Japanese Numbers
(Note: This page covers the topic of Japanese numbers, which is different than counting people or objects. See Japanese counting for lessons on counting objects and people)
Learning Japanese Is as Easy as 1-2-3
Japanese Numbers: 0 – 10
These are the cornerstone of numbers in Japanese. Take the time to learn these and you will have an easy time picking up all the other numbers.
| Japanese | Romaji | Number |
|---|---|---|
| 零 or れい or ゼロ | zero / rei |
0 |
| 一 or いち | ichi | 1 |
| 二 or に | ni |
2 |
| 三 or さん | san |
3 |
| 四 or よん or し | yon / shi |
4 |
| 五 or ご | go |
5 |
| 六 or ろく | roku |
6 |
| 七 or なな or しち | nana / shichi |
7 |
| 八 or はち | hachi |
8 |
| 九 or きゅう or く | kyu / ku |
9 |
| 十 or じゅう | juu |
10 |
As a general rule, try to use “yon” for 4 and “nana” for 7. It is easier to recognize these as the numbers 4 and 7 when you are speaking Japanese conversationally. The terms “shi” and “shichi” can easily be confused with other words.
Japanese Numbers: 10 – 100
As you can see, things start to get easier, the higher up you go. You only need to know how to say 10, 20, 30, etc. and then just add 1-9 to that.
| Japanese | Romaji | Number |
|---|---|---|
| 十 or じゅう | juu |
10 |
| 十一 or じゅういち | juuichi | 11 |
| 十二 or じゅうに | juuni |
12 |
| 十三 or じゅうさん | juusan |
13 |
| 十四 or じゅうし | juushi |
14 |
| 十五 or じゅうご | juugo |
15 |
| 十六 or じゅうろく | juuroku |
16 |
| 十七 or じゅうしち | juushichi |
17 |
| 十八 or じゅうはち | juuhachi |
18 |
| 十九 or じゅうきゅう |
juukyu |
19 |
| 二十 or にじゅう | nijuu |
20 |
| 二十一 or にじゅういち | nijuuichi | 21 |
| 二十二 or にじゅうに | nijuuni | 22 |
| 二十三 or にじゅうさん | nijuusan | 23 |
| etc. |
||
| 三十 or さんじゅう | sanjuu |
30 |
| 三十一 or さんじゅういち | sanjuuichi |
31 |
| 三十二 or さんじゅうに | sanjuuni |
32 |
| 三十三 or さんじゅうさん | sanjuusan |
33 |
| etc. |
||
| 四十 or よんじゅう | yonjuu |
40 |
| 五十 or ごじゅう | gojuu |
50 |
| 六十 or ろくじゅう | rokujuu |
60 |
| 七十 or ななじゅう | nanajuu |
70 |
| 八十 or はちじゅう | hachijuu |
80 |
| 九十 or きゅうじゅう | kyujuu |
90 |
| 百 or ひゃく | hyaku |
100 |
Japanese Numbers: 100 – 1000
When you get into the hundreds, things are still very straight forward.
| Japanese | Romaji | Number |
|---|---|---|
| 百 or ひゃく | hyaku | 100 |
| 一百五十 or ひゃくごじゅう | hyakugojuu | 150 |
| 二百 or にひゃく | nihyaku |
200 |
| 三百 or さんびゃく | sanbyaku |
300 |
| 四百 or よんひゃく |
yonhyaku |
400 |
| 五百 or ごひゃく | gohyaku |
500 |
| 六百 or ろっぴゃく | roppyaku |
600 |
| 七百 or ななひゃく | nanahyaku |
700 |
| 八百 or はっぴゃく | happyaku |
800 |
| 九百 or きゅうひゃく | kyuhyaku |
900 |
| 千 or せん | sen |
1,000 |
Japanese Numbers: 1000 – 1,000,000
After knowing all these numbers, you should never be at a loss for how to say any number again.
| Japanese | Romaji | Number |
|---|---|---|
| 千 or せん | sen |
1000 |
| 万 or まん | man |
10,000 |
| 十万 or じゅうまん | juuman |
100,000 |
| 百万 or ひゃくまん | hyakuman |
1,000,000 |
Japanese numbers are not difficult to learn, however in Japanese, these numbers are not used the same way that we use them in English. The numbers on this page are merely numbers, not for counting objects You could say “ni hanbaga” (two hamburgers) and probably most Japanese people would understand what you’re trying to say, but that is not correct Japanese. Continue reading the page on Japanese counting to learn the proper way.