How to Say "Twelve" in Chinese

十二

shí'èr

Twelve in Chinese is 十二 (shí'èr).

十二 is the cardinal number for twelve.

Meaning: cardinal number 12 (num)

What does it mean word for word?

The number is composed of the character for ten (十) and the character for two (二), literally meaning "ten two".

shí'èr

When writing 'twelve' in its formal or financial version, 十二 becomes much more complex to prevent fraud, often using different, more intricate characters.
While 十二 is the number twelve, the word for a 'dozen' is often expressed as 一打 (yī dǎ), where 打 is a loanword from the English 'dozen'.
Traditional Chinese timekeeping divides a single day into 十二 double-hours, meaning each 'hour' in this ancient system actually lasts two modern hours.

安娜十二歲。
Anna is twelve years old.
This sentence is useful for stating someone's age using 十二.
Tatoeba #6486865 by xjjAstrus, translation #7840517 by sharris123
我十二岁了。
I'm twelve years old.
This sentence is useful for stating your own age using 十二.
Tatoeba #9959852 by GlossaMatik, translation #2069119 by Eldad
他十二點吃飯。
He eats at twelve o'clock.
This sentence is useful for specifying a time of twelve o'clock using 十二.
Tatoeba #6486884 by xjjAstrus, translation #6534853 by kayano
过年时，人们点亮了十二盏红灯笼来招财进宝。
In Chinese New Year, people light twelve red lanterns for good luck.
我弟弟今年十二岁了。
My little brother is twelve years old.
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浩然 and 晓雯 are at a fruit stall counting fruit.

浩然 Haoran

這裡有十二個橙子。
Zhèlǐ yǒu shí'èr gè chéngzi.
There are twelve oranges here.
晓雯 Xiaowen

太好了，我們買這十二個吧。
Tài hǎole, wǒmen mǎi zhè shí'èr gè ba.
Great, let's buy these twelve.
浩然 Haoran

好，我要十二個。
Hǎo, wǒ yào shí'èr gè.
Okay, I want twelve.
晓雯 Xiaowen

浩然，一共是多少錢？
Hàorán, yígòng shì duōshǎo qián?
Haoran, how much is it in total?

Sources

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