Talking about data: 倍, 分之, 百分点, 增长, 达到, 约, 将近
Times, fractions, percentages and percentage points; growth by and to; about and nearly.
Part of the free B2 Chinese course (about HSK 5). Examples are in Simplified characters, with pinyin only for some new or hard words; press the speaker to hear one with your device's Chinese voice.
倍: times
- A 是 B 的 三倍: A is three times B. Clear and safe.
- 增加了一倍 or 比…多一倍: increased by 100%, so doubled.
- 增加到三倍 (or 是原来的三倍): increased to three times.
- 今年的游客人数是去年的三倍。This year's visitor numbers are three times last year's.
- 公司的利润比去年增加了一倍。The company's profit doubled compared with last year.
增加了两倍 is a trap. By the standard reading (增加了 X 倍 = up by X times the original) it means "increased by 200%", so tripled; but in everyday use some people take it to mean "doubled". In careful writing, say 是原来的三倍 or 增加到三倍, which nobody can misread. And by the standard (prescriptive) rule, 倍 is for increases only: for a fall, use a fraction or percentage (减少了一半, 下降了50%).
分之: fractions and percentages
Say the whole first: 三分之一 = one third (three parts, of which one). 百分之二十 = 20%. Decimals use 点: 百分之零点五 = 0.5%.
- 全市约有三分之一的家庭养宠物。About a third of households in the city keep pets.
百分点: percentage points
When a rate changes, there are two ways to measure it. From 5% to 7% is up two percentage points (两个百分点), but up 40% (百分之四十) relative to where it started. Don't write 上升了百分之二.
- 失业率从百分之五上升到百分之七，上升了两个百分点。The unemployment rate rose from 5% to 7%, up two percentage points.
了 or 到: by or to
| Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 增长/上升/下降了 X | grew/rose/fell by X |
| 增长/上升/下降到 X | grew/rose/fell to X |
| 达到 X | reached X |
- 去年的出口额下降了百分之十二。Last year exports fell by 12%.
- 这座城市的人口已经达到一千万。The city's population has reached ten million.
约 and 将近: about and nearly
约 (yuē) is the written "about", before the number; in speech, 大约 before it or 左右 after it (Big numbers: 万, 亿, 百分之, and estimates). 将近 (jiāngjìn) is "nearly, close to": a bit less than the number.
- 将近一半的受访者表示满意。Nearly half of those surveyed said they were satisfied.
Common mistakes
从5%上升到7%，上升了百分之二。→ 上升了两个百分点。Rates change by percentage points.价格减少了一倍。→ 价格降低了一半。Standard usage doesn't use 倍 for decreases (减少一倍 does turn up, but is marked as an error in editing and exams).一分之三for "one third" → 三分之一。The whole comes first.人口增长了到一千万。→ 增长到一千万 (to) or 增长了一千万 (by).- 约三百人左右 is common in speech and even in print, but it is redundant, and editors and exams mark it as an error (a classic 语病): use 约三百人 or 三百人左右.
Practice
- 去年卖了100台，今年卖了300台。今年的销量是去年的_____。// Last year 100 units sold, this year 300. This year's sales are ___ last year's.Options: 三倍 · 两倍 · 百分之三
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三倍 — A 是 B 的 三倍: three times.
- A price went from 10 yuan to 20 yuan. Which describes it clearly?Options: 价格增加了一倍。 · 价格增加了两倍。 · 价格增加到一倍。
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价格增加了一倍。 — 增加了一倍 = up by 100%, doubled. 增加了两倍 would be read as tripled (or is ambiguous).
- 利率从3%降到2.5%，下降了0.5个_____。// The interest rate fell from 3% to 2.5%, down 0.5 percentage points.Options: 百分点 · 百分之 · 分之
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百分点 — A change in a rate is counted in 百分点.
- Write 'two fifths' in characters.
Show the answer
五分之二 — The whole (五) first, then the part (二).