HSK 1

English Meaning

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📚 Example Sentences

五个人。
Wǔ gè rén.
Five people.
五个猫。
Wǔ gè māo.
Five cats.
五个苹果。
Wǔ gè píngguǒ.
Five apples.
我有五个苹果。
Wǒ yǒu wǔ gè píngguǒ.
I have five apples.
她五岁了。
Tā wǔ suì le.
She is five years old.

💡 Memory Tip

Imagine the character 五 looks like a square (口) with a line through it, which you can think of as dividing something into four parts plus the center, making five total sections.

📝 Usage Notes

This word is used universally in all registers—formal and informal, spoken and written. It is most commonly used for counting, telling time, stating dates, expressing ages, and in mathematical contexts, as seen in the example for Friday (星期五).

📖 Grammar Points

五 is primarily used as a cardinal number (e.g., 五个人) or an ordinal number when combined with 第 (e.g., 第五). It follows standard Chinese numeral grammar, often pairing with measure words (e.g., 五本书) and appearing in time expressions (e.g., 五点).

🏯 Cultural Notes

五 holds cultural significance in concepts like the Five Elements (五行) and is considered a lucky number in some contexts, associated with balance. It appears in many idioms and traditional phrases.

🔄 Similar Words

Unlike measure words or descriptive terms, 五 is a specific numeral. It differs from similar-sounding words like 无 (wú, meaning 'none') in both tone and meaning. Among numerals, it is distinct from 伍 (wǔ), which is a formal financial variant for 'five'.

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