The first time I tried to pay for something at a Japanese numbers market in Nakameguro（中目黒）, the vendor said「三千五百円です」and I stood there for a full five seconds doing mental arithmetic while a queue formed behind me. I had studied Japanese numbers before moving — I thought. Turns out knowing them on paper and processing them in real conversation are two completely different skills. ¥3,500 had never felt so complicated. 😅
Whether you’re reading price tags, catching train fare announcements, or trying to understand how much your restaurant bill is — Japanese numbers are one of the first practical skills you genuinely need in Japan. This guide covers everything: counting systems, money, dates, phone numbers, floor numbers, and the reading traps that catch everyone out. 🔢
🗺️ Quick Navigation
- Basic Japanese Numbers 1–100
- Large Numbers: Hundreds, Thousands & Beyond
- Japanese Counting Systems
- Reading Prices & Money in Japan
- Dates, Days & Time
- Floor Numbers & Addresses
- Phone Numbers
- Reading Traps That Catch Everyone
- Real-Life Practice: Signs & Menus
- FAQ
🔢 Basic Japanese Numbers 1–100
Japanese has two number systems — a native Japanese system（和語数詞 / wago sūshi）and a Sino-Japanese system（漢語数詞 / kango sūshi）borrowed from Chinese. You’ll use both, depending on context. The Sino-Japanese system is used far more commonly for counting most things, prices, dates, and large numbers. Start here. 🎯
📌 Numbers 1–10: The Foundation
| Number | Kanji | Sino-Japanese | Native Japanese |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | ichi（いち） | hitotsu（ひとつ） |
| 2 | 二 | ni（に） | futatsu（ふたつ） |
| 3 | 三 | san（さん） | mittsu（みっつ） |
| 4 | 四 | shi / yon（し・よん） | yottsu（よっつ） |
| 5 | 五 | go（ご） | itsutsu（いつつ） |
| 6 | 六 | roku（ろく） | muttsu（むっつ） |
| 7 | 七 | shichi / nana（しち・なな） | nanatsu（ななつ） |
| 8 | 八 | hachi（はち） | yattsu（やっつ） |
| 9 | 九 | ku / kyū（く・きゅう） | kokonotsu（ここのつ） |
| 10 | 十 | jū（じゅう） | tō（とお） |
⚠️ The 4 and 7 and 9 problem: These numbers have two readings each. 4 is read as し (shi) or よん (yon) — shi sounds like the word for death（死）so yon is preferred in many contexts. 7 is shichi or nana — shichi can sound like ichi (1) so nana is often preferred. 9 is ku or kyū — ku sounds like the word for suffering（苦）so kyū is sometimes preferred. In practice, you’ll hear both — just know both exist. 😌
📌 Numbers 11–99: The Pattern
Once you know 1–10, everything else follows a logical pattern. Japanese numbers are built by combining — no new words needed until you hit 100. 🧩
| Number | Japanese | Logic |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | jūichi（じゅういち） | 10 + 1 |
| 15 | jūgo（じゅうご） | 10 + 5 |
| 20 | nijū（にじゅう） | 2 × 10 |
| 25 | nijūgo（にじゅうご） | 2 × 10 + 5 |
| 43 | yonjūsan（よんじゅうさん） | 4 × 10 + 3 |
| 99 | kyūjūkyū（きゅうじゅうきゅう） | 9 × 10 + 9 |
💰 Large Numbers: Hundreds, Thousands & Beyond
This is where Japanese numbers diverge significantly from English — and where price reading gets tricky. Japanese groups numbers differently: while English uses thousands (1,000 / 1,000,000), Japanese uses a unit called man（万） for 10,000. This single difference causes endless confusion at shop counters. 🤯
| Number | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 百（ひゃく） | hyaku |
| 200 | 二百（にひゃく） | nihyaku |
| 300 | 三百（さんびゃく） | sanbyaku ⚠️ changes! |
| 600 | 六百（ろっぴゃく） | roppyaku ⚠️ changes! |
| 800 | 八百（はっぴゃく） | happyaku ⚠️ changes! |
| 1,000 | 千（せん） | sen |
| 3,000 | 三千（さんぜん） | sanzen ⚠️ changes! |
| 8,000 | 八千（はっせん） | hassen ⚠️ changes! |
| 10,000 | 一万（いちまん） | ichiman — KEY number! |
| 100,000 | 十万（じゅうまん） | jūman (10 × man) |
