Numbers 1–10,000 (Main Guide)
Master Japanese Numbers 1–10,000 (JLPT N5)
Welcome! Mastering Japanese numbers is one of the most rewarding milestones in your language journey. Unlike English, Japanese numbers are incredibly logical. Once you learn the basic building blocks, you can construct almost any number up to 10,000 with ease.
Let’s unlock this system step-by-step.
1. The Foundation: Numbers 1–10
These ten numbers are your building blocks. Pay close attention to the numbers with multiple readings (4, 7, and 9); these are highly tested at the N5 level.
| Number | Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji | Tutor Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | いち | ichi | |
| 2 | 二 | に | ni | |
| 3 | 三 | さん | san | |
| 4 | 四 | よん / し | yon / shi | Shi is associated with death (死); yon is safer and more common. |
| 5 | 五 | ご | go | |
| 6 | 六 | ろく | roku | |
| 7 | 七 | なな / しち | nana / shichi | Nana is preferred to avoid confusion with ichi (1). |
| 8 | 八 | はち | hachi | |
| 9 | 九 | きゅう / く | kyuu / ku | Ku is associated with suffering (苦); kyuu is standard. |
| 10 | 十 | じゅう | juu |
2. Building 11 to 99: Simple Math
Japanese uses basic arithmetic to build numbers. You do not need new words like "eleven" or "twenty."
- Teens (11–19): 10 + [Single Digit]
- 11 = 十一 (juu-ichi) — lit. "ten-one"
- 14 = 十四 (juu-yon)
- Tens (20–90): [Single Digit] x 10
- 20 = 二十 (ni-juu) — lit. "two-tens"
- 70 = 七十 (nana-juu)
- Combined (21–99): [Tens] + [Single Digit]
- 45 = 四十五 (yon-juu-go) — lit. "four-tens-five"
- 99 = 九十九 (kyuu-juu-kyuu)
3. The Big Leagues: 100 to 10,000
When we cross into the hundreds and thousands, we introduce new base units: 百 (100), 千 (1,000), and 万 (10,000).
百 (ひゃく - hyaku) = 100
Be careful! Sound changes (called rendaku) occur to make pronunciation smoother. These are prime targets for N5 listening exams:
- 100: 百 (hyaku) — Note: Do NOT say "ichi-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)
千 (せん - sen) = 1,000
- 1,000: 千 (sen) — Note: Do NOT say "ichi-sen"
- 3,000: 三千 (さんぜん - sanzen)
- 8,000: 八千 (はっせん - hassen)
万 (まん - man) = 10,000
This is the ultimate N5 milestone. Unlike English, which counts in groups of three zeros (thousands), Japanese counts in groups of four zeros (myriads/ten-thousands).
- 10,000: 一万 (いちまん - ichiman) — Note: You MUST include "ichi" here!
4. Putting It All Together
To read any large Japanese number, break it down from the largest unit to the smallest.
-
3,452
- 3,000 (三千 / sanzen) + 400 (四百 / yonhyaku) + 50 (五十 / gojuu) + 2 (二 / ni)
- = 三千四百五十二 (sanzen-yonhyaku-gojuu-ni)
-
8,619
- 8,000 (八千 / hassen) + 600 (六百 / roppyaku) + 10 (十 / juu) + 9 (九 / kyuu)
- = 八千六百十九 (hassen-roppyaku-juu-kyuu)
Quick Practice Challenge
Can you translate these numbers into Japanese? (Scroll down for answers)
- 84
- 600
- 1,300
- 10,000
Answers:
- 八十四 (hachi-juu-yon)
- 六百 (roppyaku) — Watch out for the double 'p'!
- 千三百 (sen-sanbyaku) — Remember, no "ichi" before "sen", but 300 becomes "byaku".
- 一万 (ichiman) — Don't forget the "ichi"!
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