Numbers and how to count

03/10/2021

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Numbers in Japanese

In this lesson, you will learn how to read Japanese numbers and how to count things using basic Japanese counters.

In Japan, Arabic numerals such as 1, 2, and 3 are commonly used in daily life, so you do not need to memorize all number kanji immediately. However, learning the pronunciation is very important.

Numbers from 0 to 10

First, let’s learn the basic numbers from 0 to 10. These are the foundation for reading larger numbers in Japanese.

Arabic Numeral	Kanji	Kana	Pronunciation
0	零 / 〇	れい / ゼロ	rei / zero
1	一	いち	ichi
2	二	に	ni
3	三	さん	san
4	四	よん / し	yon / shi
5	五	ご	go
6	六	ろく	roku
7	七	なな / しち	nana / shichi
8	八	はち	hachi
9	九	きゅう / く	kyū / ku
10	十	じゅう / とお	jū / tō

Numbers from 0 to 10 in Japanese

The numbers 4, 7, and 9 have more than one reading. The reading changes depending on the word that follows.

Numbers from 11 to 99

For numbers from 11 to 99, combine the tens-place number and the ones-place number.

13 = 十三（じゅうさん）
31 = 三十一（さんじゅういち）
50 = 五十（ごじゅう）
79 = 七十九（ななじゅうきゅう）

Japanese numbers are very logical once you understand this pattern.

Large Numbers in Japanese

Japanese large numbers are grouped by units of 10,000. This is different from English, which uses thousand, million, billion, and trillion.

Arabic Numeral	Kanji	Kana	Pronunciation
100	百	ひゃく	hyaku
1,000	千	せん	sen
10,000	万	まん	man
100,000	十万	じゅうまん	jūman
1,000,000	百万	ひゃくまん	hyakuman
10,000,000	千万	せんまん	senman
100,000,000	億	おく	oku
1,000,000,000	十億	じゅうおく	jūoku
10,000,000,000	百億	ひゃくおく	hyakuoku
100,000,000,000	千億	せんおく	sen’oku
1,000,000,000,000	兆	ちょう	chō
10,000,000,000,000	十兆	じゅっちょう / じっちょう	jutchō / jitchō
100,000,000,000,000	百兆	ひゃくちょう	hyakuchō
1,000,000,000,000,000	千兆	せんちょう	senchō

Large number units in Japanese

Japanese large number units appear every 10,000: 万, 億, 兆, and so on.

How to Read Large Numbers

To read large numbers in Japanese, divide the number into groups of four digits from the right, then add units such as 万, 億, and 兆.

2,030 = 二千三十（にせんさんじゅう）
3,100 = 三千百（さんぜんひゃく）
54,321 = 五万四千三百二十一（ごまんよんせんさんびゃくにじゅういち）
567,891,234 = 五億六千七百八十九万千二百三十四（ごおくろくせんななひゃくはちじゅうきゅうまんせんにひゃくさんじゅうよん）
1,234,567,890 = 十二億三千四百五十六万七千八百九十（じゅうにおくさんぜんよんひゃくごじゅうろくまんななせんはっぴゃくきゅうじゅう）

In English, numbers are grouped by thousands. In Japanese, large numbers are often easier to understand if you group them by four digits.

Some number readings change when combined with 百, 千, or counters. For example, 300 is さんびゃく, 800 is はっぴゃく, and 3,000 is さんぜん.

There are even larger units, but beginners do not need to memorize them yet.

How to Count Things in Japanese

Japanese uses counters when counting people, animals, objects, books, machines, floors, and many other things.

For example, English usually says “three cats,” but Japanese says something closer to “cats, three-small-animal-counter.”

Basic Counters: 個 and つ

Beginners should first learn the 個-counter and the つ-counter. If you are not sure which counter to use, 個 is often understood for many physical objects, although it is not always perfectly natural.

個-counter	Pronunciation	つ-counter	Pronunciation
0個	れいこ / ゼロこ	–	–
1個	いっこ	1つ	ひとつ
2個	にこ	2つ	ふたつ
3個	さんこ	3つ	みっつ
4個	よんこ	4つ	よっつ
5個	ごこ	5つ	いつつ
6個	ろっこ	6つ	むっつ
7個	ななこ	7つ	ななつ
8個	はっこ	8つ	やっつ
9個	きゅうこ	9つ	ここのつ
10個	じゅっこ / じっこ	10	とお
11個	じゅういっこ	–	–
12個	じゅうにこ	–	–
13個	じゅうさんこ	–	–
20個	にじゅっこ / にじっこ	–	–
300個	さんびゃっこ	–	–
4,500個	よんせんごひゃっこ	–	–
67,890個	ろくまんななせんはっぴゃくきゅうじゅっこ	–	–

How to count things with 個 and つ

～個こ [counter] used for many small or general physical objects

The つ-counter is normally used only from 1 to 10. For numbers greater than 10, use another counter such as 個.