| 1,000,000 | 百万（ひゃくまん） | hyakuman (100 × man) |
| 100,000,000 | 一億（いちおく） | ichioku |
💡 The Man（万）mindset shift: In Japan, you need to think in units of 10,000 rather than 1,000. A ¥50,000 item is ごまん円（go man en） — “5 man yen” — not “50 thousand yen.” When Go first started apartment hunting and heard「じゅうごまん円」(jūgo man en = ¥150,000) for monthly rent, he converted it wrong and thought it was ¥15,000. The landlord was not amused. 😅
⚠️ Sound Changes to Watch Out For
Some numbers change their pronunciation when combined — this is called rendaku（連濁）or consonant mutation. These trip up everyone at first. The most common ones to memorize:
- 三百（さんびゃく / sanbyaku）— not sanhyaku
- 六百（ろっぴゃく / roppyaku）— not rokuhyaku
- 八百（はっぴゃく / happyaku）— not hachihyaku
- 三千（さんぜん / sanzen）— not sanzen… wait, this one is sanzen ✅
- 八千（はっせん / hassen）— not hachisen
📦 Japanese Counting Systems: Counters（助数詞）
Here’s where Japanese numbers become genuinely fascinating — and genuinely difficult. In Japanese, when you count things, you add a counter word（助数詞 / josūshi） that depends on what you’re counting. Flat things get a different counter than long things. Small animals get a different counter than large animals. People get a different counter than objects. 😮
The good news: you don’t need all of them to function in daily Japan. Here are the essential counters you’ll actually use:
| Counter | Japanese | Used For | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 〜個（こ） | ko | Small objects, items generally | りんご三個（san ko / 3 apples） |
| 〜本（ほん） | hon / pon / bon | Long, thin things (bottles, pens, trains) | ビール二本（ni hon / 2 beers） |
| 〜枚（まい） | mai | Flat things (paper, tickets, slices) | チケット一枚（ichi mai / 1 ticket） |
| 〜冊（さつ） | satsu | Books, magazines | 本三冊（san satsu / 3 books） |
| 〜杯（はい） | hai / pai / bai | Cups, glasses, bowls | コーヒー一杯（ippai / 1 coffee） |
| 〜人（にん） | nin / hitori / futari | People | 二人（futari / 2 people） |
| 〜台（だい） | dai | Machines, vehicles | 車一台（ichi dai / 1 car） |
| 〜匹（ひき） | hiki / piki / biki | Small animals (cats, dogs, fish) | 猫二匹（ni hiki / 2 cats） |
🐱 Yuki and Ruka are counted as 二匹（ni hiki） — using the small animal counter. They find this mildly offensive and believe they deserve their own counting system. We agree, but Japanese grammar does not. 🐈
💡 When in doubt: Use the generic counter〜つ (native Japanese: hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu…) for objects up to 10 when you don’t know the right counter. It works for most common situations and people will understand you completely. No need to panic if you don’t know the perfect counter. 👍
💴 Reading Prices & Money in Japan
Money in Japan is always in yen（円 / en）with no decimal system — ¥350 is just “san hyaku go juu en.” No cents, no pence, no confusing fractions. This actually makes mental math simpler once you get the hang of man（万）units. 🪙
💴 Common Price Readings
| Price | Japanese Reading | Kanji |
|---|---|---|
| ¥100 | hyaku en（ひゃくえん） | 百円 |
| ¥350 | sanbyaku gojū en（さんびゃくごじゅうえん） | 三百五十円 |
| ¥1,000 | sen en（せんえん） | 千円 |
| ¥1,500 | sen gohyaku en（せんごひゃくえん） | 千五百円 |
| ¥3,800 | sanzen happyaku en（さんぜんはっぴゃくえん） | 三千八百円 |
| ¥10,000 | ichiman en（いちまんえん） | 一万円 |
| ¥15,000 | ichiman gosen en（いちまんごせんえん） | 一万五千円 |
| ¥98,000 | kyūjūhachiman en（きゅうじゅうはちまんえん） | 九十八万円 |
🏷️ Reading Price Tags in Japan
Japanese price tags usually show the number clearly — but knowing what the kanji mean helps:
- 💴 円（えん / en） = Yen — the currency unit
- 🏷️ 税込（ぜいこみ / zeikomi） = Tax included — price shown includes 10% consumption tax
