Japanese Numbers: How to Count from 1 to 10,000+
Japanese numbers are one of the most learner-friendly parts of the language. Once you know 1 through 10, the system basically builds itself. No exceptions, no irregular forms, just clean math. Here is everything you need to count confidently in Japanese.
Numbers 1 to 10
These ten numbers are the foundation of everything. Memorize these and you are already most of the way there.
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | いち | ichi | 1 |
| 二 | に | ni | 2 |
| 三 | さん | san | 3 |
| 四 | し／よん | shi / yon | 4 |
| 五 | ご | go | 5 |
| 六 | ろく | roku | 6 |
| 七 | しち／なな | shichi / nana | 7 |
| 八 | はち | hachi | 8 |
| 九 | く／きゅう | ku / kyuu | 9 |
| 十 | じゅう | juu | 10 |
Numbers 11 to 100
Once you hit 11, Japanese numbers become pure math. Eleven is literally 'ten-one,' twenty is 'two-ten,' and so on. A few key numbers to lock in the pattern:
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 十一 | じゅういち | juu-ichi | 11 (ten + one) |
| 十二 | じゅうに | juu-ni | 12 (ten + two) |
| 二十 | にじゅう | ni-juu | 20 (two + ten) |
| 三十 | さんじゅう | san-juu | 30 (three + ten) |
| 五十 | ごじゅう | go-juu | 50 (five + ten) |
| 百 | ひゃく | hyaku | 100 |
How Japanese Numbers Work
11 = juu-ichi (10 + 1)
20 = ni-juu (2 x 10)
25 = ni-juu-go (2 x 10 + 5)
99 = kyuu-juu-kyuu (9 x 10 + 9)
That's it. No special words for 'eleven' or 'twenty.' You just combine the pieces. Once you have 1 through 10 down cold, you can construct any number up to 99 without learning anything new. The same logic continues all the way up into the hundreds and thousands.
Big Numbers
Japanese has specific words for each new power of ten. The big jump to know is 万 (man) at 10,000, since Japanese groups large numbers by ten-thousands rather than thousands like English does.
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 百 | ひゃく | hyaku | 100 |
| 千 | せん | sen | 1,000 |
| 万 | まん | man | 10,000 |
| 十万 | じゅうまん | juu-man | 100,000 (ten ten-thousands) |
| 百万 | ひゃくまん | hyaku-man | 1,000,000 (hundred ten-thousands) |
| 億 | おく | oku | 100,000,000 (100 million) |
Japanese Counters
Think of it like how English says 'two sheets of paper' or 'three head of cattle.' Japanese does this for everything.
Some of the most common counters:
枚 (mai) - flat things (paper, plates, tickets, photos)
本 (hon) - long cylindrical things (pens, bottles, trees, roads)
匹 (hiki) - small animals (cats, dogs, fish)
頭 (tou) - large animals (horses, cows, elephants)
人 (nin) - people (with special forms: hitori for 1, futari for 2)
個 (ko) - small round objects (apples, eggs, candies)
冊 (satsu) - bound books and magazines
The good news: there is a generic counter (つ, tsu) you can use for 1 through 9 when you are not sure of the right one. Natives will understand you even if you grab the wrong counter. It is a real thing to learn over time, not a barrier to getting started.
Tips for Phone Numbers and Prices
For prices, you will mostly encounter 円 (en, yen). Prices in Japan tend to be larger numbers since there are no coins or bills smaller than 1 yen. A coffee might be 450円 (yon-hyaku-go-juu en). The good news is that tax and tips are simpler than in many countries, so the number you see is usually the number you pay.
A handy shortcut: if you are shopping and need to confirm a price, just point and ask いくらですか (ikura desu ka) -- how much is this? The cashier will often just show you the number on a calculator or register.
Common Questions About Japanese Numbers
Why is the number 4 considered unlucky in Japan?
Four is associated with bad luck because one of its readings, shi, sounds identical to the word for death (死, shi). You will notice that some hospitals and apartment buildings skip the fourth floor, and gifts are rarely given in sets of four. The number 9 (ku) has a similar issue because it sounds like the word for suffering (苦, ku). This is called kotodama, the belief that words carry spiritual power.
What is the difference between yon and shi, or nana and shichi?
Both are valid readings for the same number, but context matters. Shi (4) and shichi (7) can sound like words for death and, in some contexts, feel unlucky or ambiguous. Yon and nana are considered safer and clearer in most everyday situations. You will hear yon and nana more often in modern speech, on trains, in phone numbers, and in casual counting. Shi and shichi do still appear in formal contexts and set phrases.
How do you say zero in Japanese?
There are a few options. ゼロ (zero) is borrowed from English and widely used in everyday speech. まる (maru) literally means 'circle' and is common for reading phone numbers and codes digit by digit. れい (rei) is the traditional native Japanese word for zero and appears in formal or written contexts. In practice, ゼロ and まる cover most situations you will run into.
Do I need to learn kanji to understand Japanese numbers?
Not right away. Numbers in Japan are written in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3...) in most everyday contexts like price tags, menus, timetables, and signs. The kanji for numbers do appear in some contexts, especially in formal writing and traditional documents, but you can get surprisingly far without them. Learning to recognize 一 through 十, and then 百, 千, and 万, is useful and not a huge lift since they come up a lot.
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