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Chinese Number Gestures

 

Four

4 (Chinese Character: "四")

The thumb is held in palm with the four fingers extended.

Five

5 (Chinese Character: "五")

All five digits are extended.

Or: Only thumb is extended, upwards or outwards, with the palm facing the signer.

0 (Chinese Character: "〇")

For the number zero, the fist is closed. This gesture may be interpreted as "10" depending on the situation.

Six through ten have special signs that can be used in commerce or day-to-day communication. The gestures are rough representations of the Chinese numeral characters they represent. The system varies in practice, especially for the representation of "7" to "10".

Six

6 (Chinese Character: "六")

The little finger and thumb are extended, other fingers closed, sometimes with the palm facing the signer. (The extended thumb indicates one set of 5)

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