五
five (5)
wǔ
What does 五 mean?
五 (wǔ) is the cardinal number five. Like all Chinese numbers, 五 normally requires a measure word before a noun: 五个人 (five people), 五本书 (five books), 五个苹果 (five apples) — never 五人 or 五书 in standard Chinese. A few nouns skip the measure word as fixed units: 五块 (five kuai, money), 五点 (five o'clock), 五岁 (five years old), 五天 (five days), 五年 (five years).
Culturally, 五 is a tidy 'middle' number — neither lucky nor unlucky in mainstream superstition, though it appears in 五行 (the Five Elements: metal, wood, water, fire, earth) and 五福 (the Five Blessings)
Character breakdown
five (originally a pictograph of crossed lines; the top and bottom strokes are the 'two' frame, with the X in the middle)
Memory hook: 五 has an X inside two lines — five fingers, hand opened wide.
Example sentences
我有五个苹果。
Wǒ yǒu wǔ gè píngguǒ.
I have five apples.
spoken
现在五点。
Xiànzài wǔ diǎn.
It's five o'clock now.
spoken
我家有五个人。
Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ gè rén.
There are five people in my family.
spoken
星期五我不上班。
Xīngqīwǔ wǒ bú shàngbān.
I don't work on Fridays.
neutral
Common phrases with 五
Synonyms
伍 is the formal / financial form of 五, used on bank checks and legal documents to prevent forgery. 五 is everyday; 伍 is paperwork only.
Don't confuse 五 with
FAQ
Acquire by listening
Hear 五 in real Chinese, not in a flashcard.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this word shows up again and again in real sentences. Pinyin, translation, and the episode where you heard it — every time. Free to start, no card.