Numbers in Japanese

There are two sets of numbers in Japanese: the native Japanese system and the Sino-Japanese system. The Sino-Japanese numbers are used in combination with counter words (助数詞 josūshi), when counting things, actions and events. When counting people there are different forms of the native numbers from 1-10, and there are also different forms of these numbers for dates. The native Japanese numbers are usually only used up to 10.

The Western (Arabic) numerals are generally used in horizontal texts, while the Kanji numerals are used in vertical texts.

If any of the numbers are links, you can hear a recording by clicking on them. If you can provide recordings, please contact me.

Notes

• Large numbers are divided into units of ten thousand, so 1 million is one hundred ten-thousands: 百萬 (hyaku man).
• The numbers 4 and 9 are considered unlucky in Japanese: 4, when pronounced shi, sounds like the word for death (死), and 9, when pronounced ku, sounds like the word for suffering (苦). So they are often pronounced yon and kyu instead.
• On financial and legal documents complex forms of the numerals known as 大字 (daiji) are used to prevent fraud.

Japanese 大字 (daiji) numerals

The first row of the table shows the 大字 (daiji) numerals. Those in [square brackets] are no longer commonly used.

How to count people in Japanese

These are special forms of the Native Japanese numbers used to count people.

How to refer to days of the month in Japanese

There are some irregularities in the way the days of the month are named in Japanese. The table below show the days which have irregular names. Other days are formed by combining the Sino-Japanese numbers with 日 (nichi - day), e.g. 十一日 (jūichi-nichi = 11th).

Hear Japanese numbers:

Corrections provided by かずき (Kazuki) and Ryulong

If you spot any mistakes, and/or can provide recordings of these numbers, please contact me.

Links

Information about Japanese numbers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_numerals
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_counter_word
http://japanese.about.com/od/japanesevocabulary/a/numbers.htm
http://sp.cis.iwate-u.ac.jp/sp/lessonj/doc/numbers.html
http://nihongoichiban.com/japanese-grammar-numbers/
http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/language/number/japanese.html
http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/language/number/ancient_japanese.html
https://lingualift.com/blog/japanese-math-vocabulary/

Information about Japanese counter words (助数詞 josūshi)
http://nihongoichiban.com/2011/03/28/list-of-japanese-classificators/

How to write Japanese numerals
http://howtowriteinjapanese.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-to-write-numbers-in-japanese.html

Introduction to Japanese | Hiragana | Katakana | Kanji | Rōmaji | Phrases (Useful) | Phrases (Silly) | Numbers | Colours | Time | Dates | Family words | Tower of Babel | Articles | Links | Learning materials

• Japanese Uncovered - Learn Japanese Through the Power of Story
• Learn Japanese now at Rocket Languages!
• Learn Japanese with Glossika
• Learn Japanese online with JapanesePod101
• Master Japanese: The Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide to Learning Nihongo
• Japanese language learning material from White Rabbit Japan

Japanese courses and other resources on Amazon
- Find Japanese Tutors with LanguaTalk

Numbers in Japonic / Japanese-Ryukyuan language

Japanese, Miyakoan, Okinawan, Yonaguni

Numbers in other languages

Alphabetical index | Language family index

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