Mathematics in...Mandarin!

I knew N understood the meaning of numeric symbols- in english that is. But i have not really taught him the mandarin version. He knows his 1-10 in mandarin but i've not taught what does 'yi' (1) in mandarin really means. So instead of the Montessori number cards, i used his mandarin flashcards instead & the montessori counters. I was preparing to teach him when he suprised me by doing the activity independently. So he actually knows! How on earth?!