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.
| Numeral | Sino-Japanese | Native Japanese | Ordinal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 零 (rei) 〇 (zero) 〇 (nuru) | 零番目 (reibanme) 〇番目 (zerobanme) 〇番目 (nurubanme) | |
| 1 | 一 (ichi) | 一つ (hitotsu) | 一つ目 (hitotsume) 一番目 (ichibanme) |
| 2 | 二 (ni) | 二つ (futatsu) | 二つ目 (futatsume) 二番目 (nibanme) |
| 3 | 三 (san) | 三つ (mittsu) | 三番目 (sanbanme) 三つ目 (mittsume) |
| 4 | 四 (shi/yon) | 四つ (yottsu) | 四番目 (yonbanme) 四つ目 (yottsume) |
| 5 | 五 (go) | 五つ (itsutsu) | 五番目 (gobanme) 五つ目 (itsutsume) |
| 6 | 六 (roku) | 六つ (muttsu) | 六番目 (rokubanme) 六つ目 (muttsume) |
| 7 | 七 (shichi/nana) | 七つ (nanatsu) | 七番目 (nanabanme) 七つ目 (nanatsume) |
| 8 | 八 (hachi) | 八つ (yattsu) | 八番目 (hachibanme) 八つ目 (yattsume) |
| 9 | 九 (kyū/ku) | 九つ (kokonotsu) | 九番目 (kyūbanme) 九つ目 (kokonotsume) |
| 10 | 十 (jū) | 十 (tō) | 十番目 (jūbanme) |
| 11 | 十一 (jū ichi) | 十余り一つ (tō amari hitotsu) | 十一番目 (jū ichi banme) |
| 12 | 十二 (jū ni) | 十余り二つ (tō amari futatsu) | 十二番目 (jū ni banme) |
| 13 | 十三 (jū san) | 十余り三つ (tō amari mittsu) | 十三番目 (jū san banme) |
| 14 | 十四 (jū yon) | 十余り四つ (tō amari yottsu) | 十四番目 (jū yon banme) |
| 15 | 十五 (jū go) | 十余り五つ (tō amari itsutsu) | 十五番目 (jū go banme) |
| 16 | 十六 (jū roku) | 十余り六つ (tō amari muttsu) | 十六番目 (jū roku banme) |
| 17 | 十七 (jū nana) | 十余り七つ (tō amari nanatsu) | 十七番目 (jū nana banme) |
| 18 | 十八 (jū hachi) | 十余り八つ (tō amari yattsu) | 十八番目 (jū hachi banme) |
| 19 | 十九 (jū kyū) | 十余り九つ (tō amari kokonotsu) | 十九番目 (jū kyū banme) |
| 20 | 二十 (ni-jū) | 廿 (hatachi) | 二十番目 (ni-jū banme) |
| 30 | 三十 (san-jū) | 卅 (miso/misoji) | 三十番目 (san-jū banme) |
| 40 | 四十 (yon-jū) | 四十 (yoso/yosoji) | 四十番目 (yon-jū banme) |
| 50 | 五十 (go-jū) | 五十 (iso/isoji) | 五十番目 (go-jū banme) |
| 60 | 六十 (roku-jū) | 六十 (muso/musoji) | 六十番目 (roku-jū banme) |
| 70 | 七十 (nana-jū) | 七十 (nanaso/nanasoji) | 七十番目 (nana-jū banme) |
| 80 | 八十 (hachi-jū) | 八十 (yaso/yasoji) | 八十番目 (hachi-jū banme) |
| 90 | 九十 (kyū-jū) | 九十 (kokonoso/kokonosoji) | 九十番目 (kyū-jū banme) |
| 100 | 百 (hyaku) | 百 (momo) | 百番目 (hyaku banme) |
| 200 | 二百 (nihyaku) | 二百 (futao) | 二百番目 (nihyaku banme) |
| 300 | 三百 (sanbyaku) | 三百 (mio) | 三百番目 (sanbyaku banme) |
| 400 | 四百 (yonhyaku) | 四百 (yō) | 四百番目 (yonhyaku banme) |
| 500 | 五百 (gohyaku) | 五百 (io) | 五百番目 (gohyaku banme) |
| 600 | 六百 (roppyaku) | 六百 (muo) | 六百番目 (roppyaku banme) |
| 700 | 七百 (nanahyaku) | 七百 (nanao) | 七百番目 (nanahyaku banme) |
| 800 | 八百 (happyaku) | 八百 (yao) | 八百番目 (happyaku banme) |
| 900 | 九百 (kyūhyaku) | 九百 (kokonō) | 九百番目 (kyūhyaku banme) |
| 1,000 | 千 (sen) 一千 (issen) | 千 (chi) | 千番目 (sen banme) |
