How to Count to 10 in Cantonese (Say Them Out Loud)

The numbers 1 to 10 in Cantonese

Each number shows the character, its Jyutping romanization with a tone number, and a pronunciation hint. The tone number is the small digit at the end.

• 1 一 (jat1, yat with a high tone)
• 2 二 (ji6, yee with a low tone)
• 3 三 (saam1, saam high)
• 4 四 (sei3, say mid)
• 5 五 (ng5, ng low rising)
• 6 六 (luk6, luke low)
• 7 七 (cat1, chat high)
• 8 八 (baat3, baat mid)
• 9 九 (gau2, gow rising)
• 10 十 (sap6, sup low)

In Jyutping, j is a y sound and c is a ch sound, so jat1 is yat and cat1 is chat.

Tones are not optional

Cantonese uses tones, meaning the pitch of your voice is part of the word, not just expression. Standard Cantonese is usually described as having six tones, marked by the numbers in the Jyutping above. Say a number with the wrong pitch and you may say a different word entirely.

The practical approach for beginners is not to memorize tone theory but to imitate. Listen to a native speaker say each number and copy the pitch exactly, high, mid, low, rising, as if you were humming a tune. The numbers are a great place to start because ten short words let you practice several tones in isolation. Say them along with audio until the melody feels automatic rather than calculated.

The number five is just ng

Five, 五 (ng5), surprises everyone. It has no vowel at all. It is the sound at the end of the English word sing, used on its own as a full syllable, carrying a low rising tone.

To say it, make the ng sound and let your voice rise gently, ng with an upward lilt. English never uses ng as a standalone word, so it feels strange at first, but it is genuinely just that nasal hum with a tone on it. Do not try to add a vowel like nuh or eng. Keep it a pure ng. This is one of a small set of Cantonese syllabic nasals, and five is the one you will use most, so it is worth getting comfortable with early.

Common mistakes learners make

English speakers repeat a few errors.

• Ignoring tones. Pitch is part of the word, so copy the melody from native audio.
• Adding a vowel to five. ng5 is a pure nasal hum, not nuh or eng.
• Reading Jyutping like English. The j is a y sound and c is ch, so jat1 is yat and cat1 is chat.
• Cutting final consonants too hard or too soft. Endings like the t in baat3 are unreleased, a light stop rather than a full English t.

Imitating audio fixes most of these fast.

How to make them stick

Tones and the ng syllable are skills of pitch and mouth, so silent reading does almost nothing. You build them by saying the numbers out loud and matching a native speaker's pitch closely.

Count stairs, count coins, say your phone number one digit at a time. The best drill is trading numbers with a real speaker or an AI speaking partner that answers back, so you produce the tones under a little pressure rather than only recognizing them. Short spoken sessions beat long silent ones, and hearing whether your pitch matches is exactly the feedback that makes tones click within a few days.

Counting past 10 is very regular

Good news: Cantonese numbers are extremely logical once you have 1 to 10. Eleven is sap6 jat1 (ten one), twelve is sap6 ji6 (ten two), and so on. Twenty is ji6 sap6 (two ten), thirty is saam1 sap6 (three ten), and you fill in between by adding a digit.

So the ten words you just learned genuinely unlock every number up to ninety-nine with almost no new vocabulary, just recombination. This transparent structure is one of the great rewards of Chinese counting, and it means your effort on these first ten pays off across prices, dates, phone numbers, and ages almost immediately.