Where we start
Sessions 1 to 3 were about register: the right words for the channel. Tonight the words are numbers. Lumen Logistics now reports to its Shanghai distributor every quarter, and the update is read aloud in a meeting with Manager Wang before anyone opens the slides. In that room a percentage without its comparison is not a fact; it is half of one, and the listener fills in the other half. Every figure on this page is constructed for the running case, and every percentage is shown with the two numbers it comes from, so you can check the arithmetic yourself.
★ What you walk out with tonight. The difference between 同比 (tóngbǐ, year on year) and 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period) in the words of the National Bureau of Statistics, four words that carry almost every business number, a percentage said aloud the Chinese way, and a three-number board update for Lumen in which every growth figure names its base.
同比 (tóngbǐ, year on year) and 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period)
5 min liveChinese statistical reporting has two standard ways to compare a period, and they have names. 同比 (tóngbǐ, year on year) sets this period against the same period a year earlier: this March against last March. 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period) sets it against the period just before: this March against this February. The National Bureau of Statistics explains both in a short note, and its definitions are the ones to hold on to. Everything else on this page is built on them.
LiveThe two definitions, from the source3 min▶
The National Bureau of Statistics explains the pair in a note titled 同比与环比有何不同 (tóngbǐ yǔ huánbǐ yǒu hé bùtóng, how do year on year and period on period differ). In English, its definitions are:
| Word | National Bureau of Statistics, in English | On the figure |
|---|---|---|
| 同比 (tóngbǐ, year on year) | "compared with the same period of the previous year" | March 2026, 432, against March 2025, 360 |
| 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period) | "compared with the adjacent previous period" | March 2026, 432, against February 2026, 480 |
"Period" is whatever the report counts in. For a monthly figure, 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period) is this month against last month; for a quarterly figure, it is this quarter against the quarter before. 同比 (tóngbǐ, year on year) always jumps back a full year to the matching period.
The arithmetic is the same for both: (this period minus the base) divided by the base. On the figure, 432 minus 360 is 72, and 72 divided by 360 is 0.20, so up 20 percent year on year. 432 minus 480 is minus 48, and 48 divided by 480 is 0.10, so down 10 percent period on period.
Self-studyWhich one a report leads with3 min▶
The definitions say what each word compares; they do not say which to lead with. The reason analysts usually give, and it is common practice rather than part of the definitions quoted above, is seasonality. Freight, retail and many other businesses rise and fall with the calendar, so a 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period) figure partly measures the season: February against January, or the busy month against the quiet one. A 同比 (tóngbǐ, year on year) figure sets a March against a March, so the season is on both sides of the comparison.
That is why the two can disagree without either being wrong. On the figure, February 2026 was Lumen's busiest month, so March looks weak against it and strong against the March before. A good update reports both, or says plainly which one it is giving.
The month that was both up and down. A constructed case: Lumen Logistics, 鲁门物流 (Lǔmén Wùliú, Lumen Logistics), Manager Wang, every figure and every scenario on this page are invented for the running case. Lumen's operations lead opened the March review with one line: the Shanghai route handled 432 containers. Manager Wang's first question was 同比还是环比 (tóngbǐ háishi huánbǐ, year on year or period on period)? It is the right question, and a presenter who has not decided the answer before the meeting is answering it live, in a second language.
Growth, decline, share
5 min liveFour words carry most business numbers. 增长 (zēngzhǎng, grow) for a rise, 下降 (xiàjiàng, fall) for a drop, 占 (zhàn, account for) for a share of a whole, and the percentage itself, which Chinese says from the whole down to the part: 百分之二十 (bǎi fēn zhī èrshí, twenty percent) is literally "of a hundred parts, twenty". English says the part first and the whole second; Chinese says the hundred first. Get that order into your mouth and the rest is numbers you already know.
