Series ID: EDKS-BVOC-ZH-0010 · Lesson No.010 · Numbers, Time & Days · Pre-A1 → A1 · 简体中文辅助

How to Learn Basic English Vocabulary (Chinese Edition) | Lesson No.010 | Numbers, Time and Days | 数字、时间与星期

Numbers tell you how many. Time tells you when.
数字告诉你“多少”。时间告诉你“什么时候”。

← Back to the Basic English Vocabulary Chinese Edition Hub | 返回零基础英语词汇首页

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Quick read | 先看最重要的

Numbers and time words appear everywhere: age, money, buses, phone numbers, dates, school times, work times, appointments and shopping.

数字和时间词几乎到处都会出现：年龄、价格、公交、电话号码、日期、上课时间、工作时间、预约和购物。

Start with:

zero · one · two · three · four · five · six · seven · eight · nine · ten · today · tomorrow · yesterday · morning · afternoon · evening · night · Monday · Tuesday · week · month · year · time

Then add phrases:

• two people
• ten dollars
• three o’clock
• this morning
• tomorrow morning
• on Monday
• next week

This lesson is the vocabulary layer | 这页只负责词汇层

eduKate Sengkang already has broader Chinese Edition lessons for Numbers and Age | 数字与年龄 and Time and Days | 时间与星期.

This page does not duplicate the whole-language teaching. It builds the underlying vocabulary network: number words, calendar words, clock phrases, date expressions and high-frequency time chunks.

Numbers 0–10 | 0–10

0 zero 零	1 one 一	2 two 二	3 three 三
4 four 四	5 five 五	6 six 六	7 seven 七
8 eight 八	9 nine 九	10 ten 十

Learn these very deeply. They are building blocks for age, time, prices, quantities and larger numbers.

Numbers 11–20 | 11–20

11 eleven	12 twelve	13 thirteen	14 fourteen
15 fifteen	16 sixteen	17 seventeen	18 eighteen
19 nineteen	20 twenty

Listen carefully to thirteen vs thirty, fourteen vs forty, and similar pairs. Stress and endings matter.

Tens | 整十

20 twenty	30 thirty	40 forty	50 fifty
60 sixty	70 seventy	80 eighty	90 ninety	100 one hundred

Spelling watch points:

• forty — not *fourty
• fifty — spelling changes from five
• eighty — spelling changes from eight

21–99 | 两位数

• 21 twenty-one
• 35 thirty-five
• 48 forty-eight
• 67 sixty-seven
• 99 ninety-nine

When writing number words, compounds from 21–99 are commonly hyphenated when they are not exact tens.

Hundreds and thousands | 百与千

• 100 one hundred
• 200 two hundred
• 1,000 one thousand
• 2,000 two thousand

A true beginner does not need enormous numbers first. Learn the numbers that occur in your real life.

Number pronunciation: -teen vs -ty | teen 与 ty

These pairs can cause listening problems:

• thirteen / thirty
• fourteen / forty
• fifteen / fifty
• sixteen / sixty
• seventeen / seventy
• eighteen / eighty
• nineteen / ninety

Do not solve this with Chinese-character pronunciation notes. Listen to dictionary audio, compare the pair, then use each in context:

• thirteen years old
• thirty dollars

Numbers as quantities | 数量

• one book
• two books
• three people
• five apples
• ten questions

Number vocabulary quickly connects to plural nouns. This page notices that connection but leaves full plural grammar to its own owner.

How many? | 多少个？

• How many books?
• How many people?
• How many apples?

Answers:

• Two books.
• Three people.
• Five apples.

Age | 年龄

• I am ten years old.
• She is twelve years old.
• How old are you?

Notice: English uses be for age: “I am ten,” not a direct word-for-word translation of Chinese “I have ten years”.

Phone numbers | 电话号码

Phone numbers are usually read digit by digit or in small groups, depending on local convention.

Example:

8123 4567 → “eight one two three, four five six seven”

Use your real region’s normal reading convention, but first learn the individual digits clearly.

Zero can sound different in different contexts | zero 的不同说法

zero is the general number word. In some contexts and varieties of English, people may say oh for the digit 0, especially in phone numbers or years.

Beginner rule: understand zero first; add context-specific alternatives later.

Prices | 价格

• five dollars
• ten dollars
• twenty dollars
• three dollars fifty

Useful questions:

• How much is this?
• How much?

Do not memorise one country’s currency only. Add the currency you actually use: dollar, pound, euro, yuan, etc.

Money number listening | 价格听力

Practise contrasts:

• fifteen / fifty
• fourteen / forty
• nineteen / ninety

A price mistake can matter in real life, so number listening deserves targeted practice.

Ordinal numbers | 序数

1st first 第一	2nd second 第二	3rd third 第三
4th fourth 第四	5th fifth 第五	6th sixth 第六
7th seventh	8th eighth	9th ninth	10th tenth

Ordinals help with dates, floors, order and ranking.

• the first day
• the second floor
• the third question

Cardinal vs ordinal | 基数与序数

• one book → quantity
• the first book → position/order
• two questions → quantity
• the second question → position/order

Days of the week | 星期

Monday 星期一	Tuesday 星期二	Wednesday 星期三	Thursday 星期四
Friday 星期五	Saturday 星期六	Sunday 星期日/天

Capital letters matter in standard writing: Monday, not *monday.

