Numbers

Notes

While Arabic (Western) numerals are employed for most uses in Japan, you will occasionally still spot Japanese numerals at eg. markets and the menus of fancy restaurants. The characters used are nearly identical to Chinese numerals, and like Chinese, Japanese uses groups of 4 digits, not 3. "One million" is thus 百万 (hyaku-man), literally "hundred ten-thousands".

There are both Japanese and Chinese readings for most numbers, but presented below are the more commonly used Chinese readings. Note that, due to superstition (shi also means "death"), 4 and 7 typically use the Japanese readings yon and nana instead.

Counters

When counting objects, Japanese uses special counter words. For example, "two bottles of beer" is ビール２本 biiru nihon, where ni is "two" and -hon means "bottles". Unlike in English, where counter words are often optional or non-existent, in Japanese they're mandatory whenever you count something (e.g. 車２台 kuruma ni-dai, two cars; 台 dai counts machines).

Note how many counters change form depending on the previous number: one, two, three glasses are ippai, nihai, sanbai respectively.　There are also a few exceptions: one person and two people are hitori and futari. 20 years old is usually pronounced hatachi. You'll still be understood if you get these wrong though.

一つ hitotsu

For numbers from one to nine, an old counting system is often used which applies to virtually any object you may want to count, without the need to attach a specific counter:

一つ hitotsu
二つ futatsu
三つ mittsu
四つ yottsu
五つ itsutsu
六つ muttsu
七つ nanatsu
八つ yattsu
九つ kokonotsu

It is always a good idea to use a specific counter whenever possible, but using the generic numbers above is often equally acceptable. This system is rarely used anymore for numbers greater than nine.

small roundish objects (apples, sweets) 個 -ko

people 人 -nin

animals 匹 -hiki, -biki, -piki

flat objects (papers, tickets) 枚 -mai

long objects (bottles, pens) 本 -hon, -bon, -pon

cups, glasses 杯 -hai, -bai, -pai

nights of a stay 泊 -haku, -paku

years (age) 歳 -sai

1 一つ hitotsu

2 二つ futatsu

3 三つ mittsu

4 四つ yottsu

5 五つ itsutsu

6 六つ muttsu

7 七つ nanatsu

8 八つ yattsu

9 九つ kokonotsu

0 〇 zero

1 一 ichi

2 二 ni

3 三 san

4 四 yon

5 五 go

6 六 roku

7 七 nana

8 八 hachi

9 九 kyū

10 十 jū

11 十一 jū-ichi

12 十二 jū-ni

13 十三 jū-san

14 十四 jū-yon

15 十五 jū-go

16 十六 jū-roku

17 十七 jū-nana

18 十八 jū-hachi

19 十九 jū-kyū

20 二十 ni-jū

21 二十一 ni-jū-ichi

22 二十二 ni-jū-ni

23 二十三 ni-jū-san

30 三十 san-jū

40 四十 yon-jū

50 五十 go-jū

60 六十 roku-jū

70 七十 nana-jū

80 八十 hachi-jū

90 九十 kyū-jū

100 百 hyaku

200 二百 nihyaku

300 三百 sambyaku

600 六百 roppyaku

800 八百 happyaku

1000 千 sen

2000 二千 ni-sen

3000 三千 san-zen

10,000 一万 ichi-man

1,000,000 百万 hyaku-man

100,000,000 一億 ichi-oku

1,000,000,000,000 一兆 itchō

0.5 〇・五 rei ten go

0.56 〇・五六 rei ten go-roku

number _____ (''train, bus, etc.'') _____番 ____ ban

half 半分 hambun

less (few) 少ない sukunai

more (many) 多い ōi