Japanese Numbers: Complete Guide to Counting in Japanese
Japanese numbers seem complicated at first — there are two counting systems, special readings for certain digits, and counters that change depending on what you're counting. But the underlying system is highly logical. Once you understand the rules, you can construct any number up to 100 million without memorising each one individually.
1–10: The Foundation
Every Japanese number is built from the base numbers 1–10. Memorise these perfectly — everything else follows automatically.
| 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 | く / きゅう | ku / kyuu |
| 10 | 十 | じゅう | juu |
Special Readings: 4, 7, and 9
Three numbers have alternative readings that are often preferred in everyday speech:
- 4 — し (shi) or よん (yon). し sounds like 死 (death), so よん is preferred in most contexts. Use し when counting in sequences or in compound numbers.
- 7 — しち (shichi) or なな (nana). しち can be confused with いち (1) in fast speech, so なな is often preferred. Phone numbers almost always use なな.
- 9 — く (ku) or きゅう (kyuu). く sounds like 苦 (suffering/pain), so きゅう is often preferred, especially in formal contexts and phone numbers.
11–100: Building Numbers
Japanese numbers 11–99 are completely regular compounds. The pattern is: [tens] × 十 + [ones].
Hundreds, Thousands, and Beyond
Unlike English (which groups in thousands), Japanese groups in ten-thousands (万, man). This is the key insight for understanding large Japanese numbers.
| Value | Kanji | Reading | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 百 | ひゃく (hyaku) | 100, 200=にひゃく, 300=さんびゃく* |
| 1,000 | 千 | せん (sen) | 1,000; 3,000=さんぜん*; 8,000=はっせん* |
| 10,000 | 万 | まん (man) | The key grouping unit in Japanese |
| 100,000,000 | 億 | おく (oku) | 100 million = 1億 |
* Some numbers have irregular sound changes due to rendaku (voiced consonant alternation): さんびゃく (300), はっぴゃく (800), さんぜん (3,000), はっせん (8,000).
Japanese Counters (助数詞)
When counting objects in Japanese, you must attach a counter suffix to the number. The counter changes depending on the type of object. This is one of the most distinctive features of Japanese grammar.
| Counter | Used for | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 本 (hon) | Long, thin objects | pens, bottles, trees, rivers, roads |
| 枚 (mai) | Flat, thin objects | paper, stamps, shirts, slices |
| 匹 (hiki) | Small animals | fish, dogs, cats, insects |
| 頭 (tou) | Large animals | cows, elephants, horses, whales |
| 台 (dai) | Machines / vehicles | cars, computers, TVs, bicycles |
| 人 (nin / hito) | People | 1=ひとり, 2=ふたり, 3+=さんにん... |
| 冊 (satsu) | Bound books | books, notebooks, magazines |
| 杯 (hai) | Cups / glasses / bowls | coffee, water, ramen |
| 個 (ko) | Small objects (general) | apples, coins, boxes |
| 回 (kai) | Number of times | 1回 = once, 2回 = twice |
Age Counting with ～歳 (sai)
Age uses the counter 歳 (さい, sai). The pattern is number + 歳.
Note: 20 years old has a special word — はたち (二十歳). This is because 20 is the traditional age of majority in Japan and has been important culturally for centuries.
Time Expressions with Numbers
Japanese uses 時 (じ, ji) for hours and 分 (ふん/ぷん, fun/pun) for minutes:
Minutes 1–10 use ふん (fun), but some numbers change to ぷん (pun) due to sound changes: 1分 (いっぷん), 3分 (さんぷん), 4分 (よんぷん), 6分 (ろっぷん), 8分 (はっぷん), 10分 (じゅっぷん).
Practice Japanese numbers in real sentences
Numbers appear everywhere in Japanese — prices, times, dates, quantities. ZISTICA MOJIIQ checks your Japanese writing and corrects number usage errors.
Check My Japanese →Hiragana chartFrequently Asked Questions
How do you count in Japanese?
Japanese counting uses a combination of kanji and native Japanese numbers. For 1-10: いち (1), に (2), さん (3), し/よん (4), ご (5), ろく (6), しち/なな (7), はち (8), く/きゅう (9), じゅう (10). Numbers 11-99 are compound: 11 = じゅういち (10+1), 20 = にじゅう (2×10), 35 = さんじゅうご (3×10+5).
Why does Japanese have two readings for some numbers?
4 (し/よん), 7 (しち/なな), and 9 (く/きゅう) each have two readings because "し" sounds like 死 (death), "しち" can be confused with "いち" in speech, and "く" sounds like 苦 (suffering). The alternative readings よん, なな, and きゅう are often preferred to avoid these associations, especially in everyday speech.
What are Japanese counters?
Japanese counters (助数詞) are suffixes that must be attached to numbers when counting specific types of objects. You cannot simply say "3 fish" without using the correct counter. The most common counters include: 本 (hon) for long thin objects, 枚 (mai) for flat things, 匹 (hiki) for small animals, 台 (dai) for machines, and 人 (nin/hito) for people.
How do you say large numbers in Japanese?
Japanese has specific words for powers of 10,000 rather than 1,000. 百 (hyaku) = 100, 千 (sen) = 1,000, 万 (man) = 10,000, 億 (oku) = 100,000,000. So 1,000,000 (one million) is 百万 (hyaku-man = 100 × 10,000), and 10,000,000 is 千万 (sen-man = 1,000 × 10,000).