Introduction to Japanese Numbers
Japanese has two number systems that are used in different contexts:
- Native Japanese (和語 wago) - Used 1-10, especially with general counters
- Sino-Japanese (漢語 kango) - Chinese-origin numbers, used for most counting
Native: ひとつ、ふたつ、みっつ...
"One, two, three..."
Sino: いち、に、さん...
"One, two, three..."
Sino-Japanese Numbers (1-10)
The most commonly used system:
| Number | Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | いち | ichi |
| 2 | 二 | に | ni |
| 3 | 三 | さん | san |
| 4 | 四 | し/よん | shi/yon |
| 5 | 五 | ご | go |
| 6 | 六 | ろく | roku |
| 7 | 七 | しち/なな | shichi/nana |
| 8 | 八 | はち | hachi |
| 9 | 九 | きゅう/く | kyuu/ku |
| 10 | 十 | じゅう | juu |
Special Notes
4 (し vs よん):
- し sounds like 死 (death), so よん is often preferred
- Use よん in phone numbers, addresses
7 (しち vs なな):
- なな is clearer and avoids confusion with し (4)
- なな is more common in modern Japanese
9 (きゅう vs く):
- きゅう is standard
- く sounds like 苦 (suffering), less common
Sino-Japanese Numbers (11-99)
11-19
Simply add the ones digit after じゅう (10):
11 = 十一 (じゅういち) - 10 + 1
12 = 十二 (じゅうに) - 10 + 2
13 = 十三 (じゅうさん) - 10 + 3
14 = 十四 (じゅうよん/じゅうし) - 10 + 4
15 = 十五 (じゅうご) - 10 + 5
16 = 十六 (じゅうろく) - 10 + 6
17 = 十七 (じゅうなな/じゅうしち) - 10 + 7
18 = 十八 (じゅうはち) - 10 + 8
19 = 十九 (じゅうきゅう) - 10 + 9
20-99
Pattern: [tens digit] + じゅう + [ones digit]
20 = 二十 (にじゅう) - 2 × 10
21 = 二十一 (にじゅういち) - 2 × 10 + 1
30 = 三十 (さんじゅう) - 3 × 10
45 = 四十五 (よんじゅうご) - 4 × 10 + 5
99 = 九十九 (きゅうじゅうきゅう) - 9 × 10 + 9
Large Numbers
Hundreds (百)
| Number | Reading |
|---|---|
| 100 | 百 (ひゃく) |
| 200 | 二百 (にひゃく) |
| 300 | 三百 (さんびゃく) ⚠️ |
| 400 | 四百 (よんひゃく) |
| 500 | 五百 (ごひゃく) |
| 600 | 六百 (ろっぴゃく) ⚠️ |
| 700 | 七百 (ななひゃく) |
| 800 | 八百 (はっぴゃく) ⚠️ |
| 900 | 九百 (きゅうひゃく) |
Sound Changes:
- 300: ひゃく → びゃく
- 600: ひゃく → ぴゃく
- 800: ひゃく → ぴゃく
Thousands (千)
| Number | Reading |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | 千 (せん) |
| 2,000 | 二千 (にせん) |
| 3,000 | 三千 (さんぜん) ⚠️ |
| 4,000 | 四千 (よんせん) |
| 5,000 | 五千 (ごせん) |
| 6,000 | 六千 (ろくせん) |
| 7,000 | 七千 (ななせん) |
| 8,000 | 八千 (はっせん) ⚠️ |
| 9,000 | 九千 (きゅうせん) |
Sound Changes:
- 3,000: せん → ぜん
- 8,000: せん → せん (no change, but pronunciation is longer)
Ten Thousands (万)
Japanese counts in units of 10,000 (万 man):
10,000 = 一万 (いちまん)
20,000 = 二万 (にまん)
100,000 = 十万 (じゅうまん)
1,000,000 = 百万 (ひゃくまん)
10,000,000 = 千万 (せんまん)
Hundred Millions (億)
100,000,000 = 一億 (いちおく)
1,000,000,000 = 十億 (じゅうおく)
Trillions (兆)
1,000,000,000,000 = 一兆 (いっちょう)
Native Japanese Numbers (1-10)
Used with the general counter つ and in traditional contexts:
| Number | Hiragana | Romaji | With つ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ひと | hito | ひとつ |
| 2 | ふた | futa | ふたつ |
| 3 | み | mi | みっつ |
| 4 | よ/よっ | yo/yot | よっつ |
| 5 | いつ | itsu | いつつ |
| 6 | む | mu | むっつ |
| 7 | なな | nana | ななつ |
| 8 | や | ya | やっつ |
| 9 | ここの | kokono | ここのつ |
| 10 | とお | too | とお |
Note: Native numbers are rarely used above 10.
