When you start learning a new language, there are a few fundamental first steps that you need to take.
This includes learning the language’s alphabet or scripts, and our topic of interest in this post — the numbers!
Your scope of learning and communication opens up hugely once you learn numbers in Japanese. Master the numbers and you can understand prices, express information such as your age, and also tell the time.
This post will go through the basic numbers in Japanese from 1-100. To keep things simple, we will focus on the number system as a simple list from 1-100.
It can get a bit complicated when you want to use numbers in other ways such as counting objects and expressing dates, so we will start with the foundations before delving into these!
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Numbers 1-10
| Numeral | Kanji (hiragana) | Romaji | English |
| 0 | 零 (ぜろ) | zero | zero |
| 1 | 一 (いち) | ichi | one |
| 2 | 二 (に) | ni | two |
| 3 | 三 (さん) | san | three |
| 4 | 四 (し / よん) | shi / yon | four |
| 5 | 五 (ご) | go | five |
| 6 | 六 (ろく) | roku | six |
| 7 | 七 (しち / なな) | shichi / nana | seven |
| 8 | 八 (はち) | hachi | eight |
| 9 | 九 (く / きゅう) | ku / kyuu | nine |
| 10 | 十 (じゅう) | juu | ten |
As you can see, most of the numbers from 1-10 in Japanese are straightforward, with the exception of numbers 4, 7 and 9 which each have two different readings.
These numbers have two variations in their pronunciation due to Japanese superstitions, spooky!
- Number 4’s pronunciation of shi is actually the same pronunciation as the Japanese word for ‘death’ (死).
- 7’s pronunciation shichi matches the Japanese term for ‘place of death’ (死地).
- 9’s pronunciation ku is the same as the word for ‘agony’ (苦).
When simply counting from 1-10, either forms of pronunciation are acceptable. However, as you will see when we move onto bigger numbers, one manner of pronunciation may be more favourable than the other depending on the compound in which it is used.
Confusing, I know, but it will become clearer the more we learn!
To note: In Japanese, numerical digits (1, 2, 3) are generally used to depict numbers. Though sometimes their kanji counterpart is used instead. Luckily, the kanji that represent numbers are quite simple so it wouldn’t take long to familiarise yourself with them.
For example:
一年間 or １年間
いちねんかん
one year (period)
Numbers 11-19
If you can memorise numbers 1-10, you will have everything you need to then form numbers 11-99!
Take a look at the table below and see if you can find the pattern in the construction of numbers 11-19.
| Numeral | Kanji (hiragana) | Romaji | English |
| 11 | 十一 (じゅういち) | juu ichi | eleven |
| 12 | 十二 (じゅうに) | juu ni | twelve |
| 13 | 十三 (じゅうさん) | juu san | thirteen |
| 14 | 十四 (じゅうし / よん) | juu shi/yon | fourteen |
| 15 | 十五 (じゅうご) | juu go | fifteen |
| 16 | 十六 (じゅうろく) | juu roku | sixteen |
| 17 | 十七 (じゅうしち / なな) | juu shichi / nana | seventeen |
| 18 | 十八 (じゅうはち) | juu hachi | eighteen |
| 19 | 十九 (じゅうく / きゅう) | juu ku / kyuu | nineteen |
Did you spot the patterns? Let’s take number 11 for example, the formula is as follows: 10 (juu) + 1 (ichi) = 11 (juu ichi). The exact same structure is used from numbers 11-19, simple!
Numbers 20-100
| Numeral | Kanji (hiragana) | Romaji | English |
| 20 | 二十 (にじゅう) | ni juu | twenty |
| 30 | 三十 (さんじゅう) | san juu | thirty |
| 40 | 四十 (よんじゅう) | yon juu | fourty |
| 50 | 五十 (ごじゅう) | go juu | fifty |
| 60 | 六十 (ろくじゅう) | roku juu | sixty |
| 70 | 七十 (ななじゅう) | nana juu | seventy |
| 80 | 八十 (はちじゅう) | hachi juu | eighty |
| 90 | 九十 (きゅうじゅう) | kyuu juu | ninety |
| 100 | 百 (ひゃく) | hyaku | one hundred |
Moving onto bigger numbers, the structure remains just as easy. For tens, it is simply the inverse formula of teens, ie. 2 (ni) + 10 (juu) = 20 (ni juu).
For the numbers like 21, simply add on the number 1 to the formula, ie. 2 (ni) + 10 (juu) + 1 (ichi) and so on and so forth.
Here are some examples showing you how to form different numbers:
- 35 = san juu go
- 41 = yon juu ichi
- 86 = hachi juu roku
Make sure to bear in mind the pronunciation of figures containing those trickier numbers 4, 7 and 9!
The exception on the table above is of course the final number, 100. In Japanese, the term for 100 is not made up by any of the formulas we talked about but rather is its own word — hyaku.
How to write numbers in Japanese
When you are writing numbers in Japanese, you can use either the Arabic numerals (i.e. 1, 2, 3… the same numerals we use in English), or kanji. Both are used in Japan.
Generally, the Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) are more common in modern Japan. In particular, they are used in strings of numbers such as phone numbers or post codes, in any tech or computing context, on tickets and receipts, and so on.
Kanji numbers (一, 二, 三) are more commonly used in traditional contexts, such as on the menus in Japanese-style restaurants or gift shops, or in traditional certificates and documents. Kanji numerals are also generally used in vertical writing, because they are easier to read.
So as a Japanese learner, it’s fine for you to just use Arabic numerals, if that’s easier for you. But if you want to be fluent in Japanese, you will need to learn to read kanji numbers too as you will definitely come across them in books or on trips to Japan!
Want to learn more practical, everyday Japanese? Our top recommended course is JapanesePod101. It’s free!
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Hannah is a half Irish/half Japanese girl living in Ireland. Her love for Japan and the Japanese language led her to studying languages and translation in university where she specialised in Japanese. She spent a year studying abroad at Rikkyo University in Tokyo. In her free time, Hannah enjoys using her sewing machine to upcycle clothes and create new pieces!