements are not used.

In China, you will put 公 before the measurement to make clear that this is the international standardized measurement, i.e. 公里 for kilometer. The words for the measurements are often based on the closest traditional measurement.

Due to the Katakana system, the modern measurements are mostly transliterated into Japanese as you can see in the table below.

For apartment units and real estate there is still a traditional measurement in use: 2 畳 = 1 坪. 1畳 is the size of 1 tatami mat (traditionally made of rice straw).

Excursus: Tetraphobia and other symbolic meanings of numbers

If you take a look at this picture, taken in an elevator, you can guess what numbers are believed to be numbers of bad luck. In addition to the number 13 (a Western superstition) you won’t find any 4 or 14. The sound of the number 4 is very similar to 死 (to die). Therefore, many people avoid living on the 4th floor or staying in any hotel rooms numbered 4, 14, 24 etc.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraphobia

In contrast to that, the number 8 is a very lucky number because it sounds very similar to the word for wealth. Especially as 88, it is believed to bring good fortune and is widely used for wedding congratulations.  

In ancient times, 10,000 was a synonym for infinity. It is said that the Forbidden City in Beijing has nearly 10,000 rooms, exactly 9,999 rooms, because it is the residence of the son of heaven. A similar meaning is conveyed by the originally Greek word myriad. Actually it means 10,000, but in English it is nowadays used for an unspecified large number.

Conclusion

The Arabic numerals are widely understood in China and Japan, and so are the measurements (resp. their translated terms). On technical data sheets you might use the Arabic numerals to make checking a bit more easy. In a continuous text it’s a matter of taste. In Chinese you might prefer the Chinese numbers. In Japanese texts you often find the combination of Arabic numeral plus a classifier. Special attention should be paid to the naming of years in Japanese.

So if you open your manual once again, you might understand a bit more of the text and see the reasons for the conversion of the numbers.

Further reading

You can find an overview of classifiers here:

• for Chinese
• for Japanese