Numbers and counters
Counting, big numbers, and the words that go with what you count.
One to ten
| Number | Kanji | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 零 | ゼロ zero, れい rei |
| 1 | 一 | いち ichi |
| 2 | 二 | に ni |
| 3 | 三 | さん san |
| 4 | 四 | よん yon, し shi |
| 5 | 五 | ご go |
| 6 | 六 | ろく roku |
| 7 | 七 | なな nana, しち shichi |
| 8 | 八 | はち hachi |
| 9 | 九 | きゅう kyū, く ku |
| 10 | 十 | じゅう jū |
4, 7 and 9 have two readings. よん, なな and きゅう are the usual ones in most numbers (counting up from one, many say し and しち), but some words keep the others: 四月 shigatsu "April", 七月 shichigatsu "July", 九時 kuji "nine o'clock".
Bigger numbers
Numbers are built in order: 二十三 nijūsan is "two tens three", 23. 百 hyaku "hundred" and 千 sen "thousand" usually take no 一 before them, but 万 man "ten thousand" does: 一万 ichiman.
Japanese groups large numbers by ten thousands, 万, not by thousands. So 100,000 is 十万 jūman, "ten ten-thousands", and a million is 百万 hyakuman. The next step is 億 oku, a hundred million.
| Number | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | 十一 | jūichi |
| 20 | 二十 | nijū |
| 99 | 九十九 | kyūjūkyū |
| 100 | 百 | hyaku |
| 1,000 | 千 | sen |
| 10,000 | 一万 | ichiman |
| 100,000 | 十万 | jūman |
| 1,000,000 | 百万 | hyakuman |
| 100,000,000 | 一億 | ichioku |
Arabic numerals are common in horizontal writing: 1,980円 is read sen kyūhyaku hachijū en.
Sound changes
A few hundreds and thousands change their sound:
The others are regular: 二百 nihyaku, 五百 gohyaku, 四千 yonsen, 九千 kyūsen.
Counters
To count things, Japanese puts a counter after the number. The counter depends on the kind of thing counted, a little like "two sheets of paper" or "three cups of tea" in English.
| Counter | For | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| つ | Things in general, up to ten | 一つ hitotsu | 二つ futatsu | 三つ mittsu |
| 人 | People | 一人 hitori | 二人 futari | 三人 sannin |
| 本 | Long, thin things: pens, bottles, trees | 一本 ippon | 二本 nihon | 三本 sanbon |
| 枚 | Flat things: paper, tickets, shirts | 一枚 ichimai | 二枚 nimai | 三枚 sanmai |
| 匹 | Small animals | 一匹 ippiki | 二匹 nihiki | 三匹 sanbiki |
| 個 | Small objects | 一個 ikko | 二個 niko | 三個 sanko |
| 冊 | Books | 一冊 issatsu | 二冊 nisatsu | 三冊 sansatsu |
| 台 | Machines and vehicles | 一台 ichidai | 二台 nidai | 三台 sandai |
| 回 | Times, occasions | 一回 ikkai | 二回 nikai | 三回 sankai |
| 円 | Yen | 一円 ichien | 二円 nien | 三円 san'en |
| 歳 | Years of age | 一歳 issai | 二歳 nisai | 三歳 sansai |
The つ counter has its own native numbers: 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, and 十 tō. Past ten, use the plain number, or 個.
People are 一人 hitori and 二人 futari, then the number + にん: 三人 sannin, 四人 yonin, 五人 gonin. With many counters the sound changes after 1, 6, 8 and 10, and with some, like 本 and 匹, after 3 too: 一本 ippon, 三本 sanbon, 六本 roppon, 八本 happon, 十本 juppon, but 三冊 sansatsu. Age 20 has its own word: 二十歳 hatachi.
Where the counter goes
A number with its counter usually comes after the noun and its particle, right before the verb, and takes no particle of its own. To ask how many, put 何 before the counter (何人 nannin, 何本 nanbon, 何枚 nanmai), or use いくつ for things counted with つ.
- Ringo o mittsu kaimashita.I bought three apples.
- Gakusei ga futari imasu.There are two students.
- Bīru o nihon kudasai.Two bottles of beer, please.
- Kazoku wa nannin desu ka.How many people are in your family?
Cards from this guide
9 cardsEach card asks about one thing this guide teaches, and its back gives the answer with why and an example. They're reviewed with the rest of the Basic sentences cards.
よん or し: which is the usual reading of 四 (4) in most numbers, like 40 or 400?
よん (yon)
How do you say 10,000 in Japanese?
一万 (ichiman)
How do you say a million in Japanese?
百万 (hyakuman)
How do you read 三百 (300)?
さんびゃく (sanbyaku)
What's the counter for long, thin things like pens and bottles?
本 (hon)
How do you say 'one person' and 'two people'?
一人 (hitori) and 二人 (futari)
How do you say 'three' with the general counter つ?
三つ (mittsu)
Where does a number with its counter usually go in a sentence?
After the noun and its particle, right before the verb.
How do you ask how many people there are?
何人 (nannin)