百 / 千 / 万【bǎi / qiān / wàn】

Bǎi百 is a hundred, qiān千 a thousand and mò万 ten thousand. Each takes a digit in front, as 十 does. English groups large numbers in thousands; Chinese numbers group in ten-thousands, and that is the part to get used to.

Unlike the teens, a number from a hundred upwards keeps its leading 一: 一百, 一千, 一万, and 一百一十 for 110.

Counting in 万

Treat 万 as a unit in its own right, the way English treats "thousand". 十万 is ten 万, 一百万 is a hundred 万, and the unit after 万 is yì亿, a hundred million.

零 fills a gap

One líng零 covers any run of zeros inside a number: 一千零五 is 1,005, 一万零二十 is 10,020.

Zeros at the end are not read. When the only figure left is the next unit down, that unit can drop in speech too: 一千五 is 1,500 and 两万三 is 23,000. Compare 一千零五, which is 1,005.

两 before the big units

liǎng两Bǎi百, liǎng两qiān千, liǎng两mò万 are the usual forms for 200, 2,000 and 20,000. 二百 is also heard, mostly in the north; 二千 and 二万 are not.