九
jiǔ/t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴/
The English word nine is translated into Chinese as 九 (jiǔ).
Meaning: cardinal number (num)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 九 | jiǔ | /t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /t͡ɕiəu⁵³/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 九 | kiú, káu, kiáu | /kau⁵³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Sinological IPA, Xiamen) /kiu⁵³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Sinological IPA, Xiamen) |
Hokkien |
The word is used as a cardinal number to represent the quantity or value of nine. It can also refer to the digit or figure 9.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Dungan, the number is written as җю. In Hokkien, the number is written as 九.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The Hokkien pronunciation of 九 is romanized as kiú, káu or kiáu.
Did you know?
- The character 九 originally depicted a human elbow rather than the number nine.
- In Chinese culture, the number nine is often associated with 'long-lasting' or 'eternity' because it sounds similar to the word for 'everlasting'.
- Because of its association with the Emperor, the number nine appears frequently in imperial architecture, such as the nine-dragon motifs.
Examples in context
- 你九點上班。You work at nine o'clock.This sentence uses 九 to indicate the time of nine o'clock.Tatoeba #5390934 by xjjAstrus, translation #5573370 by n1ls
- 銀行九點開門Banks open at nine o'clock.Tatoeba #6842377 by hanksudo, translation #18433 by CK
- 历史课九点开始。The history class starts at nine.Tatoeba #5905025 by verdastelo9604, translation #326120 by Eldad
- 九个人Nine people
- 九本书Nine books
- 九条鱼Nine fish
- 九点9 o'clock
- 九点十分9:10
- 52 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Junjie and Jiayi are talking about the number of apples they have.
- 俊杰 Junjie你有幾個蘋果？Nǐ yǒu jǐ ge píngguǒ?How many apples do you have?
- 佳怡 Jiayi我有九個蘋果。Wǒ yǒu jiǔ ge píngguǒ.I have nine apples.
- 俊杰 Junjie真的有那麼多嗎？Zhēnde yǒu nàme duō ma?Do you really have that many?
- 佳怡 Jiayi對，剛好九個。Duì, gānghǎo jiǔ ge.Yes, exactly nine.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “nine” translations and entries 九, 九, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 九, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