Number Usage Contexts
Sino-Japanese Numbers Used For:
- Counting with specific counters (people, animals, objects)
- Money
- Time (hours, minutes)
- Dates
- Phone numbers
- Addresses
- Mathematical operations
- Age (with 歳)
3人 (さんにん) - 3 people
500円 (ごひゃくえん) - 500 yen
3時 (さんじ) - 3 o'clock
Native Numbers Used For:
- General counting (with つ counter)
- Ages 1-10 (informally)
- Traditional contexts
- Set phrases
3つ (みっつ) - 3 (things)
20歳 (はたち) - 20 years old (special word)
Complex Numbers
Combining Units
Read from largest to smallest:
2,345 = 二千三百四十五
(にせんさんびゃくよんじゅうご)
2,000 + 300 + 40 + 5
15,678 = 一万五千六百七十八
(いちまんごせんろっぴゃくななじゅうはち)
10,000 + 5,000 + 600 + 70 + 8
Western vs Japanese Grouping
Western: Groups of three (thousand, million, billion)
1,000,000 = one million
Japanese: Groups based on 万 (10,000) and 億 (100,000,000)
1,000,000 = 百万 (ひゃくまん)
"100 × 10,000"
Common Expressions
Asking About Numbers
いくつですか？
"How many?" (general)
何個ですか？
"How many pieces?"
何人ですか？
"How many people?"
いくらですか？
"How much?" (price)
Expressing Quantities
たくさん
"Many/a lot"
少し
"A little/few"
全部で
"In total"
〜くらい/〜ぐらい
"About/approximately"
Zero and Fractions
Zero
零 (れい) - formal
ゼロ - common, from English
まる - used in phone numbers
電話番号: 090-1234-5678
(ゼロきゅうゼロ の いちにさんよん の ごろくななはち)
Fractions
半分 (はんぶん) - half
3分の1 (さんぶんのいち) - one third
4分の3 (よんぶんのさん) - three fourths
Decimals
0.5 = ゼロ点五 (ぜろてんご)
3.14 = 三点一四 (さんてんいちよん)
Ordinal Numbers
Add 番目 (ばんめ) to Sino-Japanese numbers:
1番目 (いちばんめ) - first
2番目 (にばんめ) - second
3番目 (さんばんめ) - third
Or use specific ordinal words:
第一 (だいいち) - first (formal)
第二 (だいに) - second (formal)
Practice Examples
Basic Counting
1 = いち
10 = じゅう
100 = ひゃく
1,000 = せん
10,000 = まん/いちまん
Real Numbers
25 = にじゅうご
138 = ひゃくさんじゅうはち
2,500 = にせんごひゃく
47,000 = よんまんななせん
With Context
25歳 = にじゅうごさい (25 years old)
138円 = ひゃくさんじゅうはちえん (138 yen)
2,500人 = にせんごひゃくにん (2,500 people)
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Wrong sound changes
Wrong: さんひゃく (300) ❌
Right: さんびゃく ✓
Wrong: ろくひゃく (600) ❌
Right: ろっぴゃく ✓
Mistake 2: Using native numbers with counters
Wrong: ふたつ人 ❌
Right: ふたり or 二人 (ふたり) ✓
"Two people"
Mistake 3: Reading 4 and 7 incorrectly
In phone numbers, use:
よん (4), なな (7)
Not: し (4), しち (7)
Reading Numbers Aloud
Phone Numbers
Read digit by digit, よん for 4, なな for 7:
090-1234-5678
ゼロきゅうゼロ の いちにさんよん の ごろくななはち
Years
2025年 = にせんにじゅうごねん
1990年 = せんきゅうひゃくきゅうじゅうねん
Prices
1,500円 = せんごひゃくえん
10,000円 = いちまんえん (or just まんえん)
Related Grammar Points
- Native vs Sino Numbers - Detailed comparison
- Counter System Basics - How counters work
- General Counter (つ) - Native number counting
- いくつ (ikutsu) - How many/old
- いくら (ikura) - How much (price)
- Time expressions - Telling time
- Date expressions - Calendar dates
- Age expressions - Talking about age