Tag Archives: counting

Counting to 10 with one hand in Chinese

Nationality: Chinese Canadian
Age: 19
Performance Date: 02/16/2023

Context:

S, 19 was born in China and moved to Canada at a young age. She told me about a way of counting to 10 on a single hand through a series of hand and finger gestures. I took a video of the informant counting to 10 in this fashion.

Video:

VIDEO OF INFORMANT COUNTING TO 10 USING ONE HAND

Analysis:

This method of counting makes it convenient for a person to count using only one hand; it also is a good way of teaching children to count, since each number has its own gesture and it is different from traditional western finger counting (the number of fingers is the number you are on, so you are limited by the number of fingers you have). This method of counting allows a person to reach the number 100 by using both hands. This article further explains this method, as well as how to continue counting past 10: https://www.instructables.com/HOW-TO-COUNT-TO-TEN-ON-ONE-HAND-in-Chinese/