Spelling watch: Wednesday and Thursday | Wednesday / Thursday

These words may be harder than they look. Learn sound and spelling together using Lesson 002’s method.

• Wednesday
• Thursday

Do not rely only on spelling to guess pronunciation.

Week and weekend | 周与周末

• this week
• next week
• last week
• at the weekend / on the weekend

Weekend prepositions vary by dialect and variety. Learn the form used in your target English, and recognise common alternatives.

Today, tomorrow, yesterday | 今天、明天、昨天

• today
• tomorrow
• yesterday

Useful phrases:

• today morning → usually this morning
• tomorrow morning
• yesterday morning

This is another place where direct Chinese word order may produce unnatural English. Learn the phrase as a unit.

Parts of the day | 一天的时间段

morning	早上	in the morning
afternoon	下午	in the afternoon
evening	傍晚 / 晚上	in the evening
night	夜晚	at night

The British Council’s A1 daily-routine materials use these time expressions in real routine sentences. British Council A1 Daily Routine

Months | 月份

January 一月	February 二月	March 三月
April 四月	May 五月	June 六月
July 七月	August 八月	September 九月
October 十月	November 十一月	December 十二月

Learn months as one calendar system, not as twelve isolated random words.

Spelling watch: February | February

February can be difficult in both spelling and pronunciation. Use audio + chunking + delayed writing rather than copying it twenty times.

Year words | 年

• this year
• next year
• last year
• every year

These four chunks are high-value because they combine with many events.

Dates | 日期

English date formats and spoken forms vary across regions.

• 12 September 2026
• September 12, 2026

Both styles can be standard in different varieties. Do not teach one as the only English format.

Spoken examples:

• the twelfth of September
• September twelfth

What date is it? | 今天几号？

Useful vocabulary:

• date
• day
• month
• year
• today

Question:

What’s the date today?

Time | 时间

Core words:

• time
• clock
• hour
• minute
• second

What time is it? | 几点了？

Basic pattern:

• It is three o’clock.
• It is seven o’clock.

Question:

What time is it?

O’clock | 整点

• one o’clock
• two o’clock
• ten o’clock

Use o’clock for exact hours in this basic pattern, not after every time expression.

Half past | 半点

• half past seven = 7:30
• half past ten = 10:30

Many speakers also simply say:

• seven thirty
• ten thirty

Learn both recognition routes if they are useful to you.

Quarter past / quarter to | 一刻钟

• a quarter past eight = 8:15
• a quarter to nine = 8:45

The British Council A1 daily-routine lesson uses expressions such as half past seven, quarter past eight, quarter to nine.

Digital time | 数字时钟读法

• 7:10 → seven ten
• 8:30 → eight thirty
• 9:45 → nine forty-five

Digital-style reading is highly useful internationally.

A.M. and P.M. | 上午与下午

• 8 a.m. — morning
• 8 p.m. — evening

In 24-hour systems, you may also see 20:00. Learn the time system used around you while recognising common international forms.

At + clock time | at + 具体时间

• at 7 o’clock
• at 8:30
• at noon
• at midnight

This page only stores common lexical chunks. The deeper grammar of time prepositions belongs to A1–A2 grammar resources and eduKate’s deeper preposition owners.

On + day | on + 星期

• on Monday
• on Friday
• on Monday morning

In + month/year/part of day | in + 月 / 年 / 时间段

• in September
• in 2026
• in the morning
• in the afternoon

Do not learn at/on/in as three Chinese translations. Learn time phrases.

No preposition with today/tomorrow/yesterday | today 等通常不需要介词

• today
• tomorrow
• yesterday
• this morning
• next week
• last year

Not: *on tomorrow* in ordinary basic use.

Early and late | 早与晚/迟

• early morning
• go early
• late at night
• I am late.

late can mean “not on time” or “towards the end of a time period”. Learn through phrases.

Now, soon, later | 现在、很快、以后

• now
• right now
• soon
• later

Useful sentences:

• Come now.
• See you later.
• I will come soon. — recognise for later grammar growth.

Frequency words | 频率词

Useful A1 routine vocabulary includes:

• always
• usually
• often
• sometimes
• never
• every day

The British Council A1 routine page explicitly groups these with time expressions.

Sequence words | 顺序词

• first
• then
• next
• after that
• finally

These words let a learner turn isolated time points into a small timeline.

Calendar vocabulary | 日历词汇

calendar	日历
date	日期
day	天 / 日
week	周
month	月
year	年
weekday	工作日 / 平日
weekend	周末

Schedule vocabulary | 日程词

• class
• lesson
• meeting
• appointment
• start
• finish
• time

A1 reading materials such as British Council’s study timetable show why weekday and clock vocabulary matter for real schedules.

