十亿
shíyì
The English phrase "billion" is translated into Chinese as 十亿 (shíyì).
The word refers to a quantity of one thousand million (1,000,000,000).
Meaning: a thousand million (1,000,000,000), a milliard (num)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of 十 (ten) and 亿 (one hundred million), literally meaning "ten hundred-million".
Which one should you use?
While English counts in powers of 1,000 (thousand, million, billion), Chinese counts in powers of 10,000 (万, 亿).
How do you pronounce it?
shíyì
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly try to translate "billion" as a single new unit rather than recognizing it as ten units of 亿 (one hundred million).
Did you know?
- In ancient Chinese, the word 亿 was not a fixed number but could mean any 'uncountably large' amount. It only became standardized as one hundred million much later in history.
- While English uses a comma every three digits, Chinese speakers conceptually group numbers by four digits. This is why 十亿 is viewed as ten groups of 亿 rather than a thousand groups of 百万.
- If you try to say 'billion' using the word 十亿 in a casual conversation about money, you might sound overly formal. People often use the term 十个亿 to make the massive number feel more countable and concrete.
Examples in context
- 那里的人口已经达到十亿了。Nàlǐ de rénkǒu yǐjīng dádào shíyì le.The population there has already reached one billion.
- 我们需要十亿美金来完成这个项目。Wǒmen xūyào shíyì měijīn lái wánchéng zhège xiàngmù.We need one billion US dollars to complete this project.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a wealthy business owner.
- 伟 Wei你知道他的财产有多少吗？Nǐ zhīdào tā de cáichǎn yǒu duōshǎo ma?Do you know how much property he has?
- 佳怡 Jiayi据说他拥有十亿资产。Jùshuō tā yōngyǒu shíyì zīchǎn.It is said that he has a billion in assets.
- 伟 Wei那真是太惊人了！Nà zhēnshì tài jīngrén le!That is truly amazing!
- 佳怡 Jiayi是的，我也觉得不可思议。Shì de, wǒ yě juéde bùkěsīyì.Yes, I also think it's incredible.