LiveFour words and a percentage3 min▶
| Word | What it does | Lumen, constructed |
|---|---|---|
| 增长 (zēngzhǎng, grow) | a rise against a base | 同比增长百分之二十 (tóngbǐ zēngzhǎng bǎi fēn zhī èrshí, up 20 percent year on year) |
| 下降 (xiàjiàng, fall) | a drop against a base | 环比下降百分之十 (huánbǐ xiàjiàng bǎi fēn zhī shí, down 10 percent period on period) |
| 占 (zhàn, account for) | a part of a whole, no base needed | 上海线占百分之二十五 (Shànghǎi xiàn zhàn bǎi fēn zhī èrshíwǔ, the Shanghai route accounts for 25 percent) |
| 百分之 (bǎi fēn zhī, percent, literally of a hundred parts) | comes before the number | 百分之二十 (bǎi fēn zhī èrshí, twenty percent) |
On a slide the percentage is usually written as digits, 20%, and read aloud as 百分之二十 (bǎi fēn zhī èrshí, twenty percent). A decimal point is 点 (diǎn, point): 12.5% is 百分之十二点五 (bǎi fēn zhī shí'èr diǎn wǔ, twelve point five percent). These are standard usage, taught here as common practice; the source maps behind these pages do not cover number words.
Self-studySaying big numbers, and a note on the pinyin2 min▶
Chinese groups large numbers by 万 (wàn, ten thousand), not by thousands, so Lumen's 9.6 million yuan of revenue is 960万元 (jiǔbǎi liùshí wàn yuán, 9.6 million yuan): nine hundred and sixty ten-thousands. Business reports often keep that unit on the slide as well, writing 960万元 (jiǔbǎi liùshí wàn yuán, 9.6 million yuan) rather than 9,600,000. Read the unit before you read the number.
A note on the pinyin in these lists: some words are written with the tone you say, such as 一千 (yìqiān, one thousand), with yì before a first tone, and 一半 (yíbàn, half), with yí before a fourth tone. Standard pinyin (GB/T 16159-2012) writes the original tone, yī, and allows the changed tone to be written in teaching, which is what these pages do.
Saying a result with its comparison
4 min liveA board update in Chinese tends to follow one shape: the period, the measure, the figure, then the comparison word, the direction and the percentage. 第三季度营业收入为960万元，同比增长百分之二十 (dì sān jìdù yíngyè shōurù wéi jiǔbǎi liùshí wàn yuán, tóngbǐ zēngzhǎng bǎi fēn zhī èrshí, Q3 revenue was 9.6 million yuan, up 20 percent year on year). The comparison word sits directly in front of the direction, so the two travel as a pair. The rule for tonight is simple: never let 增长 (zēngzhǎng, grow) or 下降 (xiàjiàng, fall) out of your mouth without 同比 (tóngbǐ, year on year) or 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period) in front of it.
LiveThe sentence pattern2 min▶
| Slot | Chinese | Lumen, constructed |
|---|---|---|
| Period | 第三季度 (dì sān jìdù, the third quarter) | Q3 2026 |
| Measure | 营业收入 (yíngyè shōurù, operating revenue) | revenue, all routes |
| Figure | 为960万元 (wéi jiǔbǎi liùshí wàn yuán, was 9.6 million yuan) | 960 ten-thousands of yuan |
| Comparison and direction | 同比增长 (tóngbǐ zēngzhǎng, up year on year) | against Q3 2025, 800 |
| Percentage | 百分之二十 (bǎi fēn zhī èrshí, twenty percent) | 960 minus 800 is 160; 160 divided by 800 is 0.20 |
为 (wéi, is, written) is the written way to say "was" in front of a figure; in speech many presenters say 是 (shì, to be, yes) instead. The pattern itself, with the comparison word right before 增长 (zēngzhǎng, grow) or 下降 (xiàjiàng, fall), is the common shape of Chinese business and statistical reporting, taught here as common practice rather than from a style guide.
Self-studySpell the base out on a bad line2 min▶
同比 (tóngbǐ, year on year) and 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period) are short, both end in the same syllable, and on a poor phone line they are easy to mishear. When the number matters, presenters often say the base in full instead, or as well: 比去年同期增长百分之二十 (bǐ qùnián tóngqī zēngzhǎng bǎi fēn zhī èrshí, up 20 percent on the same period last year) and 比上个月下降百分之十 (bǐ shàng ge yuè xiàjiàng bǎi fēn zhī shí, down 10 percent on last month). Longer, but it cannot be heard the wrong way round. This is common practice, not a sourced rule.
The same habit protects a slide. A chart titled only 增长百分之二十 (zēngzhǎng bǎi fēn zhī èrshí, up 20 percent) will be read by someone in a year's time who no longer remembers the base. Put the comparison word in the title.
