Japanese Numbers: Count from 1-100 and beyond

As a Japanese beginner, one of the first things you’ll want to learn is about Japanese numbers. In this article, we’ll be going over the basics of how to count from 1-10, as well as counting further until 100 and beyond. Knowing the numbers is helpful to know how much things cost, understand phone numbers, and more.

Useful information about Japanese numbers

Before we dive into specific Japanese numbers, it’s good to know some general information!

Similar to Chinese system

If you’re a Chinese speaker, you’re in luck because Japanese numbers follow the same system. The way the numbers are written is exactly the same. The only difference is the way they are pronounced. 

Like in Chinese, Japanese numbers also go by groupings of 10,000. This can be quite different from how numbers are perceived by English speakers.

Japanese counter/measure words

When you’re learning numbers, you should also be aware that the Japanese language uses counter or measure words. These words must be attached to numbers when counting specific things. For example, you’d need to add a word to the number based on if you’re counting animals, books, pencils, etc… 

This can be confusing for beginners, so we’re only focusing on how to count basic numbers. Just keep in mind that you’ll eventually have to learn about the counter/measure words in the future!

How to say zero

There are two ways to say zero in Japanese. However, it’s more popular to use the English pronunciation of zero, ゼロ, in Japan.

ゼロ – zero 

零れい  – rei 

Count from 1-10 in Japanese

Here are the numbers from 1-10! As you’ll notice, the numbers for four, seven, and nine can be read in different ways. 

One – 一いち – ichi

Two – 二に – ni

Three –三さん – san

Four – 四し・よん – shi, yon

Five – 五ご – go

Six – 六ろく – roku

Seven – 七しち・なな – shichi, nana

Eight – 八はち – hachi

Nine – 九きゅう・く – kyuu, ku

Ten – 十じゅう – juu

Different number readings for Four, Seven, and Nine

Four, seven, and nine have two different readings. Japanese people will choose the one that sounds the best depending on the situation. 

Yon, nana, and kyuu are used as the name for the standalone number. For example, if you see the number four you’d say yon and not shi. The same rule would apply to the number seven and nine.

Most people will use shi and shichi when counting up from 1-10. However, when counting down from 10-1 they will usually say nana and yon. This just sounds more pleasing to the ear.  For nine, you could use either ku or kyuu when counting up and down, but kyuu is  more common.

Count from 10-100 in Japanese

Now that you’ve learned 1-10, it’s time to go further! Over 10, numbers are simply combined together.  Once you know the rules it can be easy to count higher numbers. 

For example, the number twelve would be 十二じゅうに (juu ni) a combination of ten and two. This is way easier than learning numbers in English.

Here are some new numbers you’ll need to know to create any Japanese number between 10-100.

Twenty – 二十にじゅう – Ni juu 

Thirty – 三十さんじゅう – San juu

Forty – 四十よんじゅう –  Yon juu (sometimes shi juu)

Fifty – 五十ごじゅう – Go juu 

Sixty – 六十ろくじゅう – Roku juu

Seventy – 七十ななじゅう – Nana juu

Eighty – 八十はちじゅう – Hachi juu

Ninety – 九十きゅうじゅう– Kyuu juu

One hundred – 百 ひゃく– Hyaku

With these new numbers you can form any Japanese number from 10-100. Combine the tens digit with the ones digit just like in English. For example, to make the number twenty one, it would be 二十一にじゅういち (nijuu ichi). The words for twenty 二十にじゅう (nijuu) and one 一いち (ichi) are combined together.

Now that you know how to make the Japanese numbers, here’s a quiz!

How do you say/write the following numbers: 35, 42, 15, 98, 63?

Answers:
35 – 三十五さんじゅうご – san juu go
42 – 四十二よんじゅうに – Yon juu ni
15 – 十五じゅうご – juu go
98 –九十八はちじゅうはち – kyu juu hachi
63 – 六十三ろくじゅうさん – roku juu san

Japanese numbers 100 – 10,000

It’s time to go beyond 100, if you’ve mastered counting from 1-100! When counting over 100 the rules are relatively straight forward. 