- 🏷️ 税抜（ぜいぬき / zeinuki） = Tax excluded — 10% will be added at checkout
- 🔖 割引（わりびき / waribiki） = Discount
- 🔖 〇〇割引（わりびき） = 〇〇% off (e.g. 三割引 = 30% off)
- 🆓 無料（むりょう / muryō） = Free
⚠️ Tax trap: Japan’s consumption tax（消費税 / shōhizei）is 10% (8% for food). Many stores show prices without tax — meaning your ¥1,000 item becomes ¥1,100 at the register. Always check whether the displayed price is 税込（zeikomi）or 税抜（zeinuki）. I’ve been caught by this more times than I’d like to admit at 業務スーパー（Gyomu Super）. 😅
📅 Dates, Days & Time in Japanese
📅 Days of the Week
| Day | Japanese | Reading | Meaning of kanji |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 月曜日（げつようび） | Getsuyōbi | Moon day |
| Tuesday | 火曜日（かようび） | Kayōbi | Fire day |
| Wednesday | 水曜日（すいようび） | Suiyōbi | Water day |
| Thursday | 木曜日（もくようび） | Mokuyōbi | Wood day |
| Friday | 金曜日（きんようび） | Kin’yōbi | Metal/Gold day |
| Saturday | 土曜日（どようび） | Doyōbi | Earth day |
| Sunday | 日曜日（にちようび） | Nichiyōbi | Sun day |
📅 Months
Japanese months are beautifully simple — just the number + 月（がつ / gatsu）. No separate names to memorize. 🎉
| Month | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| January | 一月 | Ichigatsu（いちがつ） |
| February | 二月 | Nigatsu（にがつ） |
| March | 三月 | Sangatsu（さんがつ） |
| April | 四月 | Shigatsu（しがつ） |
| May | 五月 | Gogatsu（ごがつ） |
| June | 六月 | Rokugatsu（ろくがつ） |
| July | 七月 | Shichigatsu（しちがつ） |
| August | 八月 | Hachigatsu（はちがつ） |
| September | 九月 | Kugatsu（くがつ） |
| October | 十月 | Jūgatsu（じゅうがつ） |
| November | 十一月 | Jūichigatsu（じゅういちがつ） |
| December | 十二月 | Jūnigatsu（じゅうにがつ） |
📅 Days of the Month
Days of the month are mostly number + 日（にち / nichi）— but the first ten days have irregular readings. These are the ones worth memorizing:
| Date | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 一日 | tsuitachi（ついたち）⚠️ irregular |
| 2nd | 二日 | futsuka（ふつか）⚠️ irregular |
| 3rd | 三日 | mikka（みっか）⚠️ irregular |
| 4th | 四日 | yokka（よっか）⚠️ irregular |
| 10th | 十日 | tōka（とおか）⚠️ irregular |
| 14th | 十四日 | jūyokka（じゅうよっか）⚠️ irregular |
| 20th | 二十日 | hatsuka（はつか）⚠️ irregular |
| 24th | 二十四日 | nijūyokka（にじゅうよっか）⚠️ irregular |
| Others (5th–31st) | 〇日 | number + nichi（にち） |
🕐 Telling Time
| Expression | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 〇 o’clock | 〇時（じ） | 〇 ji |
| 〇 minutes | 〇分（ふん・ぷん） | 〇 fun / pun |
| Half past | 〇時半（じはん） | 〇 ji han |
| AM | 午前（ごぜん） | gozen |
| PM | 午後（ごご） | gogo |
Example: 3:30 PM = 午後三時半（gogo san ji han）🕒
🏢 Floor Numbers & Addresses
Floor numbers in Japan use〜階（かい / kai）as the counter. Simple enough — until you hit certain numbers where the pronunciation changes. 🏗️
| Floor | Japanese | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1F | 一階（いっかい） | ikkai ⚠️ not ichikaI |
| 2F | 二階（にかい） | nikai |
| 3F | 三階（さんかい） | sankai |
| 4F | 四階（よんかい） | yonkai |
| 6F | 六階（ろっかい） | rokkai ⚠️ not rokukai |
| 8F | 八階（はっかい） | hakkai ⚠️ not hachikaI |
| 10F | 十階（じゅっかい） | jukkai ⚠️ not jūkai |
| B1 (basement) | 地下一階（ちかいっかい） | chika ikkai |
📍 Japanese address system: Japanese addresses work in reverse order from Western addresses — from largest to smallest: Prefecture → City → Ward → Block → Building number. The numbers in an address don’t follow a simple street-number logic — they’re based on land registration blocks（丁目 / chōme, 番地 / banchi, 号 / gō）. This is why Google Maps is essential in Japan — even locals use it. 🗺️
📱 Phone Numbers in Japan
Japanese phone numbers are read digit by digit, using the Sino-Japanese numbers. Each digit is read separately with no grouping. The hyphen in a phone number is called〜の (no) when read aloud.
