\n\u305c\u308d <\/td>
You may notice that some of the numbers have two readings. You’ll need to know both, since they’re used in different situations. When to use which word will require some memorization but here are some notes to give you a basic understanding:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Zero:<\/strong> “Rei”<\/em> is more common in certain contexts like phone numbers, prices and addresses. “Zero”<\/em> is also widely used, especially in scientific or technical contexts.<\/li>\n
- Four:<\/strong> “Yon”<\/em> is the more standard and commonly used term, while “shi”<\/em> is often avoided in certain situations due to its similarity in pronunciation to the word for death (“shinu”). “Shi”<\/em> might be used in specific contexts to avoid any potential cultural sensitivity.<\/li>\n
- Seven:<\/strong> “Nana”<\/em> is more commonly used in everyday situations, while “shichi”<\/em> is often used in specific contexts, such as telling time or counting.<\/li>\n
- Nine:<\/strong> “Kyuu”<\/em> is more common in general usage, while “ku”<\/em> might be used in specific contexts or when distinguishing numbers in certain situations, like phone numbers or addresses, to avoid confusion with other similar-sounding words.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
11-100 in Japanese<\/h2>\n
Got all that? Let’s move on! Beyond the number 10, the numbers follow a pretty simple pattern for counting.<\/p>\n\n
\n\n
\n\t \nNumber<\/th> Kanji<\/th> Hiragana<\/th> Romaji<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n\t 11<\/td> \u5341\u4e00\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u3044\u3061<\/td> juuichi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 12<\/td> \u5341\u4e8c\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u306b<\/td> juuni<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 13<\/td> \u5341\u4e09\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u3055\u3093<\/td> juusan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 14<\/td> \u5341\u56db<\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u3057\u00a0 <\/a>\n \/ \u3058\u3085\u3046\u3088\u3093\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> juushi\/juuyon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 15<\/td> \u5341\u4e94\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u3054<\/td> juugo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 16<\/td> \u5341\u516d\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u308d\u304f<\/td> juuroku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 17<\/td> \u5341\u4e03\u00a0<\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u3057\u3061\u00a0 <\/a>\n \/ \u3058\u3085\u3046\u306a\u306a\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> juushichi\/juunana<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 18<\/td> \u5341\u516b\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u306f\u3061<\/td> juuhachi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 19<\/td> \u5341\u4e5d\u00a0<\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u304d\u3085\u3046\u00a0 <\/a>\n \/ \u3058\u3085\u3046\u304f\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> juukyuu\/juuku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 20<\/td> \u4e8c\u5341\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u306b\u3058\u3085\u3046<\/td> nijuu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 30<\/td> \u4e09\u5341\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3055\u3093\u3058\u3085\u3046<\/td> sanjuu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 40<\/td> \u56db\u5341\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3088\u3093\u3058\u3085\u3046<\/td> yonjuu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 50<\/td> \u4e94\u5341\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3054\u3058\u3085\u3046<\/td> gojuu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 60<\/td> \u516d\u5341\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u308d\u304f\u3058\u3085\u3046<\/td> rokujuu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 70<\/td> \u4e03\u5341\u00a0<\/td> \u3057\u3061\u3058\u3085\u3046\u00a0 <\/a>\n \/ \u306a\u306a\u3058\u3085\u3046\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> shichijuu\/nanajuu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 80<\/td> \u516b\u5341\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u306f\u3061\u3058\u3085\u3046<\/td> hachijuu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 90<\/td> \u4e5d\u5341\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u304d\u3085\u3046\u3058\u3085\u3046<\/td> kyuujuu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 100<\/td> \u767e\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3072\u3083\u304f<\/td> hyaku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n 101+ in Japanese<\/h2>\n
As we move beyond the basic numbers, the Japanese system employs a mix of native Japanese and Sino-Japanese numbers.<\/p>\n
The latter are based on Chinese characters or kanji, and they come into play when dealing with larger numbers. For instance, the number 100 is “hyaku”<\/em> in Japanese, but it becomes “ichi-hyaku”<\/em> when combined with another number like one to make 101. Similarly, 1,000 is “sen”<\/em> and 10,000 is “man,”<\/em> forming the basis for counting in the thousands and beyond.<\/p>\n\n
