number HSK 1
seven · 7
Meaning
七 is the basic number seven in Mandarin Chinese. It is one of the fundamental counting numbers learned at the very beginning of Chinese study and is used in all contexts where the number seven appears.
Usage
Used in counting, dates, times, phone numbers, addresses, and mathematical operations. When stating dates, 七 combines with 月 (month) as in 七月 (July, the seventh month). In spoken Mandarin, the tone sometimes changes to second tone (qí) before fourth-tone words to make pronunciation smoother, though this is not reflected in standard pinyin.
Examples
- 01今天是七月七号。.Today is July 7th.
- 02我有七个苹果。.I have seven apples.
Common collocations
- 七月July
- 七点seven o'clock
- 星期七Sunday (colloquial)
- 七十seventy
Origin
The character 七 in its ancient oracle bone form resembled a cross or intersection, possibly representing a cutting or division concept. Over time it became the standard character for the number seven.