Japanese Numbers: 1 to 100 and Beyond

Numbers 1 to 10

Everything starts with ten kanji. Three of them, 四, 七 and 九, have two common readings:

• 1: 一 いち
• 2: 二 に
• 3: 三 さん
• 4: 四 よん or し
• 5: 五 ご
• 6: 六 ろく
• 7: 七 なな or しち
• 8: 八 はち
• 9: 九 きゅう or く
• 10: 十 じゅう

In most everyday counting, よん, なな and きゅう are the safer choices. し sounds like the word for death (死) and く like the word for suffering (苦), which is often given as one reason they are avoided in some contexts. Fixed expressions keep the other readings, though: 四月 (しがつ, April), 七月 (しちがつ, July) and 九月 (くがつ, September). Zero is ゼロ or れい, written 零 in kanji.

11 to 100: just combine

Japanese numbers are very regular up to 99. A digit placed after 十 is added, and a digit placed before 十 multiplies it:

• 11: 十一 じゅういち (ten plus one)
• 15: 十五 じゅうご
• 20: 二十 にじゅう (two tens)
• 35: 三十五 さんじゅうご
• 40: 四十 よんじゅう
• 70: 七十 ななじゅう
• 99: 九十九 きゅうじゅうきゅう
• 100: 百 ひゃく

Note that 10 is simply 十, not 一十, and 100 is simply 百. You only add 一 in front for larger units like 万.

Because the pattern is so regular, the fastest way to get comfortable is to count out loud. Say the numbers from 1 to 100 a few times, then pick random two-digit numbers you see around you, such as bus numbers, page numbers and prices, and read them in Japanese. After a week or two, numbers up to 99 usually feel automatic, which makes the larger units much easier to learn.

Hundreds and thousands: the sound changes

From 100 up, the system stays regular, but a few combinations change their sound. ひゃく can become びゃく or ぴゃく, and せん can become ぜん. These are the ones learners most often get wrong:

The rest are regular: にひゃく, よんひゃく, ごひゃく, ななひゃく, きゅうひゃく for the hundreds, and にせん, よんせん, ごせん, ろくせん, ななせん, きゅうせん for the thousands. A full number just strings the parts together, largest first: 2,026 is 二千二十六 (にせんにじゅうろく), and 3,800 is 三千八百 (さんぜんはっぴゃく). 千 also appears in words like 千円 (せんえん, 1,000 yen).

10,000 and beyond: think in 万

Here Japanese differs from English. English groups large numbers by three digits (thousand, million, billion). Japanese groups them by four: 万 (まん) is 10,000, and the next unit, 億 (おく), is 100,000,000.

• 10,000: 一万 いちまん (always with いち)
• 100,000: 十万 じゅうまん (ten 万)
• 1,000,000: 百万 ひゃくまん (a hundred 万)
• 10,000,000: 千万 せんまん or 一千万 いっせんまん (a thousand 万)
• 100,000,000: 一億 いちおく
• 1,000,000,000,000: 一兆 いっちょう

A handy trick: to read a large number, count four digits from the right and put 万 there. 35,000 is 3万5千 (さんまんごせん). For prices this shows up everywhere. 3万円 (さんまんえん) is 30,000 yen.

Kanji numerals vs Arabic numerals

In everyday horizontal text, such as prices, phone numbers, dates on websites and train timetables, Japanese mostly uses Arabic numerals, often mixed with 万 or 億 for big amounts. Kanji numerals are more common in vertical writing such as novels and some newspapers, in formal or traditional contexts, and in words where the number is part of the meaning, like 一人 (ひとり, one person) or 三日月 (みかづき, crescent moon).

You may also see formal numerals called daiji, such as 壱 (one), 弐 (two) and 参 (three). They are used in some legal and financial documents because simple forms like 一 and 二 are too easy to alter.

Numbers in daily life: time, money and age

Numbers rarely appear alone. They usually come with a counter, a small word that says what is being counted, and the counter can nudge the reading of the number in front of it. The ten counters beginners need most are covered in Japanese counters, and three everyday examples are worth learning early.

Time. Hours use 時 (じ): 一時 (いちじ, 1:00), 三時 (さんじ, 3:00). Three hours are irregular: 四時 is よじ, 七時 is しちじ and 九時 is くじ. Half past is 半 (はん), so 3:30 is 三時半 (さんじはん). Minutes use 分 (ふん or ぷん), with readings like 一分 (いっぷん), 三分 (さんぷん), 五分 (ごふん) and 十分 (じゅっぷん). The full set of readings, plus 午前, 午後 and 24-hour times, is in telling time in Japanese.

Money. Yen is 円 (えん). Most amounts are regular, such as 五百円 (ごひゃくえん) and 千円 (せんえん), but 4 yen is よえん, not よんえん. Larger amounts use 万: 一万円 (いちまんえん) is 10,000 yen, the largest common banknote. Tax labels, sale signs and menu words are covered in reading prices in Japanese.

Age. Years of age use 歳 (さい), often written with the simpler 才 on signs and in casual writing. Some ages change their sound, such as 一歳 (いっさい), 八歳 (はっさい) and 十歳 (じゅっさい), and 20 has a special word, はたち, usually written 二十歳.

Native Japanese counting: ひとつ, ふたつ

Japanese also has a native set of numbers for counting things from one to ten:

• ひとつ (1), ふたつ (2), みっつ (3), よっつ (4), いつつ (5)
• むっつ (6), ななつ (7), やっつ (8), ここのつ (9), とお (10)

These are handy when you do not know the right counter word, for example when ordering food: コーヒーをふたつ (two coffees). Above ten, you switch back to じゅういち and so on. Many counters mix the two systems, which is why 一人 is ひとり and 二人 is ふたり, but 三人 is さんにん. Dates have their own irregular readings too, such as 一日 (ついたち, the 1st of the month) and 二十日 (はつか, the 20th). The weekday that often follows a date is covered in days of the week in Japanese.

Practice by converting numbers you see every day, like prices and times. The Japanese number converter shows any number in kanji with its reading, so you can check yourself.