\n\n
\n\t \nNumber<\/th> Kanji<\/th> Hiragana<\/th> Romaji<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n\t 101<\/td> \u767e\u4e00\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3072\u3083\u304f\u3044\u3061<\/td> hyakuichi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 200<\/td> \u4e8c\u767e\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u306b\u3072\u3083\u304f<\/td> nihyaku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 300<\/td> \u4e09\u767e\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3055\u3093\u3073\u3083\u304f<\/td> sanbyaku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 400<\/td> \u56db\u767e\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3088\u3093\u3072\u3083\u304f<\/td> yonhyaku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 500<\/td> \u4e94\u767e\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3054\u3072\u3083\u304f<\/td> gohyaku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 600<\/td> \u516d\u767e\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u308d\u3063\u3074\u3083\u304f<\/td> roppyaku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 700<\/td> \u4e03\u767e\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u306a\u306a\u3072\u3083\u304f<\/td> nanahyaku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 800<\/td> \u516b\u767e\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u306f\u3063\u3074\u3083\u304f<\/td> happyaku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 900<\/td> \u4e5d\u767e\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u304d\u3085\u3046\u3072\u3083\u304f<\/td> kyuuhyaku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 1,000<\/td> \u5343\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u305b\u3093<\/td> sen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 2,000<\/td> \u4e8c\u5343\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u306b\u305b\u3093<\/td> nisen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 3,000<\/td> \u4e09\u5343\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3055\u3093\u305c\u3093<\/td> sanzen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 10,000<\/td> \u4e00\u4e07\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3044\u3061\u307e\u3093<\/td> ichiman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 100,000<\/td> \u5341\u4e07\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u307e\u3093<\/td> juuman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 1 million<\/td> \u767e\u4e07\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3072\u3083\u304f\u307e\u3093<\/td> hyakuman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 10 million<\/td> \u5343\u4e07\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u305b\u3093\u307e\u3093<\/td> senman<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 100 million<\/td> \u4e00\u5104\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3044\u3061\u304a\u304f<\/td> ichioku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 1 billion<\/td> \u5341\u5104\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u304a\u304f<\/td> juuoku<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t 1 trillion<\/td> \u4e00\u5146\u00a0 <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3044\u3063\u3061\u3087\u3046<\/td> itchou<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n How to Count in Japanese<\/h2>\n
Great, you now know the numbers in Japanese! But what if you want to count the number of dogs you have, or say what place you won in the competition? That’s a whole other story.<\/p>\n
The sections below break down how to count in Japanese in different situations.<\/p>\n
Japanese Cardinal Numbers<\/h3>\n
Cardinal numbers are versatile and widely used in various contexts to convey numerical values and quantities<\/strong> in Japanese. They’re the ones we’ve been using throughout this post.<\/p>\n
Japanese Ordinal Numbers<\/h3>\n
Ordinal numbers in Japanese are used to express the order or ranking of items in a sequence.<\/strong> They’re different from cardinal numbers, which represent quantity.<\/p>\n
The basic ordinal numbers from first to tenth in Japanese are:<\/p>\n\n
\n\n
\n\t \nNumber<\/th> Kanji<\/th> Hiragana<\/th> Romaji<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n\t First<\/td> \u4e00\u756a\u76ee <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3044\u3061\u3070\u3093\u3081<\/td> ichiban-me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Second<\/td> \u4e8c\u756a\u76ee <\/a>\n <\/td> \u306b\u3070\u3093\u3081<\/td> niban-me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Third<\/td> \u4e09\u756a\u76ee <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3055\u3093\u3070\u3093\u3081<\/td> sanban-me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Fourth<\/td> \u56db\u756a\u76ee <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3088\u3093\u3070\u3093\u3081<\/td> yonban-me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Fifth<\/td> \u4e94\u756a\u76ee <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3054\u3070\u3093\u3081<\/td> goban-me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Sixth<\/td> \u516d\u756a\u76ee <\/a>\n <\/td> \u308d\u304f\u3070\u3093\u3081<\/td> rokuban-me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Seventh<\/td> \u4e03\u756a\u76ee <\/a>\n <\/td> \u306a\u306a\u3070\u3093\u3081<\/td> nanaban-me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Eighth<\/td> \u516b\u756a\u76ee <\/a>\n <\/td> \u306f\u3061\u3070\u3093\u3081<\/td> hachiban-me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Ninth<\/td> \u4e5d\u756a\u76ee<\/td> \u304d\u3085\u3046\u3070\u3093\u3081 <\/a>\n \/ \u304f\u3070\u3093\u3081 <\/a>\n <\/td> ky\u016bban-me\/kuban-me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Tenth<\/td> \u5341\u756a\u76ee <\/a>\n <\/td> \u3058\u3085\u3046\u3070\u3093\u3081<\/td> j\u016bban-me<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n Here are some situations where you’d use ordinal numbers in Japanese:<\/p>\n
