Learning to count in Japanese or in any other language is one of
the most important things to learn in a practical perspective. It
allows the speaker to order quantities such as at a restaurant, aid
with directions, counting money, among many other things.
When learning how to count in Japanese you will be able to remember
the order of the numbers with relative ease, but being familiar
enough to say 5 is “go”, on the spot or reverse the order will take
time with plenty of practice.The Japanese number system came to be
over 1,300-years ago when Chinese words were more prevalent within
Japanese and as such when the introduction of the number system was
implemented.
There are two-types of readings in Japanese, onyomi(音読み) and
kunyomi(訓読み) where kunyomi is native from Japan and onyomi comes
from old Chinese. Although there is a rich history behind the
number system, requires its own historical editorial, please leave
a comment if you would like us to expedite such editorial.
The following are different numbers have detailed description such
as Japanese beliefs, and learning aids. Please be sure to read
through this if you are unfamiliar with the different usage of
onyomi and kunyomi numbers, or the meaning behind numbers as number
meanings are important in Japan.
| ENGLISH |
ROMAJI |
JAPANESE |
DESCRIPTION |
| Zero |
Zero / Rei |
零 or 〇 / 例 |
There are two different ways to say zero in Japanese but only
one of them can be used when counting. The first way is Zero, which
is the exact same meaning as in the English word Zero. It may be
used when counting.
The second term for Zero is Rei. Rei has many usages for it from
saluting to using it in the number system. Rei is also associated
spiritually because the word itself represents spiritual wisdom in
traditional beliefs. Rei is often viewed as not an exact number but
something neutral, or that of which doesn’t exist. |
| One |
Ichi / Ich |
一 |
Ichi represents the number one, and can also be pronounced as
ich for short. |
| Two |
Ni |
二 |
In Japan, the superstitions of numbers are very common and in
this instance, “ni” is believed to be associated with something
that is easy. |
| Three |
San |
三 |
San represents the number three; it is believed to be a lucky
number amongst Japanese folklore mainly because it comes before the
number four which also means death. Seeing things such as “three’s
a pair” is common in Japan. However there are some who believe that
the number three is unlucky because in China, the number three is
unlucky. As mentioned earlier, superstitions and folklore are
fairly big in Japan and knowing about them is advisable. |
| Four |
Shi / Yon |
四 |
Shi is the number four and represents an important number in
Japanese. It is commonly believed that it is considered an unlucky
number because ‘Shi’ has the same pronunciation as death. The
reason why this is important to know is because many apartments,
airline seats, and hotels often skip the number 4 (along with 9 and
13 as we will discuss later). Because of this superstition, a lot
of gifts are given as sets of three or five but will rarely be
given as a set of four. If you have a negative experience shopping
for a set of four in Japan, this is the very reason why.
Alternatively the number four can be expressed with Yon. Yon means
the same thing as four except they are both used in different
scenarios and to answer the age old question “When do you use yon
or shi to count in Japanese?” the answer is here.
Shi is onyomi (音読み) while Yon is the kunyomi (訓読み) reading. When
counting, even for months, you should use the onyomi reading. But
if you are numbering such as saying there are x amount of y, then
you should use the kunyomi reading
But there are many debates that surround this topic, some argue
that you must use the kunyomi reading after 10, meaning 14 is
ju-yon while others argue that it must be used once you pass 40
(while counting). There is no absolute rule to this, at least with
numbers under 100. In some regions, the onyomi reading is preferred
over kunyomi but in Tokyo, kunyomi is preferred.
From 1 to 10 use onyomi, but beyond it always use kunyomi. |
| Five |
Go |
五 |
Go represents the number five and has no major associations to
Japanese mythology |
| Six |
Roku |
六 |
Roku is the number six. |
| Seven |
Shichi / Nana |
七 |
Sichi is the onyomi reading and nana is the kunyomi reading.
Please refer back to number 4 for details on how to use them. |
| Eight |
Hachi |
八 |
Hachi represents the number eight. |
| Nine |
Ku / Kyuu |
九 |
When nine is pronounced as ku, it can also mean suffering and
just as before, many places ignore the number 9 or refuse to use
the onyomi reading if they are tetraphobic (fear of numbers
relating to superstition). Ku is thought to be cursed with bad
fortune because it has the same pronunciation as torture or
agony. |
Now that we have spent time learning the theory behind the Japanese
numbers 0 to 9, it is time to memorize them. In this section you
will be presented with a chart to create your own flash cards, a
printable version, and a random number generator to improve your
learning skills.
You may wish to first practice the numbers from zero to nine in
order, and then in descending order. Once completed, it is
recommended that you practice using shuffled flash cards, number
generators and even doing math while counting in Japanese.
| ENGLISH |
ROMAJI |
JAPANESE |
| Null |
Rei |
例 |
| 0 |
Zero |
零 or 〇 |
| 1 |
Ichi / Ich |
一 |
| 2 |
Ni |
二 |
| 3 |
San |
三 |
| 4 |
Shi / Yon |
四 |
| 5 |
Go |
五 |
| 6 |
Roku |
六 |
| 7 |
Shichi / Nana |
七 |
| 8 |
Hachi |
八 |
| 9 |
Ku / Kyuu |
九 |
There are many ways to practice counting and as mentioned before,
numbers are tricky because in your mind you can have them easily
memorized but in practice it is entirely different. What you will
need to do is count up from 0 to 9 over and over again. Then when
you feel confident, randomize the order with flashcards.
Once you feel confident with that method, reverse the order from 9
to 0, you may do this at any point in time. We have found that this
method is the most effective to learning how to count.Be sure to
count as much as you can but unless you completely replace the
counting language in your mind, you will be translating from your
native tongue to Japanese and vice versa for a very long time as
this is the nature on how we work.
Don’t worry though; you will see just how quickly learning these
new numbers can be once you try.
The printable flashcards are given at the end of the article in
resources. Alternatively, you may use
this link (PDF) to access them.
The random number generator can be found in the JPLearn! Course.
You can gain access to it
here which contains a more comprehensive lesson and practice
mateiral.
As you may have noticed, learning your first numbers was not a
necessarily difficult task and all it really took was a little bit
of practice. To count to a trillion will take just about the same
amount of time as it has taken you to count from zero to nine.
Once you have completed all counting lessons, we recommend that you
learn about number counters to learn how to tell the time, day of
the year, describing an object and so forth. Good luck on your
journey!
To learn numbers 10 to 99 you may read:
How to count in Japanese numbers 10 to 99.To learn numbers 100
to trillion / quadrillion you may read:
How to count in Japanese numbers 100 to Trillion / Quadrillion.
