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Japanese Numbers and CountingBasic NumbersThe simple, standard numbers from one to ten in Japanese are: 1 ichi Above these, yon is preferred for "four" and nana for "seven." (There are a few exceptions, but shi is avoided because it is also the word for "death." Due to relevant superstitions, buildings can be found without a fourth floor, room numbers with no fours, etc.) 11 juu ichi (This
is literally "ten, one.") The pattern should now be easy to see. Accordingly: 27 ni juu nana 111 hyaku juu ichi
135 hyaku san juu go 167 hyaku roku juu nana 200 ni hyaku 208 ni hyaku hachi
242 ni hyaku yon juu ni 290 ni hyaku kyuu juu 300 san byaku 350 san byaku go juu
385 san byaku hachi juu go 400 yon hyaku 423 yon hyaku ni juu
san
500 go hyaku 1,200 sen ni
hyaku
1,632 sen roppyaku san juu ni 2,000 ni sen 2,800 ni sen
happyaku
3,000 san zen 17,000 ichi man nana sen
18,570 ichi man hassen go hyaku nana juu 20,000 ni man 25,000 ni man go sen
30,000 san man 0 zero or rei Special NumbersFractions & Decimals A half is hanbun. A decimal point is called ten, so: 1.5 itten go (ichi and ten are contracted) Days of the Month The days of the month are in a group all their own. Some are similar to other numbers or counters, while some are completely unique. The final ka or nichi means "day." Please keep in mind that these are not ordinal numbers in the English sense, and cannot be used to express the order of other things in a series. Take note of each one; there are some surprises. The first day of the
month: tsuitachi
(some people use ippi) Months of the Year Sadly, the ancient Japanese names for the months are no longer used except in poems and other special literature. In daily writing and conversation the number of the month with the Japanese for month (gatsu) is used instead: January ichi gatsu Years Years are expressed in either seireki, the western reckoning, or wareki, which follows the Japanese eras of the reign of the emperors. In either reckoning, the word for "year" (nen) follows the year. Years in seireki are expressed the same as any other number; there are no special abbreviations. This year, 2008, is ni sen hachi nen; 1996 would be sen kyuu hyaku kyuu juu roku nen; 1872 is sen happyaku nana juu ni nen, and so on. In the wareki reckoning, this year is the 20th year of the present emperor, and his era has been named Heisei. In Japanese it is called Heisei ni juu nen. If you were born in 1975, you were born in the 50th year of the Showa Era, or, in Japanese, Shouwa go juu nen. For year conversions see my Handy Tables of Japanese Years. If you need to express B.C., use kigen zen before the number: 723 B.C. is kigen zen nana hyaku ni juu san nen. Room Numbers & Floor Numbers Room numbers are usually read one number at a time. Interestingly, zeroes are usually read maru, which means "circle": 310 san ichi maru The floors of a building use kai: first floor: ikkai Telephone Numbers Telephone numbers are also often read one number at a time. A very clever invention the Japanese have, however, is saying no where hyphens usually are. This makes listening to a long number easier. For example, 067-892-7813 would be read: zero roku nana no hachi kyuu ni no nana hachi ichi san. Flight Numbers Flight numbers use bin: Flight 26: ni juu roku bin Trains and buses use gou after their numbers, not bin. CountingThere is a set of what could be loosely called "ordinal numbers" which are sometimes used for counting up to ten items. Similarities will be found between these and the days of the months introduced above:1 hitotsu 2 futatsu 3 mittsu 4 yottsu 5 itsutsu 6 muttsu 7 nanatsu 8 yattsu 9 kokonotsu 10 tou These are used
mainly by small children to count things or say how old they are.
Adults will sometimes use these in short requests or replies: A: Yobi no denchi aru?
(Are there any spare batteries?)
B: Hai. Mittsu aru yo. (Yes. There are three.) However, it will
sometimes be preferable to use the correct counter
when counting things, especially in formal settings. The counter for
batteries and similar irregularly-shaped, relatively small objects is ko.
Counters are used with the basic numbers which were introduced
at
the top of this page. Here is the previous conversation made a bit more
formal: A: Yobi no denchi arimasu ka?
(Are there any spare batteries?)
B: Hai. San ko arimasu. (Yes. There are three.) There are many of these counters — many more than are mentioned on this page. These should be considered the absolutely essential ones that you need to learn and master first. The more counters you memorize and use correctly, the more literate and fluent you will sound. ko Ko was just mentioned. It is used to count things like apples, oranges, blocks, boxes, and many other things which are pretty much the same size in all dimensions. People often use ko in place of other counters. If you use ko to count bananas instead of the technically correct hon, it's no big deal, but using it to count cars or animals would really show a lack of knowledge. hon Use hon for relatively long and narrow things: pens, pencils, rulers, sticks, bottles, etc. Take note how the pronunciation changes according to the number: 1 ippon Boku wa enpitsu ni hon motte iru kara, ippon kashite ageru. (I have two pencils so I'll lend you one.) Note how the number of an item retains its counter even when the name of the item is known and omitted. Please keep in mind that this is a general guide and there will be people who use other expressions. For example, there are people who will say hachi hon instead of happon. This applies to everything on this page. hai Hai is for cups or glasses filled with a drink: ippai, ni hai, san bai: O-cha ni hai kudasai. (Two cups of tea, please.) satsu, mai, daiFor the number
of books use satsu:
issatsu,
ni satsu,
san satsu,
etc. Animals & People Small animals up to
dogs use hiki:
ippiki,
ni hiki,
san biki,
yon hiki,
go hiki Watashi no itoko wa inu san biki, neko happiki to niwatori go wa o katte imasu. (My cousin has three dogs, eight cats, and five chickens.) For people use hitori for one person, futari for two people, and then the counter nin for three or more: 3 people: san nin Futari no ane to san nin no otouto ga imasu. (I have two big sisters and three little brothers.) Telling Time For time, add ji after the hour and fun/pun after the minutes: 1:25 ichi ji ni juu go fun Four o'clock is yoji, not yonji. Also, han (meaning "half") is often used for 30 minutes: 4:30 yoji han Periods of Time Although omitted in some cases, add kan to indicate a period of time: years: ichi nen kan, ni nen kan, san nen kan, etc. Kare wa juu ni nen kan doitsu ni
sunda. (He lived in Germany for 12 years.) Times & Attempts Use kai to express the
number of times something is experienced, tried, or done: Ni kai toukyou ni ikimashita.
(I've been to Tokyo twice.)
Mou ikkai kanojo ni denwa shite miru. (I'll try calling her one more time.) Kai is also used to show frequencies: every other day: futsuka ni ikkai Bokutachi wa ni ka getsu ni ikkai bouringu o yaru. (We go bowling every two months.)
Watashi wa nen ni ni kai amerika ni iku. (I go to America twice a year.) Rankings & Placings Rankings within a group or placings for contest winners use i: first place: ichi i Numbers in Succession Use ban to show the number of something in a succession: number one (or "the
best"): ichi ban Ban is also sometimes used instead of i to show rankings. A Specific Number in a
Series To specifically point out the number of something in a series, add me: the second person: futari me Imouto wa migi kara san ban me desu. (My sister is the third one from the right.) Vague Numbers a few dogs: inu ni, san biki |