Just like counting 10-100, you simply combine numbers together. For example, 161 would be 百六十一ひゃくろくじゅういち (hyaku roku juu ichi). Notice how it is a combination of the words for one hundred 百ひゃく (hyaku), sixty 六十ろくじゅう (rokujuu) , and one 一いち (ichi). 

Zeros are always implied when combining numbers so there is no need to add them. This means that 103 would be 百三ひゃくさん (hyaku san), a combination of one hundred 百ひゃく (hyaku) and three 三さん  (san).

Here are some new numbers you’ll need to know to create any number from 100-10,000. 

200 – 二百にひゃく – ni hyaku

300 – 三百さんびゃく – san byaku

400 – 四百よんひゃく – yon hyaku

500 – 五百ごひゃく – go hyaku

600 – 六百ろっぴゃく – roppyaku

700 – 七百ななひゃく – nana hyaku

800 – 八百はっぴゃく – happyaku

900 – 九百きゅうひゃく – kyuu hyaku

1000 – 千せん – sen 

2000 – 二千にせん – ni sen

3000 – 三千さんぜん – san zen

4000 – 四千よんせん – yon sen

5000 – 五千ごせん – go sen

6000 – 六千ろくせん – roku sen

7000 – 七千ななせん – nana sen

8000 – 八千はっせん – hassen

9000 – 九千きゅうせん – kyuu sen

10,000 – 一万いちまん – ichi man

Notice how some of the pronunciations are slightly different from what you might expect. For example, san byaku instead of san hyaku. Also, you must add a one before 万まん to say 10,000. 

Now that you know these larger numbers, you can combine them again to make any number. For example, let’s try making 4,563. This would be 四千五百よんせんごひゃく六十三ろくじゅうさん, which is a combination of four thousand 四千よんせん (yonsen), five hundred 五百ごひゃく (gohyaku), sixty 六十ろくじゅう(rokujuu) , and three 三さん (san).

Here’s another quiz! 

How do you say/write the following numbers: 503, 3642, 787, 9650？

Answers:
503 – 五百三ごひゃくさん – go hyaku san
3642 – 三千六百四十二 さんぜんろっぴゃくよんじゅうに – san zen roppyaku yon juu ni
787 – 七百八十七ななひゃくはちじゅうなな – nana hyaku hachi juu nana
9650 – 九千六百五十きゅうせんろっぴゃくごじゅう– nana hyaku hachi juu nana

Japanese numbers above 10,000?!

Congratulations, you’ve mastered the numbers up to 10,000! The rules for combining numbers to create even larger numbers are the same as in previous sections. For example, 10,503 would be 一万五百三いちまんごひゃくさん (ichiman gohyaku san).

I’ll introduce a few things relating specifically to numbers over 10,000. 

Counting in 10,000’s 

In Japanese, numbers are grouped by 10,000 following the Chinese system. This can take some calculation if you’re not used to it. For example, if you want to say 100,000 you have to say that it is ten ten thousands. It would be 十万じゅうまん (juu man). Furthermore, if you want to say million, you still have to calculate in 10,000’s. This means one million is 百万ひゃくまん (hyaku man) or one hundred ten thousands.

Here are some numbers that are grouped by 10,000 so you can get an idea.

20,000 – 二万 にまん – ni man

30,000 – 三万 さんまん – san man

40,000 – 四万 よんまん – yon man

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100,000 – 十万じゅうまん – juu man

110,000 – 十一万じゅういちまん – juu ichi man

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1,000,000 –  百万ひゃくまん – hyaku man

10,000,000 – 一千万いっせんまん – issen man

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90,000,000  – 九千万きゅうせんまん – kyuu sen man

How to go even higher:

The next two number groupings are one hundred million and one trillion. You’re unlikely to use these numbers but it’s good to know!  You might hear them when someone is talking about the economy, astronomy, or history. 

One hundred million – 一億いちおく – Ichioku

One trillion – 一兆いっちょう – icchou

Using oku, you can also count in billions. One billion is 十億じゅうおく (juu oku) which is ten one hundred millions. When counting in Japanese, you might have to do some calculations since it’s different from the English speaking system.

I hope that this guide will help you learn all the numbers you need to know in Japanese! If you’re interested in other Japanese language learning blog content, be sure to check out Japanese names: What they mean and how they work! or How to say goodbye in Japanese: Beyond sayounara

~ Tanuki