Numbers up to a million, the readings of 4, 7 and 9, the sound changes of 300 and 8000, 万 and prices in 円. From 20, tens, じゅう and units make one word: にじゅうさん、ごじゅうろく
Summary
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| Point | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–10 | one word each; 4, 7, 9 are よん, なな, きゅう | よん / なな / きゅう | 4 / 7 / 9 | |
| 11–99 | number + じゅう + number | じゅうご / にじゅうさん | 15 / 23 | |
| Phone numbers | digit by digit; の for the hyphen | いちにさんよんのごろくななはち | 1234-5678 | |
| 100–900 | ひゃく; びゃく after 3; ぴゃく after 6 and 8 | さんびゃく / ろっぴゃく / はっぴゃく | 300 / 600 / 800 | |
| 1000–9000 | せん; ぜん after 3; 8000 is はっせん | せん / さんぜん / はっせん | 1000 / 3000 / 8000 | |
| Kanji | 一 二 三 … 十 百 千 | 二十三 / 三百 | 23 / 300 | |
| Yen | number + 円 | 三百円です。 | It is 300 yen. | |
| 10 000+ | 万 is 10 000, and 一 stays before it | 一万 / 十万 / 百万 | 10 000 / 100 000 / 1 000 000 | |
| Trap | 100 takes no いち before it | ひゃく | 100 | |
| Trap | 10 000 is one 万, never ten 千 | 一万 | 10 000 |
0 to 10
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| Number | Word | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | ゼロ / れい | |
| 1 | いち | |
| 2 | に | |
| 3 | さん | |
| 4 | よん / し | |
| 5 | ご | |
| 6 | ろく | |
| 7 | なな / しち | |
| 8 | はち | |
| 9 | きゅう / く | |
| 10 | じゅう |
- Four, seven and nine have two readings each; when counting, say よん, なな and きゅう. よん / なな / きゅう4 / 7 / 9
- し, しち and く live on in fixed words: see Days, Months and Dates and Telling the Time.
- 0 has two words: ゼロ in daily speech and れい in maths and temperatures.
- Everyday writing uses digits (1, 2, 3); kanji numerals appear later in this topic.
- Counting things and people takes a counter after the number: see Counters.
11 to 99
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A0.
| Number | Word | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | にじゅう | |
| 30 | さんじゅう | |
| 40 | よんじゅう | |
| 50 | ごじゅう | |
| 60 | ろくじゅう | |
| 70 | ななじゅう | |
| 80 | はちじゅう | |
| 90 | きゅうじゅう |
| Numbers | Rule | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11–19 | じゅう + number | じゅういち / じゅうご / じゅうきゅう | 11 / 15 / 19 | |
| 21–99 | number + じゅう + number | にじゅういち / ごじゅうろく / きゅうじゅうきゅう | 21 / 56 / 99 | |
| 4, 7, 9 | よん, なな and きゅう stay the same inside bigger numbers | じゅうよん / ななじゅう / きゅうじゅう | 14 / 70 / 90 |
Phone numbers
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| Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Each digit is read on its own, one after the other | いちにさんよんごろくなな | 1234567 | |
| The hyphen between groups is said の | ゼロきゅうゼロのいちにさんよんのごろくななはち | 090-1234-5678 | |
| に and ご are often lengthened to にー and ごー | いちにーさんごー | 1235 | |
| Asking for a phone number | でんわばんごうはなんばんですか。 — ゼロきゅうゼロのいちにさんよんのごーろくななはちです。 | What is your phone number? — It is 090-1234-5678. |
Hundreds and thousands
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A1.
| Number | Word | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | ひゃく | |
| 200 | にひゃく | |
| 300 | さんびゃく | |
| 400 | よんひゃく | |
| 500 | ごひゃく | |
| 600 | ろっぴゃく | |
| 700 | ななひゃく | |
| 800 | はっぴゃく | |
| 900 | きゅうひゃく |
- 100 is ひゃく on its own, with no いち before it. ひゃく / ひゃくごじゅう100 / 150
- After 3, ひゃく is びゃく; after 6 and 8 it is ぴゃく, with a small っ before it. さんびゃく / ろっぴゃく / はっぴゃく300 / 600 / 800
| Number | Word | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 1000 | せん | |
| 2000 | にせん | |
| 3000 | さんぜん | |
| 4000 | よんせん | |
| 5000 | ごせん | |
| 6000 | ろくせん | |
| 7000 | ななせん | |
| 8000 | はっせん | |
| 9000 | きゅうせん |
- After 3, せん is ぜん; after 8 the number ends in a small っ: はっせん. さんぜん / はっせん3000 / 8000
- A longer number joins its parts in one word, the largest first. ごひゃくろくじゅう / せんにひゃくさんじゅうよん560 / 1234
Numbers in kanji
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| Number | Kanji | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | |
| 2 | 二 | |
| 3 | 三 | |
| 4 | 四 | |
| 5 | 五 | |
| 6 | 六 | |
| 7 | 七 | |
| 8 | 八 | |
| 9 | 九 | |
| 10 | 十 | |
| 100 | 百 | |
| 1000 | 千 |
- Kanji numbers write the same words in the same order: 二十三 is 23. 三百 / 八千300 / 8000
- 百 and 千 open a number alone, with no 一 before them. 百五十 / 千150 / 1000
Yen and prices
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| Use | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asking the price | これはいくらですか。 — 三百円です。 | How much is this? — It is 300 yen. | |
| Giving a price: the number, then 円 | 千円です。 / 五百円です。 | It is 1000 yen. / It is 500 yen. | |
| Prices from 10 000 yen | 一万五千円です。 | It is 15 000 yen. |
- Before 円, 4 is read よ: 四円 is 4 yen. 四円4
Ten thousand and above
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A2.
| Number | Kanji | Level |
|---|---|---|
| 10 000 | 一万 | |
| 20 000 | 二万 | |
| 100 000 | 十万 | |
| 1 000 000 | 百万 |
- 万 is 10 000: larger numbers count in groups of four digits, not three. 十万 / 百万100 000 / 1 000 000
- 万 always takes a digit before it, even one: 一万. 一万 / 三万10 000 / 30 000
- Read the part before 万 first, then the rest: 35 000 is 三万五千. 十二万 / 四万五千120 000 / 45 000
Typical errors
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| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| せんにひゃくさんじゅうよん | いちにさんよん | a phone number is read digit by digit, not as one number | |
| いちひゃくえん | ひゃくえん | 100 takes no いち before it | |
| さんひゃくえん | さんびゃくえん | after 3, ひゃく becomes びゃく | |
| ろくひゃくえん | ろっぴゃくえん | after 6 and 8, ひゃく becomes ぴゃく, with a small っ before it | |
| さんせんえん | さんぜんえん | after 3, せん becomes ぜん | |
| 万円 | 一万円 | 万 always takes a digit before it, even one | |
| 十千円 | 一万円 | 10 000 is one 万, never ten 千 |
Start over
HiraganaThe 46 basic hiragana, one sound each, set out in a table of five vowels and ten rows.Start over
HiraganaThe 46 basic hiragana, one sound each, set out in a table of five vowels and ten rows.