Counting in Sequence:<\/strong> To express the order of items beyond the tenth position, you can combine the respective cardinal number with the counter word \u756a\u76ee (-ban-me).<\/em> For example:<\/p>\n
- \n
- \u5341\u4e00\u756a\u76ee<\/strong> (\u3058\u3085\u3046\u3044\u3061\u3070\u3093\u3081, j\u016bichiban-me)<\/em> \u2014 eleventh<\/li>\n
- \u4e8c\u5341\u4e94\u756a\u76ee<\/strong> (\u306b\u3058\u3085\u3046\u3054\u3070\u3093\u3081, nij\u016bgoban-me)<\/em> \u2014 twenty-fifth<\/li>\n
- \u767e\u756a\u76ee<\/strong> (\u3072\u3083\u304f\u3070\u3093\u3081, hyakuban-me)<\/em> \u2014 hundredth<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Days of the Month:<\/strong> When expressing the day of the month, the cardinal number is used with the counter word \u65e5 (\u306b\u3061, nichi).<\/em> For example:<\/p>\n
- \n
- \u4e00\u65e5<\/strong> (\u3064\u3044\u305f\u3061, tsuitachi)<\/em> \u2014 first day<\/li>\n
- \u4e8c\u5341\u4e94\u65e5<\/strong> (\u306b\u3058\u3085\u3046\u3054\u306b\u3061, nij\u016bgonichi)<\/em> \u2014 twenty-fifth day<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Position in a Race or Competition:<\/strong> Ordinal numbers are used to describe the placement in a race or competition. For example:<\/p>\n
- \n
- \u4e00\u4f4d<\/strong> (\u3044\u3061\u3044, ichii)<\/em> \u2014 first place<\/li>\n
- \u4e09\u4f4d<\/strong> (\u3055\u3093\u3044, san’i)<\/em> \u2014 third place<\/li>\n
- \u5341\u4f4d<\/strong> (\u3058\u3085\u3046\u3044, j\u016bi)<\/em> \u2014 tenth place<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
It’s important to note that ordinal numbers in Japanese typically follow a consistent pattern with the \u756a\u76ee (-ban-me)<\/em> suffix, while cardinal numbers are used to represent the quantity or count.<\/p>\n
How to Count Objects in Japanese<\/h3>\n
Counting Objects (General Counting): When counting objects, you typically use the following pattern: [Number] + [Counter]. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n
- \n
- \u4e00\u3064<\/strong> (\u3072\u3068\u3064, hitotsu)<\/em> \u2014 one<\/li>\n
- \u4e8c\u3064<\/strong> (\u3075\u305f\u3064, futatsu)<\/em> \u2014 two<\/li>\n
- \u4e09\u3064<\/strong> (\u307f\u3063\u3064, mittsu)<\/em> \u2014 three<\/li>\n
- \u56db\u3064<\/strong> (\u3088\u3063\u3064, yottsu)<\/em> \u2014 four<\/li>\n
- \u4e94\u3064<\/strong> (\u3044\u3064\u3064, itsutsu)<\/em> \u2014 five<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How to Count People in Japanese<\/h3>\n
Counting People: When counting people, the counter word \u4eba (\u306b\u3093, nin)<\/em> is commonly used. Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n
- \n
- \u4e00\u4eba<\/strong> (\u3072\u3068\u308a, hitori)<\/em> \u2014 one person<\/li>\n
- \u4e8c\u4eba<\/strong> (\u3075\u305f\u308a, futari)<\/em> \u2014 two people<\/li>\n
- \u4e09\u4eba<\/strong> (\u3055\u3093\u306b\u3093, sannin)<\/em> \u2014 three people<\/li>\n
- \u56db\u4eba<\/strong> (\u3088\u306b\u3093, yonin)<\/em> \u2014 four people<\/li>\n
- \u4e94\u4eba<\/strong> (\u3054\u306b\u3093, gonin)<\/em> \u2014 five people<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Japanese Counters<\/h2>\n
When counting objects in Japanese, numerical classifiers known as counters<\/strong> are used. Counters specify the shape, size or type of the item being counted.<\/p>\n
For example, to count small animals, the counter “hiki”<\/em> is used, while the counter “mai”<\/em> is employed for flat objects like paper or tickets. Learning the appropriate counters for different objects is a key aspect of mastering the Japanese number system.<\/p>\n
Here are 65 of the most common counters:<\/p>\n\n
- \u4e8c\u4eba<\/strong> (\u3075\u305f\u308a, futari)<\/em> \u2014 two people<\/li>\n
- \u4e8c\u3064<\/strong> (\u3075\u305f\u3064, futatsu)<\/em> \u2014 two<\/li>\n
- \u4e09\u4f4d<\/strong> (\u3055\u3093\u3044, san’i)<\/em> \u2014 third place<\/li>\n
- \u4e8c\u5341\u4e94\u65e5<\/strong> (\u306b\u3058\u3085\u3046\u3054\u306b\u3061, nij\u016bgonichi)<\/em> \u2014 twenty-fifth day<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \u4e8c\u5341\u4e94\u756a\u76ee<\/strong> (\u306b\u3058\u3085\u3046\u3054\u3070\u3093\u3081, nij\u016bgoban-me)<\/em> \u2014 twenty-fifth<\/li>\n
- Four:<\/strong> “Yon”<\/em> is the more standard and commonly used term, while “shi”<\/em> is often avoided in certain situations due to its similarity in pronunciation to the word for death (“shinu”). “Shi”<\/em> might be used in specific contexts to avoid any potential cultural sensitivity.<\/li>\n
![\"FluentU](\"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/site\/\/6\/NativeAd-Japanese.jpg\")
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