Japanese Numbers from One to Ten Thousand, and the 万 System
Learn Japanese numbers 1 to 100, the sound changes in 300, 600 and 800, and why large numbers are grouped in tens of thousands.
Numbers are essential for prices, phone numbers and dates. Japanese numbers follow a logical system, once you learn the basics.
1 to 10
| Number | Kanji | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | いち (ichi) |
| 2 | 二 | に (ni) |
| 3 | 三 | さん (san) |
| 4 | 四 | よん (yon), し (shi) |
| 5 | 五 | ご (go) |
| 6 | 六 | ろく (roku) |
| 7 | 七 | なな (nana), しち (shichi) |
| 8 | 八 | はち (hachi) |
| 9 | 九 | きゅう (kyū), く (ku) |
| 10 | 十 | じゅう (jū) |
| 0 | 零 | ゼロ (zero), れい (rei) |
Four, seven and nine each have two readings. し sounds like "death" (死), so よん is often preferred for four.
11 to 99
Numbers are built logically by combining tens and units:
- 11 — 十一 (jū-ichi)
- 20 — 二十 (ni-jū)
- 21 — 二十一 (ni-jū-ichi)
- 35 — 三十五 (san-jū-go)
- 99 — 九十九 (kyū-jū-kyū)
Hundreds and thousands
| Number | Kanji | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 百 | ひゃく (hyaku) |
| 300 | 三百 | さんびゃく (sanbyaku) |
| 600 | 六百 | ろっぴゃく (roppyaku) |
| 800 | 八百 | はっぴゃく (happyaku) |
| 1,000 | 千 | せん (sen) |
| 3,000 | 三千 | さんぜん (sanzen) |
| 8,000 | 八千 | はっせん (hassen) |
Notice the sound changes at 300, 600 and 800, which follow regular rules.
The 万 system
Japanese groups large numbers by ten thousands, not by thousands:
| Number | Kanji | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | 一万 | いちまん (ichiman) |
| 100,000 | 十万 | じゅうまん (jūman) |
| 1,000,000 | 百万 | ひゃくまん (hyakuman) |
| 100,000,000 | 一億 | いちおく (ichioku) |
So 50,000 is 五万 (five ten-thousands). This can take practice when translating from English.
Prices
The currency is the yen, 円 (えん, en):
- 五百円 — 500 yen (gohyaku en)
- 千円 — 1,000 yen (sen en)
- 一万円 — 10,000 yen (ichiman en)
Useful phrase: いくらですか。 (Ikura desu ka?) — How much is it?
Tips
- Learn 1–10 before anything else.
- Practise prices aloud.
- Learn the 万 grouping early.
- Use the dictionary for readings.
English Japanese Dictionary
Offline English–Japanese dictionary with kanji, hiragana and katakana support
More about English Japanese Dictionary
Days, Months and Dates in Japanese
The Japanese weekdays and their elements, how months are formed from numbers, and the irregular readings used for days of the month.
Read article →Japanese Sounds: Long Vowels, Small つ and the Syllable ん
The key sound contrasts in Japanese that change meaning, from long vowels and doubled consonants to the special syllable ん and pitch accent.
Read article →Katakana in Practice: Foreign Words, Names and Look-Alikes
What katakana is used for, how the long-vowel mark and extended combinations work, and how to tell similar characters like シ and ツ apart.
Read article →Learning Hiragana Row by Row with the Gojūon Chart
A practical guide to the 46 basic hiragana, how the gojūon chart is organised, and how dakuten, small kana and the particles は, を and へ work.
Read article →