| 2,000 | 二千 (nisen) | 二千 (futachi) | 二千番目 (nisen banme) |
| 3,000 | 三千 (sanzen) | 三千 (michi) | 三千番目 (sanzen banme) |
| 4,000 | 四千 (yonsen) | 四千 (yochi) | 四千番目 (yonsen banme) |
| 5,000 | 五千 (gosen) | 五千 (ichi) | 五千番目 (gosen banme) |
| 6,000 | 六千 (rokusen) | 六千 (muchi) | 六千番目 (rokusen banme) |
| 7,000 | 七千 (nanasen) | 七千 (nanachi) | 七千番目 (nanasen banme) |
| 8,000 | 八千 (hassen) | 八千 (yachi) | 八千番目 (hassen banme) |
| 9,000 | 九千 (kyūsen) | 九千 (kokonochi) | 九千番目 (kyūsen banme) |
| 10,000 | 一万/萬 (ichiman) | 万/萬 (yorozu) | 一万番目/一萬番目 (ichiman banme) |
| 20,000 | 二万 (niman) | 二万 (futayorozu) | 二万番目 (niman banme) |
| 30,000 | 三万 (sanman) | 三万 (miyorozu) | 三万番目 (sanman banme) |
| 40,000 | 四万 (yonman) | 四万 (yoyorozu) | 四万番目 (yonman banme) |
| 50,000 | 五万 (goman) | 五万 (iyorozu) | 五万番目 (goman banme) |
| 60,000 | 六万 (rokuman) | 六万 (muyorozu) | 六万番目 (rokuman banme) |
| 70,000 | 七万 (nanaman) | 七万 (nanayorozu) | 七万番目 (nanaman banme) |
| 80,000 | 八万 (hachiman) | 八万 (yayorozu) | 八万番目 (hachiman banme) |
| 90,000 | 九万 (kyūman) | 九万 (kokonoyorozu) | 九万番目 (kyūman banme) |
| 100,000 | 十万 (jūman) | 十万 (tōyorozu) | 十万番目 (jūman banme) |
| 1 million | 百万 (hyakuman) | 百万 (momoyorozu) | 百万番目 (hyakuman banme) |
| 10 million | 千万 (senman) 一千万 (issenman) | 千万 (chiyorozu) | 千万番目 (senman banme) |
| 100 million | 一億 (ichioku) | 億番目 (oku banme) | |
| 1 trillion | 一兆 (itchō) | 一兆番目 (itchō banme) | |
| 10 trillion | 十兆 (jutchō) | 十兆番目 (jutchō banme) |
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
| 壱 [壹] | 弐 [貳] | 参 [參] | 四 [肆] | 五 [伍] | 六 [陸] | 七 [柒] | 八 [捌] | 九 [玖] | 拾 | 百 [佰] | 千 [仟] | 万/萬 |
| 一 | 二 | 三 | 四 | 五 | 六 | 七 | 八 | 九 | 十 | 百 | 千 | 万 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 100 | 1000 | 10000 |
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.
| 一人 | 二人 | 三人 | 四人 | 五人 | 六人 | 七人 | 八人 | 九人 | 十人 |
| hitori | futari | sannin | yonin | gonin | rokunin | shichinin | hachinin | kyūnin | jūnin |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
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).
| 一日 | 二日 | 三日 | 四日 | 五日 | 六日 | 七日 |
| tsuitachi | futsuka | mikka | yokka | itsuka | muika | nanoka |
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th |
| 八日 | 九日 | 十日 | 十四日 | 二十日 | 二十四日 | |
| yōka | kokonoka | tōka | jūyokka | hatsuka | nijūyokka | |
| 8th | 9th | 10th | 14th | 20th | 24th |
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
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Numbers in Japonic / Japanese-Ryukyuan language
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Numbers in other languages
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