Counting in Japanese: Numbers for Beginners

Japanese numbers can seem daunting because there are two systems — native Japanese and Sino-Japanese (borrowed from Chinese). But for most everyday situations, you will primarily use the Sino-Japanese system, which is very consistent.

The core numbers

Number	Sino-Japanese	Reading
1	一	ichi
2	二	ni
3	三	san
4	四	shi / yon
5	五	go
6	六	roku
7	七	shichi / nana
8	八	hachi
9	九	ku / kyuu
10	十	juu

Note: 4 and 7 have two readings each. Yon and nana are generally preferred to avoid superstitious associations, but both are correct.

How tens work

Japanese tens are simply the digit multiplied by juu (ten):

• 20 — ni-juu (2 × 10)
• 30 — san-juu (3 × 10)
• 55 — go-juu-go (5 × 10 + 5)
• 100 — hyaku

Numbers in between follow the same additive pattern: ni-juu-san is 23 (two tens, three).

Hundreds and thousands

• 100 — hyaku
• 200 — ni-hyaku
• 1,000 — sen
• 10,000 — man (this is a key unit — Japanese groups in 10,000s, not 1,000s)

Counters: the one thing to be aware of

Japanese uses counters — suffixes that change depending on what you are counting. For example, flat objects use -mai, long objects use -hon, and people use -nin. This can feel complex, but for general counting and telling time, the basic numbers above will serve you well from the start. Counters are worth learning gradually as you encounter specific situations.