How to Count in Japanese

Counting in Japanese is highly logical, but it introduces a few unique concepts for English speakers. The numbers 1 to 10 are the absolute foundation of the Japanese counting system. Once you know these, counting up to 99 is incredibly simple (for example, 11 is just "ten-one" or juu-ichi).

Japanese uses Kanji characters for numbers, which were originally adopted from Chinese. While Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) are widely used in modern Japan, especially in horizontal writing and prices, Kanji (一, 二, 三) are still heavily used in vertical writing, traditional settings, and formal documents.

It is important to note that Japanese has specific "counters" (counters are suffixes attached to numbers) depending on the shape or type of object you are counting. However, the basic numbers listed here are used for counting up, doing math, and forming the base of those counters.

Pronunciation Tips

Japanese pronunciation is generally straightforward, with pure vowel sounds. However, some numbers have multiple readings due to historical superstitions:

• Four (四): Can be read as shi or yon. Because shi sounds exactly like the Japanese word for "death", yon is frequently used in daily life to avoid bad luck.
• Seven (七): Can be read as shichi or nana. Nana is often preferred because shichi sounds similar to shi (death) and ichi (one).
• Nine (九): Can be read as kyuu or ku. Ku is sometimes avoided because it sounds like the word for "suffering" or "agony".
• Vowel Length: Pay attention to double vowels. In kyuu (9) and juu (10), the 'u' sound is held twice as long as a single 'u'.
• Roku (6): The Japanese 'r' is a flap sound, somewhere between an English 'r', 'l', and 'd'.