Last time we covered 1 through 99. Now let's complete the picture with hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands, and even hundreds of millions. Then we'll learn いくらですか (How much?), so you can shop in Japan with confidence.
百: 100–999
百 (ひゃく) means 100. Important: Japanese does not add "one" before it — just say ひゃく, not いちひゃく.
| Number | Japanese | Reading | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 百 | ひゃく | no "one" prefix |
| 200 | 二百 | にひゃく | |
| 300 | 三百 | さんびゃく | voiced (゛) |
| 400 | 四百 | よんひゃく | |
| 500 | 五百 | ごひゃく | |
| 600 | 六百 | ろっぴゃく | semi-voiced (゜) |
| 700 | 七百 | ななひゃく | |
| 800 | 八百 | はっぴゃく | semi-voiced (゜) |
| 900 | 九百 | きゅうひゃく |
The pattern: 300 gets voiced (びゃく), while 600 and 800 get semi-voiced (ぴゃく). Memory trick: 3 gets dakuten, 6 and 8 get handakuten.
千: 1,000–9,999
千 (せん) means 1,000. Again, no "one" prefix — just say せん.
| Number | Japanese | Reading | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | 千 | せん | no "one" prefix |
| 2,000 | 二千 | にせん | |
| 3,000 | 三千 | さんぜん | voiced (゛) |
| 4,000 | 四千 | よんせん | |
| 5,000 | 五千 | ごせん | |
| 6,000 | 六千 | ろくせん | |
| 7,000 | 七千 | ななせん | |
| 8,000 | 八千 | はっせん | double consonant |
| 9,000 | 九千 | きゅうせん |
Only one sound change for thousands: 3,000 gets voiced (さんぜん). 8,000 has a double consonant (はっせん).
Combining:
- 1,200 → 千二百 (せんにひゃく)
- 3,500 → 三千五百 (さんぜんごひゃく)
- 9,200 → 九千二百 (きゅうせんにひゃく)
万 and 億
万 (まん) = 10,000. Unlike 百 and 千, 万 requires "one" — say 一万 (いちまん).
| Number | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 | 一万 | いちまん |
| 20,000 | 二万 | にまん |
| 50,000 | 五万 | ごまん |
| 100,000 | 十万 | じゅうまん |
| 1,000,000 | 百万 | ひゃくまん |
| 10,000,000 | 千万 | せんまん |
億 (おく) = 100,000,000. Also requires "one":
| Number | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 100 million | 一億 | いちおく |
| 200 million | 二億 | におく |
| 300 million | 三億 | さんおく |
One hundred million yen is roughly 700,000 USD. Japan's largest bill is 10,000 yen — so 10 million yen is just one bundle, and 100 million fits in a sports bag.
いくらですか: "How Much?"
いくら is the question word for price, used in the は〜ですか pattern:
A はいくらですか。 → How much is A?
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| このかばんはいくらですか。 | How much is this bag? |
| このカメラはいくらですか。 | How much is this camera? |
Answer with "number + 円 (えん) + です":
五百円です。 → It's 500 yen. 四千円です。 → It's 4,000 yen.
A Complete Shopping Conversation
Customer: すみません、この椅子はいくらですか。 → Excuse me, how much is this chair?
Staff: 五百円です。 → It's 500 yen.
Customer: この机はいくらですか。 → How about this desk?
Staff: 四千円です。 → It's 4,000 yen.
Customer: じゃあ、椅子と机をください。 → Then I'll take the chair and the desk, please.
Here, 〜をください means "please give me ~." と connects two nouns, meaning "and."
Currency Words
| Currency | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Yen | 円 | えん |
| Taiwan dollar | 台湾元 | たいわんげん |
| US dollar | ドル | ドル |
Japan's consumption tax is currently a mix of 8% (takeout) and 10% (dine-in). Prices are usually listed before tax. Foreign tourists can get tax-free shopping at drugstores and other qualifying shops.
Summary
- 百 (ひゃく) and 千 (せん) don't take "one"; 万 (まん) and 億 (おく) do
- Sound changes for 百: 3 voiced (びゃく), 6 and 8 semi-voiced (ぴゃく)
- Sound changes for 千: 3 voiced (ぜん), 8 double consonant (はっせん)
- Ask for prices: 〜はいくらですか → How much?
- Answer: number + 円です
- Buying: 〜をください → Please give me ~
Practice Questions
Q1. Say "3,600 yen" in Japanese.
Show Answer
三千六百円 (さんぜんろっぴゃくえん)
3,000 = さんぜん (voiced), 600 = ろっぴゃく (semi-voiced), plus 円 (えん).
Q2. What does 「このカメラはいくらですか。」 mean?
Show Answer
How much is this camera?
この (this) + カメラ (camera) は + いくら (how much) + ですか (is it?).
Q3. You want to buy a 5,000-yen bag at a department store. How do you say "Please give me this bag" in Japanese?
Show Answer
このかばんをください。
この (this) + かばん (bag) + を + ください (please give me). Add すみません at the beginning for extra politeness.