Time phrase bank | 时间短语库

this morning	今天早上
this afternoon	今天下午
this evening	今天傍晚/晚上
tonight	今晚
tomorrow morning	明天早上
next week	下周
last week	上周
every day	每天
at night	夜里
on Monday	星期一

Number phrase bank | 数字短语库

two people	两个人
three books	三本书
five dollars	五元/美元等
ten minutes	十分钟
two hours	两小时
three days	三天
four weeks	四周
one year	一年

Numbers in real life | 真实数字练习

Use numbers from your own world:

• your age
• your phone number
• your bus number
• a price
• your class time
• your wake-up time

Personal relevance creates repeated retrieval opportunities.

Clock practice | 看钟练习

Use a clock image or safe phone clock. Ask:

• What time is it?
• Is it seven o’clock?
• Is it half past eight?

Calendar practice | 日历练习

Ask:

• What day is it today?
• What day is tomorrow?
• What month is it?
• What is the date?

This page uses these as vocabulary frames, not a full question-grammar lesson.

Number dictation | 数字听写

Listen and write:

• 13
• 30
• 15
• 50
• 18
• 80

This directly checks the -teen / -ty contrast.

Time dictation | 时间听写

Listen and write:

• 7:30
• 8:15
• 9:45
• 10:00

Then reverse: look at the digital time and say it aloud.

Days retrieval | 星期主动回忆

Say all seven days without looking. Then say them backwards. Then answer:

• What comes after Monday?
• What comes before Friday?

Changing order prevents pure sequence memorisation.

Months retrieval | 月份主动回忆

First say all months in order. Later answer random prompts:

• What month comes after March?
• What month comes before December?
• Which month is month 8?

Chinese → English retrieval | 中文到英文

• 今天 → today
• 明天 → tomorrow
• 昨天 → yesterday
• 星期一 → Monday
• 早上 → morning
• 下午 → afternoon
• 晚上 → evening / night depending on meaning
• 年 → year

Evening vs night | evening 与 night

Chinese “晚上” can map to different English words.

• in the evening — evening period
• at night — night-time

Learn the phrase, not only the translation.

Day vs date | day 和 date

• What day is it? → Monday / Tuesday
• What’s the date? → 12 September / September 12

This distinction is very useful in schedules and appointments.

Time vs times | time 的不同基础用法

• What time is it? — 几点？
• I have time. — 我有时间。
• three times — 三次

One word can have different meanings depending on the phrase. Do not force one Chinese translation onto all uses.

Mini reading | 超简单阅读

“Today is Monday. I get up at seven o’clock. I have breakfast at half past seven. I go to work at eight. I have lunch at twelve thirty. I go home at five. Tomorrow is Tuesday.”

Find:

• two day words
• five clock times
• one tomorrow word

Mini writing | 超简单写作

Write your day:

1. Today is ___.
2. I get up at ___.
3. I have breakfast at ___.
4. I go to work/school at ___.
5. I go home at ___.
6. Tomorrow is ___.

Mini speaking | 一分钟时间口语

“Today is Friday. I get up at seven. I have breakfast at seven thirty. I go to work at eight. I have lunch at twelve. I go home at six. Tomorrow is Saturday.”

Change the day and times on the next attempt.

Vocabulary card model | 时间词卡

Field	Example
Word	tomorrow
Chinese	明天
Phrase	tomorrow morning
Sentence	See you tomorrow.
Contrast	today / yesterday

Vocabulary card model: number | 数字词卡

Field	Example
Number	40
Word	forty
Contrast	fourteen
Phrase	forty dollars
Listening check	14 or 40?

Seven-day plan | 七天数字时间训练

Day	Focus
1	0–20
2	tens + teen/ty listening
3	days + today/tomorrow/yesterday
4	morning/afternoon/evening/night + clock hours
5	months + dates
6	prices, age, phone numbers, schedule
7	mixed retrieval + timetable talk

First weak link check | 第一个卡点

Symptom	Likely weak link	Repair
I confuse 13 and 30.	sound discrimination	teen/ty audio contrast
I know Monday only in sequence.	retrieval flexibility	random day prompts
I say today morning.	phrase link	this morning
I know numbers but miss prices.	context listening	price dictation
I forget month spellings.	form link	chunk + cover-write-check

For parents and teachers | 给家长和老师

• Use real calendars and clocks.
• Use prices and schedules learners genuinely meet.
• Do not rush from 1–10 to giant numbers.
• Check listening, not only written recognition.
• Mix days/months after sequence learning.
• Practise teen/ty pairs explicitly when needed.

Connect to deeper owners | 连接更深 owner 页面

• Basic English | Numbers and Age
• Basic English | Time and Days
• How Prepositions Build Relationships of Time, Place, Direction and Cause

Final check | 最终自检

Can you:

• say 0–20 without looking?
• recognise 13 vs 30?
• say all seven days?
• say all twelve months?
• tell the time at whole and half hours?
• say today/tomorrow/yesterday correctly?
• read a simple timetable?
• say a price and phone number?

Final rule | 最后一条规则

Do not learn numbers only as a counting chant. Put them into age, time, price, dates and real schedules.

不要只把数字背成一串。把数字放进年龄、时间、价格、日期和真实日程。

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Reference floor: British Council A1 Daily Routine · British Council A1 Study Timetable · Cambridge Pre A1 Starters.