Meaning
Japanese numbers 0-10 form the foundation for counting. The numbers 4, 7, and 9 have two different pronunciations: よん/し, なな/しち, and きゅう/く respectively. When counting with counters (suffixes that follow numbers), use よん, なな, and きゅう. However, certain special words use し, しち, and く instead. Numbers up to 100 are formed by combining 0-10, with notable exceptions like 4 o'clock being よじ instead of よんじ.
Formation
| Part of speech | Formation |
|---|
Examples
-
れい（0）、いち（1）、に（2）、さん（3）、よん／し（4）、ご（5）、ろく（6）、なな／しち（7）、はち（8）、きゅう／く（9）、じゅう（10）
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 - Basic number counting from zero to ten -
よんかい
Fourth floor / fourth story -
ななかい
Seventh floor / seventh story -
きゅうかい
Ninth floor / ninth story -
よんさい
Four years old -
しがつ
April (month four) -
しちがつ
July (month seven) -
くがつ
September (month nine) -
しちじ
Seven o'clock
Summary
- Numbers 4, 7, and 9 have two readings: よん/し, なな/しち, きゅう/く
- Use よん, なな, きゅう with counters (よんかい, ななかい, きゅうかい)
- Use し, しち, く in time and month expressions (しがつ, しちがつ, くがつ)