The board update that reversed. A constructed case. On a video call, Lumen's finance lead reported that March containers on the Shanghai route were 同比增长百分之二十 (tóngbǐ zēngzhǎng bǎi fēn zhī èrshí, up 20 percent year on year). The line broke up; the distributor's minute-taker heard 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period) and wrote "up 20 percent on February". The minutes told a story of a surging March. A week later the February figure, 480, reached the same reader, and against it March's 432 was down 10 percent: the minutes now looked wrong, and so did Lumen. The fix in the next update cost five syllables: 比去年同期 (bǐ qùnián tóngqī, compared with the same period last year), said in full.
Lumen's quarter, said with the right comparison word
★ 22 min · everyone says itFive steps. Lumen's Q3 2026 update to the Shanghai distributor has three numbers: containers on the Shanghai route, revenue across all routes, and the Shanghai route's share of that revenue. All three, and every base, are constructed. You say each one aloud with its comparison word, check every percentage against its two inputs on the grid below, then say the hardest one again with the base spelled out. The third number is the trap: a share has no base, so it takes no comparison word.
Say the containers, both ways. Against Q3 2025: 1,350 minus 1,200 is 150, and 150 divided by 1,200 is 0.125, so up 12.5 percent. Against Q2 2026: 1,350 minus 1,500 is minus 150, and 150 divided by 1,500 is 0.10, so down 10 percent. Say both, the year-on-year figure first.
Say the revenue. Against Q3 2025: 960 minus 800 is 160, and 160 divided by 800 is 0.20, so up 20 percent. Against Q2 2026: 960 minus 900 is 60, and 60 divided by 900 is 0.0667, so up 6.7 percent, rounded. Here both comparisons rise, and it still matters which one you say first.
Say the share, with no comparison word. 240 divided by 960 is 0.25. A share is a part of this quarter's whole, so it uses 占 (zhàn, account for) and needs neither 同比 (tóngbǐ, year on year) nor 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period). 其中 (qízhōng, of which) ties it to the revenue you just said.
Say the hardest one again, with the base in full. The containers line carries two opposite directions, so it is the one most likely to be misheard. Say it with the bases spelled out, as you would on a phone call; this longer form is common practice, not a rule.
Do it with your own number. Take the number from the micro-try in Part 2. Find its two bases, compute both percentages from the inputs, and say it with the pattern. If you only have one base, say only that comparison, and name it.
Decide the base before the meeting, not in it. Learners usually prepare the number and improvise the comparison. Prepare the comparison word with the number, on the same line of your notes, and the question 同比还是环比 (tóngbǐ háishi huánbǐ, year on year or period on period) is answered before it is asked.
Before session 5
30 min- Present one real number from your own work in the pattern, both comparisons if you have both bases, and record yourself saying it. Write the arithmetic next to each percentage.
- Read one Chinese statistical release or company report and underline every 同比 (tóngbǐ, year on year) and 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period). For three of them, write down the base period the word points at.
- Drill the percentages. Say aloud, without looking: 5%, 12.5%, 20%, 25%, 6.7%. Each starts with 百分之 (bǎi fēn zhī, percent, literally of a hundred parts).
- Fix one chart title in a deck of yours that says only "up" or "down": add the comparison word, in English and in Chinese. Session 5 takes these numbers into a price negotiation, where a misheard base costs more than a correction in the minutes.
Three questions
Clear all three and session 4 gets stamped in your passport.
1 · Lumen's March 2026 figure, 432, is compared with February 2026, 480. Which word names that comparison?
The National Bureau of Statistics defines 环比 (huánbǐ, period on period) as "compared with the adjacent previous period". 同比 (tóngbǐ, year on year) would set March 2026 against March 2025, 360, which gives up 20 percent instead of down 10 percent.
2 · How do you say 20 percent aloud in Chinese?
Chinese says the whole before the part: 百分之 (bǎi fēn zhī, percent, literally of a hundred parts) and then the number. A decimal adds 点 (diǎn, point), as in 百分之十二点五 (bǎi fēn zhī shí'èr diǎn wǔ, twelve point five percent).
3 · Why should a growth figure never be said without its comparison word?
The comparison word chooses the base, and the base chooses the story. A share is the exception, in the other direction: it is a part of a whole and takes no comparison word at all.
What this session teaches, and where it came from
Every fact on this page, and its verification tier, is recorded in the course's source map.
Session 4 cheat sheet · pin this
The numbers are ready; now they meet a counterparty. Session 5 is the price negotiation with the Shanghai distributor: 面子 (miànzi, face) as Graham and Lam describe it, the softened no, and how to trade a concession rather than give it away.