Numbers in Japanese

Japanese is one of the most difficult languages for English speakers to learn. It uses three separate alphabets and writing systems, complex differences between formal and informal language, and has almost the exact opposite sentence structure to English. Although this may be intimidating at first, slowly learning different parts of language can help break down the process and simplify your journey to fluency. A great place for many new Japanese speakers to start is learning all the numbers in Japanese, starting with Japanese numbers 1 to 10. To help you get started, we’ll cover all of the numbers 1 to 100 in Japanese, with a few tips for pronunciation and memorization along the way.

How to Say Numbers in Japanese

Since Japanese numbers are written using the Japanese alphabet, understanding their phonetics can be a little confusing for new learners. However, with some practice, you’ll quickly be able to recognize the numbers 1 – 100 in Japanese and even use them in conversations! The best way to get started is to practice your phonetics and make sure you understand the difference between hiragana, katakana, and kanji. You can review our guide on these three components of Japanese language in our article on what to know about the Japanese alphabet.

How to Write Numbers in Japanese

Luckily, once you’ve got the alphabet down, Japanese numbers become even more manageable. In this article, we’ll give examples of the numbers 1 – 100 in Japanese hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Japanese numbers can also be written in native Japanese words called yamato kotoba. Luckily, many Japanese speakers rely a lot on Arab numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) when they’re writing out numbers, making it even easier for non-native speakers. For the sake of fluency and language learning, we’ll teach you all about the authentic Japanese numbers.

Numbers from 1 to 10 in Japanese

As with many languages, learning the numbers in Japanese from 1 to 10 is a great starting point. This will give you the foundation you need to continue learning 11 and beyond. Try to solidify these numbers before moving on, as it makes constructing the Japanese numbers 1 to 100 much easier.

You might notice that there are a few Japanese numbers 1 – 10 that have multiple spellings—numbers 0, 4, 7, and 9. Either option is fairly interchangeable, however, there is some superstition surrounding the sounds shi, shichi, and ku, which respectively, can mean death, place of death, and agony. In reality, most people just use one or the other depending on how they’re using Japanese numbers in context! To practice between the two, download Tandem and match with a native speaker today.

Japanese Numbers 11 to 19

Once you have a stronger understanding of the Japanese numbers 1 – 10, moving on to 11 through 19 gets a little easier! All you need to do is write the Japanese number 10, plus the other number. For example, 15 would be written 10-5. You can see this written out in the table below.

English Number b>Japanese Number in Hiragana b>Japanese Number in Katakana b>Japanese Number in Kanji Japanese Number Phonetics

Japanese Numbers: Understanding Multiples of 10

Once you reach 20, the numbers in Japanese follow a repetitive pattern. However, each multiple of ten will be the building block for your counting, so it’s good to familiarize yourself with them before moving on. You’ll find that multiples of ten combine the number + 10. So, for example, 20 is written as two-ten. You can see this in the table below.

English Number b>Japanese Number in Hiragana b>Japanese Number in Katakana b>Japanese Number in Kanji Japanese Number Phonetics

Japanese Numbers 20 to 100

Now that you know the basic numbers in Japanese from 1 to 10 and the rules for Japanese numbers in multiples of 10, you can easily learn how to say numbers in Japanese from 1 to 100. All it takes is a strong foundation and a little practice getting used to the structure. You can find all of the Japanese numbers 20 to 99 in the table below.

English Number b>Japanese Number in Hiragana b>Japanese Number in Katakana b>Japanese Number in Kanji Japanese Number Phonetics

Once you reach the Japanese number 100, you can continue counting upwards using the same rules applied to the multiples of 10! For example, writing out 538 would be 5 + 100 + 30 + 9. In hiragana that would be ごひゃくさんじゅうきゅう. In katakana it would be ゴヒャクサンジュウキュウ. In kanji it would be 五百参拾九, all of which pronounced as gohyaku sanjuukyuu.

While the Japanese numbers can seem overwhelming and intense at first, once you understand their basic building blocks it all makes sense! To help you practice speaking like a native, download Tandem today. Tandem offers a unique language learning experience that will help you deepen your understanding and improve your Japanese numbers while learning to apply them in real conversations. All you need to do is download the app, sign up, and find a native speaker of your target language. Once you match, you’ll begin communicating through language exchange and one-on-one teaching. To join our worldwide community, sign up for Tandem today!