Ichi Ni San And Beyond... Numerals and Counter Words In Japanese

Do you know how to count in Japanese? Fortunately for new learners, Japanese numerals follow rather simple rules. In this post, we will explore how to write and pronounce numbers and learn how to count different objects in Japanese. Japanese is a language where it uses various counter words to count different objects. You will learn what are the different counter words as well as the most versatile counter word. Let's get started.

How to Read And Write Basic Numbers

First learn the basic numbers: from 0 to 10. Japanese numbers can be written in Hiragana, Kanji and roman numerals. The table blow shows the numbers and the reading and writing in Romaji, Hiragana and Kanji.

Learn How To Say 0 to 10 In Japanese

How To Count Two Digit Numbers

What about 11 and up? Japanese number system is quite simple. After reaching 10, the number counts “10 and 1”, “10 and 2” and so on. Quite easy right? Kanji is also straight forward. It is just the combination of “10-1”, “10-2” and so on.

Learn The Bigger Numbers In Japanese

Now you know how to say basic numbers in Japanese, let’s learn how to read and write the bigger numbers like hundred and thousand.

The tricky part is that in English and Japanese, the digits are counted differently. In English, after “hundred” introduces a new measurement (million, billion, trillion…), so “hundred” forms one set whereas in Japanese, “thousand” forms one set, so after every “thousand” introduces a new measurement (man, oku, chou).

Bonus: How Japanese People Count Using A Kanji

Did you know a kanji can be used to count? Can you guess which kanji Japanese people use to count?

The answer is… 正!

正 is written with 5 straight strokes, so one completed 正 represents 5. Add stroke by stroke as you count and look at how many 正 you’ve written to get the final count at the end.

How To Count And What Are Japanese Counter Words

When counting objects in Japanese, you need to add a counter word after the number. It is something similar to when counting “a loaf of” bread, or “two cups of” tea in English. Different counter words are used to count different objects in Japanese so it is important to memorize which counter words are used for which objects.

It sounds overwhelming, but there is good news! There are some “universal” counter words you can use for almost anytime you want to count. Let’s take a look at them before diving into the depth of numerous counter words.

＿つ And ＿こ (_ tsu And _ ko)

There are two ways to count in Japanese and each uses ＿つ and ＿こ as the counter. Almost all objects can be counted this way.

As you can see, ＿つ is only used to count things from one to ten. Let’s look at some examples below.

• りんごをみっつください。 ringo wo mittsu kudasai. – Three apples, please.

• 農家の父からみかんが百個届いた。 nouka no chichi kara mikan ga hyakko todoita. – A hundred oranges were delivered by my father who’s a farmer.

• 昨日息子がむっつになりました。 kinou musuko ga muttsu ni narimashita. – My son turned six yesterday.

You can use ＿つ to count how old.

How To Count Days In Calendar

Counting days in calendar have unique forms in Japanese.

Frequently Used Counter Words

If you are interested in learning more counter words and pronunciation rules, check out my next post.

Enjoy Counting In Japanese!

Now you’ve learned the basics of numbers and counting rules in Japanese. Once you master how to read and write 1 to 10, bigger numbers are easier to come. The tricky difference between Japanese and English big numbers is that Japanese numbers introduces a new digit counter after “thousand” while English does after “hundred”. In Japanese there are two ways of counting, but one counts only to 10. Counter words are very important in Japanese language and there are a lot of variations. Start from learning the most frequently used counter words and you will be surprised you can count so many objects in Japanese. Enjoy the learning journey and don’t forget to have fun along the way.