Numbers are everywhere in Japan. The platform sign reads 一番線 (Track 1), the shop says 百円ショップ (100-yen store), the news headline announces 一億人 (100 million people) — every number is written in kanji.
This article teaches you 20 number-related kanji, from 1 all the way to 100 million, plus a handful of special quantity characters.
Core Kanji Table
Basic Numbers (1-10)
| Kanji | On'yomi | Kun'yomi | Meaning | Common Words | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | イチ (ichi) | ひと (hito)・ひとつ (hitotsu) | 1 | 一人 (ひとり, one person), 一月 (いちがつ, January) | The most fundamental number kanji |
| 二 | ニ (ni) | ふた (futa)・ふたつ (futatsu) | 2 | 二人 (ふたり, two people), 二月 (にがつ, February) | Two horizontal strokes = 2 |
| 三 | サン (san) | み (mi)・みっつ (mittsu) | 3 | 三角 (さんかく, triangle), 三月 (さんがつ, March) | Three horizontal strokes = 3 |
| 四 | シ (shi) | よ (yo)・よん (yon)・よっつ (yottsu) | 4 | 四月 (しがつ, April), 四季 (しき, four seasons) | Has two readings — see below |
| 五 | ゴ (go) | いつ (itsu)・いつつ (itsutsu) | 5 | 五月 (ごがつ, May), 五十音 (ごじゅうおん, the 50-sound chart) | The 五 in 五十音 |
| 六 | ロク (roku) | む (mu)・むっつ (muttsu) | 6 | 六月 (ろくがつ, June), 六本木 (ろっぽんぎ, Roppongi) | The 六 in Roppongi |
| 七 | シチ (shichi) | なな (nana)・ななつ (nanatsu) | 7 | 七月 (しちがつ, July), 七夕 (たなばた, Star Festival) | Also has two readings |
| 八 | ハチ (hachi) | や (ya)・やっつ (yattsu) | 8 | 八月 (はちがつ, August), 八百屋 (やおや, greengrocer) | 八百屋 = vegetable shop |
| 九 | キュウ (kyū)・ク (ku) | ここの (kokono)・ここのつ (kokonotsu) | 9 | 九月 (くがつ, September), 九州 (きゅうしゅう, Kyushu) | The 九 in Kyushu |
| 十 | ジュウ (jū) | とお (tō) | 10 | 十月 (じゅうがつ, October), 十分 (じゅうぶん, enough) | 十分 also means "sufficient" |
Large Numbers
| Kanji | On'yomi | Kun'yomi | Meaning | Common Words | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 百 | ヒャク (hyaku) | — | 100 | 百円 (ひゃくえん, 100 yen), 百貨店 (ひゃっかてん, department store) | 百円ショップ = the 100-yen store |
| 千 | セン (sen) | ち (chi) | 1,000 | 千円 (せんえん, 1000 yen), 千葉 (ちば, Chiba) | The 千 in Chiba |
| 万 | マン (man)・バン (ban) | — | 10,000 | 一万円 (いちまんえん, 10,000 yen), 万歳 (ばんざい, banzai) | Japan's key large-number unit |
| 億 | オク (oku) | — | 100 million | 一億 (いちおく, 100 million), 億万長者 (おくまんちょうじゃ, billionaire) | Japan's population is about 120 million (1.2億) |
| 零 | レイ (rei) | — | 0 | 零点 (れいてん, zero marks), 零下 (れいか, below zero) | Arabic numeral 0 is also common |
Special Quantities
| Kanji | On'yomi | Kun'yomi | Meaning | Common Words | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 半 | ハン (han) | なか (naka)・なかば (nakaba) | half | 半分 (はんぶん, half), 半年 (はんとし, half a year) | 三時半 = 3:30 |
| 双 | ソウ (sō) | ふた (futa) | pair | 双子 (ふたご, twins), 双方 (そうほう, both sides) | 双子 = twins |
| 両 | リョウ (ryō) | — | both | 両方 (りょうほう, both), 両親 (りょうしん, parents) | 両親 = both parents |
| 数 | スウ (sū) | かず (kazu)・かぞえる (kazoeru) | number, to count | 数学 (すうがく, mathematics), 数える (かぞえる, to count) | Verb form: かぞえる |
| 号 | ゴウ (gō) | — | number (label) | 番号 (ばんごう, number/ID), 一号 (いちごう, No. 1) | 番号 = number/code |
Why Four and Seven Have Two Readings
Here is something that trips up every beginner: 四 and 七 each have two commonly used readings.
| Kanji | Reading A | Reading B | Why? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 四 | し (shi) | よん (yon) | し sounds like 死 (し, death) |
| 七 | しち (shichi) | なな (nana) | しち is easily confused with 一 (いち), and it contains the し sound |
In everyday life, Japanese speakers strongly prefer よん and なな to avoid the unlucky し sound. However, the on'yomi readings are preserved in fixed compounds:
- 四月 (しがつ) — months use し
- 七月 (しちがつ) — months use しち
- 四季 (しき) — set phrases use し
- 七夕 (たなばた) — special reading
Similarly, 九's on'yomi く (ku) sounds like 苦 (く, suffering), so きゅう is often preferred in casual counting.
This superstition has real consequences: some hospitals skip room 4, and some buildings skip the 4th floor — much like how some Western buildings skip the 13th floor.
万 vs 億 — Japanese Number Grouping
Japanese groups large numbers differently from English, and this is one of the biggest stumbling blocks for English speakers:
| Value | English | Japanese |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | one thousand | 千 (せん) |
| 10,000 | ten thousand | 一万 (いちまん) |
| 100,000 | one hundred thousand | 十万 (じゅうまん) |
| 1,000,000 | one million | 百万 (ひゃくまん) |
| 100,000,000 | one hundred million | 一億 (いちおく) |
English groups digits in threes with commas (thousand, million, billion). Japanese groups them in fours (万, 億, 兆).
This means there is no single Japanese word for "million" — it is 百万 (100 ten-thousands). And "ten million" is 千万 (1,000 ten-thousands). You have to think in groups of four digits, not three.
A quick rule of thumb: Japanese numbers count in blocks of four — 万 (10K), 億 (100M), 兆 (1T).
Practice
Q1. How much is 一万円?
Show answer
10,000 yen. 万 = 10,000, so 一万 = 10,000. The 一万円 bill is the largest commonly used banknote in Japan.
Q2. Why do Japanese speakers prefer よん over し when counting?
Show answer
Because し sounds the same as 死 (し, death), which is considered unlucky. In everyday counting, よん is preferred, but し is still used in fixed compounds like 四月 (April) and 四季 (four seasons).
Q3. What does 両親 mean? What role does 両 play?
Show answer
Parents. 両 = both, expressing "both father and mother." 両親 (りょうしん).
Q4. How do you say "500,000" in Japanese?
Show answer
五十万 (ごじゅうまん). Japanese uses 万 as the base unit: 500,000 = 50 × 万 = 五十万.
Q5. What does 数える mean? How is 数 read in this word?
Show answer
To count. Here 数 is read かぞ(える), using the kun'yomi. Compare with 数学 (すうがく, mathematics) where it uses the on'yomi スウ.
Summary
- Basic numbers 1-10 each have on'yomi and kun'yomi readings, used in different contexts
- 四 (し/よん) and 七 (しち/なな) have dual readings to avoid unlucky associations with death
- Japanese groups large numbers in fours: 万 (10,000) → 億 (100,000,000), not in threes like English
- 半, 双, 両, 数, 号 are essential quantity-related kanji
- Next up: Measuring — learn kanji for weight, length, and calculation