Common Japanese Counters

The table below shows common Japanese counters. Some readings change depending on the number, so pay attention to forms such as いっ, さんびゃく, ろっ, はっ, and じゅっ.

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Counter	Used For	Example	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
人にん	people	people	ひとり	ふたり	さんにん	よにん	ごにん	ろくにん	ななにん	はちにん	きゅうにん	じゅうにん
名めい	people, polite	restaurant reservations, guests	いちめい	にめい	さんめい	よんめい	ごめい	ろくめい	ななめい	はちめい	きゅうめい	じゅうめい
匹ひき	small animals	cats, mice, insects	いっぴき	にひき	さんびき	よんひき	ごひき	ろっぴき	ななひき	はっぴき	きゅうひき	じゅっぴき / じっぴき
頭とう	large animals	cows, horses, elephants	いっとう	にとう	さんとう	よんとう	ごとう	ろくとう	ななとう	はっとう	きゅうとう	じゅっとう / じっとう
羽わ	birds, rabbits	ducks, canaries, crows, rabbits	いちわ	にわ	さんわ	よんわ	ごわ	ろくわ	ななわ	はちわ	きゅうわ	じゅうわ
本ほん	long cylindrical things	pens, bottles, trees, lines	いっぽん	にほん	さんぼん	よんほん	ごほん	ろっぽん	ななほん	はっぽん	きゅうほん	じゅっぽん / じっぽん
枚まい	thin, flat things	paper, plates, coins, shirts	いちまい	にまい	さんまい	よんまい	ごまい	ろくまい	ななまい	はちまい	きゅうまい	じゅうまい
台だい	machines and vehicles	computers, cars, pianos	いちだい	にだい	さんだい	よんだい	ごだい	ろくだい	ななだい	はちだい	きゅうだい	じゅうだい
冊さつ	books and bound items	books, magazines, manga	いっさつ	にさつ	さんさつ	よんさつ	ごさつ	ろくさつ	ななさつ	はっさつ	きゅうさつ	じゅっさつ / じっさつ
棟とう	buildings	office buildings, factories	いっとう	にとう	さんとう	よんとう	ごとう	ろくとう	ななとう	はっとう	きゅうとう	じゅっとう / じっとう
階かい	floors	first floor, second floor	いっかい	にかい	さんかい	よんかい	ごかい	ろっかい	ななかい	はっかい	きゅうかい	じゅっかい / じっかい
回かい	number of times	once, twice, three times	いっかい	にかい	さんかい	よんかい	ごかい	ろっかい	ななかい	はっかい	きゅうかい	じゅっかい / じっかい
話わ	episodes or stories	episode 1, story 2	いちわ	にわ	さんわ	よんわ	ごわ	ろくわ	ななわ	はちわ	きゅうわ	じゅうわ
章しょう	chapters	chapter 1	いっしょう	にしょう	さんしょう	よんしょう	ごしょう	ろくしょう	ななしょう	はっしょう	きゅうしょう	じゅっしょう / じっしょう
セット	sets	coffee sets, meal sets	いっセット	にセット	さんセット	よんセット	ごセット	ろくセット	ななセット	はっセット	きゅうセット	じゅっセット / じっセット

Common Japanese counters

For beginners, the most useful counters are 人, 個, つ, 本, 枚, 台, 匹, and 回.

Japanese has many counters, but you do not need to memorize all of them at once. Start with the most common ones and learn the rest gradually through real examples.

Summary

Japanese numbers are logical, but pronunciation changes can make them difficult at first.

Numbers from 11 to 99 are made by combining tens and ones.
Large Japanese numbers are grouped by 10,000.
万 = 10,000
億 = 100,000,000
兆 = 1,000,000,000,000
Japanese uses counters when counting people, animals, objects, books, machines, floors, and more.

The best way to learn Japanese numbers is to practice them together with real counters, such as 1人, 2個, 3本, 4枚, and 5回.