🇨🇳 CHINESE · HSK 1

Chinese – Batch 06

六 · 七 · 八 · 九 · 十 · Reading · Listening · Writing

What is Pinyin? Pinyin is the official romanisation system for Mandarin Chinese. Every syllable has a tone — the same syllable said in a different tone is a completely different word. There are four tones plus a neutral tone:
1st (ā) — high & level | 2nd (á) — rising, like a question | 3rd (ǎ) — dip then rise | 4th (à) — sharp fall | Neutral (a) — light, unstressed
In exercises you may type tone marks (rén) or tone numbers (ren2) — both are accepted.

📋 Pinyin Quick Reference

Characters in this batch — type either form in exercises:

liu4 → liù

qi1 → qī

ba1 → bā

jiu3 → jiǔ

shi2 → shí

🔊 Hear all 5 tones — same syllable "liu", five different meanings:

liū Tone 1 — level 溜 · to slip/slide

liú Tone 2 — rising 流 · to flow

liǔ Tone 3 — dip-rise 柳 · willow tree

liù Tone 4 — falling ★ 六 · six

liuyue Neutral — unstressed 六月 · June

★ = used in this batch | Neutral: listen to how 月 is lighter than 六 in natural speech.

Tone	Number	Mark (a)	Mark (e)	Mark (i)	Mark (u)
1st — high level	1	ā	ē	ī	ū
2nd — rising	2	á	é	í	ú
3rd — dip-rise	3	ǎ	ě	ǐ	ǔ
4th — falling	4	à	è	ì	ù
Neutral	5 or 0	a	e	i	u

💡 On most keyboards, tone marks are hard to type — use the number form (liu4, qi1) in exercises. Both are always accepted.

Progress: 0 / 4 exercises completed

A — Flashcard Practice

Click the card to reveal pinyin, meaning, and stroke count. Use the audio button to hear the pronunciation.

六

HSK 1

Tap to flip

1 / 8

B — Listen & Identify

Press the speaker button to hear a character pronounced. Choose the correct character from the four options.

C — Meaning Match

Look at the character. Choose the correct English meaning.

D — Reading in Context

Pinyin is shown for each sentence — type the missing pinyin in the blank. Press the audio button to hear the sentence, then repeat aloud.

🔊 Tip: Press Hear sentence, listen carefully, then say the full sentence out loud. Type the missing pinyin (tone mark or number form).

E — Stroke Count

How many strokes does each character take to write? Type the number. Tip: close your eyes and trace each character in your head — count how many times your pen lifts off the paper. Each unbroken line = one stroke.

六 liù — six

Only 4 strokes. Lucky number in Chinese culture — sounds like 路 (road), symbolizing a smooth journey.

Tone 4 (去声) — sharp falling, like a firm statement.

六月liù yuèJune
六十liùshísixty
十六shíliùsixteen

Wǒ jiā yǒu liù kǒu rén.

我家有六口人。

My family has six people.

Tā liùshí suì le.

他六十岁了。

He is sixty years old.

七 qī — seven

A horizontal with a long curving vertical below — 2 strokes. Lucky number, associated with 七夕 (Qixi Festival/Chinese Valentine's Day). ⚠️ Don't confuse with 十 — 七 has a rightward curve at the bottom.

Tone 1 (阴平 yīnpíng) — high and level.

七月qī yuèJuly
七夕qīxīQixi Festival
七八qī bāabout seven or eight

Jīntiān shì qī yuè.

今天是七月。

Today is July.

Qīxī kuàilè!

七夕快乐！

Happy Qixi Festival!

八 bā — eight

Two strokes spreading outward. 8 is the LUCKIEST number in Chinese culture — sounds like 发 (fā, prosper). The Beijing Olympics opened on 08/08/2008 at 8:08 PM!

Tone 1 (阴平 yīnpíng) — high and level.

八月bā yuèAugust
八十bāshíeighty
七八qī bāabout

Bā yuè hěn rè.

八月很热。

August is very hot.

Bābābā — hǎo yùn!

八八八 — 好运！

888 — good luck!

九 jiǔ — nine

⚠️ Very similar to 几 (how many): both have 2 strokes, but 几 has two downward legs while 九 has one curving hook. 9 sounds like 久 (jiǔ, long time) — auspicious for longevity.

Tone 3 (上声 shǎngshēng) — the dip-and-rise.

九月jiǔ yuèSeptember
九十jiǔshíninety
九月九jiǔyuèjiǔDouble Ninth Festival

Wǒ yǒu jiǔ gè péngyou.

我有九个朋友。

I have nine friends.

Jiǔ yuè hěn hǎo.

九月很好。

September is nice.

十 shí — ten

A perfect plus sign (+). Just 2 strokes. 十 is also a radical/component in many characters. 十分 (shí fēn) means 'very/fully' (literally 'ten parts' = complete).

Tone 2 (阳平 yángpíng) — rising, like asking "Really?"

十月shí yuèOctober
十六shíliùsixteen
十分shífēnvery / fully

Wǒ xué le shí nián.

我学了十年。

I studied for ten years.

Shífēn gǎnxiè.

十分感谢。

Thank you very much.

Tone System

Tone	Mark	Number	Chinese	Description	Batch example
1st	ā	1	阴平	High, flat, held steady	qī (七), bā (八)
2nd	á	2	阳平	Rising — like "Really?"	shí (十)
3rd	ǎ	3	上声	Dip then rise — lowest tone	jiǔ (九)
4th	à	4	去声	Sharp falling — like "No!"	liù (六)
Neutral	a	5 / 0	轻声	Short, unstressed	—

Stroke Order Principles

Top → Bottom
Left → Right
Horizontal before vertical (when crossing)
Left-falling before right-falling
Centre before sides (vertical axis)
Outside before inside (enclosures)
Close the bottom last
Minor strokes last (dots / small sweeps)

Batch 06 Summary — Numbers II

Char	Pinyin	Meaning	Strokes	HSK
六	liù	six	4	HSK 1
七	qī	seven	2	HSK 1
八	bā	eight	2	HSK 1
九	jiǔ	nine	2	HSK 1
十	shí	ten	2	HSK 1

Pinyin Typing Guide

All exercises accept tone marks (liù, qī) or tone numbers (liu4, qi1). Tone numbers are always easier — just type the syllable followed by 1, 2, 3, or 4. Both forms are equally correct.

🔊 Audio pronunciation powered by the Web Speech API (built into your browser, no external service).
For a comprehensive pinyin reference, visit Yabla Chinese Pinyin Chart.
Stroke order practice: Skritter · Character lookup: MDBG Dictionary.