Chinese Hand Signs for Numbers 1-10: Finger Counting on One Hand

Number	Fingers	The sign
1 一 yī		Index finger up.
2 二 èr		Index and middle fingers up.
3 三 sān		Thumb and index finger closed together; the other three up. Also: thumb holds the little finger down, middle three up.
4 四 sì		Four fingers up, thumb folded into the palm.
5 五 wǔ		Open hand.
6 六 liù		Thumb and little finger out, the others closed.
7 七 qī		Fingertips of thumb, index and middle pinched together, pointing up. Northern China also uses index and middle out with the thumb up; coastal southern China a 7 shape with index down and thumb out.
8 八 bā		Thumb and index finger in an L, palm towards the other person. Coastal southern China: thumb, index and middle out.
9 九 jiǔ		Index finger bent into a hook. Taiwan: four fingers out, little finger in.
10 十 shí		A closed fist, or the index fingers of both hands crossed to make 十. Some people tell 0 and 10 apart by the thumb: closed for 0, open for 10.

Zero, where it is signed at all, is a closed fist in northern China and a ring of thumb and index finger in coastal southern China.

Counting on your fingers

Showing a number and counting are different gestures. To count, Chinese speakers often start with a closed hand and raise the thumb for one, then the index for two, through to the little finger for five; from six to ten they fold the fingers again in the same order. Some start with the hand open and fold instead, which is thought more polite when facing an audience.

Using the signs in class

The signs make a quick listening check: say a number, pupils show it; show a sign, pupils say it with the right tone. Six to nine are where pupils hesitate, which is the point. Pair it with the 1 to 10 page for the sounds and the worksheets for the written side.

Questions from learners and teachers

How do you show 6 with one hand in Chinese?

Thumb and little finger out, the three middle fingers folded: the shape English speakers know as "hang loose". The thumb stands for one hand of five and the little finger for one more.

Why do Chinese speakers use one-hand number signs?

They let people count past five on one hand, which is handy across a noisy market or a counter. One explanation given for them is the variety of Chinese dialects: in some, 四 (four) and 十 (ten) sound alike, and a sign removes the doubt. The signs are also part of Chinese Sign Language.

Is the 8 sign the same everywhere?

No. The L of thumb and index finger is the common northern form, but in coastal southern China 8 can be thumb, index and middle finger out, which a northerner might read as 7. When it matters, say the number as well.

Does a sign mean only one number?

The sign gives the digit and context gives the size: the 5 sign can mean fifty or five hundred in a price conversation, and a 2 followed by a 6 can be 26 or 2,600. The signs also stand for days of the week and months, which are numbered in Chinese.