| Number type | Format | Example reading |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | 090-XXXX-XXXX | zero-kyū-zero no… |
| Mobile | 080-XXXX-XXXX | zero-hachi-zero no… |
| Tokyo landline | 03-XXXX-XXXX | zero-san no… |
| Emergency (Police) | 110 | hyaku-jū（ひゃくじゅう） |
| Emergency (Fire/Ambulance) | 119 | hyaku-jū-kyū（ひゃくじゅうきゅう） |
💡 Zero in phone numbers: Zero is read as ゼロ（zero）in phone numbers, not れい（rei）which is the traditional Japanese reading. If someone gives you a phone number in Japanese, they’ll say “zero” the same way English speakers do. 📞
⚠️ Reading Traps That Catch Everyone
🪤 Trap 1: The Man（万）Scale Confusion
The single biggest source of number errors for foreigners in Japan. When you see ¥50,000 on a price tag, a Japanese person reads it as「ごまん円（go man en）」— five man. Not “fifty thousand.” Until your brain rewires to think in man units, you’ll keep mentally converting and making errors. The fastest fix: practice reading prices in stores out loud in Japanese every day. 🏪
🪤 Trap 2: Tax-Excluded Prices
See 税抜（zeinuki）on a tag? Add 10%. A ¥9,800 item costs ¥10,780 at the register. This has surprised me at the cash register at ドン・キホーテ（Don Quijote）more times than I want to admit. Always scan for 税込（zeikomi）vs 税抜（zeinuki）before you commit. 🏷️
🪤 Trap 3: The Japanese Era System（元号）
Japan uses its own calendar era system alongside the Western calendar. The current era is 令和（Reiwa）, which started in 2019. So 2026 = Reiwa 8（令和8年）. Government documents, some receipts, and official forms often use this system — don’t panic when you see it. Reiwa year = Western year – 2018.
| Era（元号） | Kanji | Period | Quick conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reiwa（令和） | 令和 | 2019–present | Western year − 2018 |
| Heisei（平成） | 平成 | 1989–2019 | Western year − 1988 |
| Showa（昭和） | 昭和 | 1926–1989 | Western year − 1925 |
🎌 Real-Life Practice: Where to Use Japanese Numbers Daily
- 🏪 Convenience stores（コンビニ） — The register displays the total in digits AND announces it verbally. Listen for「〇〇円になります」(〇〇 en ni narimasu = “That comes to 〇〇 yen”). Perfect low-stakes practice.
- 🚉 Train fare machines — Fares are shown in digits. Try reading them aloud before pressing the button.
- 📺 Japanese TV shopping channels — Prices announced constantly, excellent listening practice for large numbers in man units.
- 🏷️ Supermarket price tags — Practice reading each price tag in Japanese as you walk through 業務スーパー（Gyomu Super）or イオン（AEON）.
- 📱 Set your phone to Japanese — Seeing dates, times, and notifications in Japanese forces your brain to process numbers naturally.
Related: once you’ve got numbers down, check out our complete guide on cashless payments for foreigners in Japan — knowing how prices work is just the first step. Knowing how to pay is equally essential. 💳
❓ FAQ
Q: Do I need to learn kanji to read numbers in Japan?
Not really — most prices, train fares, and everyday numbers are written in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3…) that you already know. Kanji numbers (一、二、三…) appear on formal documents, traditional signs, and some menus. Learn them eventually, but don’t let them block your progress. Arabic numerals are everywhere in modern Japan. 🔢
Q: What is the easiest way to remember man（万）?
Reframe everything above ¥9,999 as “X man yen.” Practice at every opportunity: ¥15,000 → “ichi man go sen en” → say it out loud. ¥30,000 → “san man en.” ¥100,000 → “jū man en.” The rewiring takes about 2–3 weeks of consistent practice before it starts to feel natural. Budget time for this specifically. 💴
Q: Why does 4 have two readings — shi and yon?
し (shi) sounds identical to the word for death（死 / shi）and よ (ku) for 9 sounds like suffering（苦 / ku）. In Japan, these numbers are considered unlucky in certain contexts — similar to 13 in Western culture. Hospital room numbers often skip 4 and 9. In everyday counting and prices, both readings are used freely, but yon and kyū are preferred to avoid any unfortunate associations. 🙏
Q: How do I say “how much does this cost?” in Japanese?
The most useful phrase:「これはいくらですか？」(Kore wa ikura desu ka? = How much is this?) Point at the item while saying it. Or simply hold the item up and say「いくらですか？」(Ikura desu ka?). Staff will usually show you the price on a calculator or till screen if you look uncertain. Japan is very foreigner-friendly in this regard. 💬
Q: What is Reiwa 8 in Western calendar years?
Reiwa 8（令和8年）= 2026. The formula: Reiwa year + 2018 = Western year. So Reiwa 8 + 2018 = 2026. You’ll see this on official receipts, medical documents, government forms, and some product expiry dates — particularly useful to know when filling out paperwork in Japan. 📋
🐈 A Message from Yuki & Ruka’s House:
Yuki would like it known that she is counted as 一匹（ippiki）when alone and considers this an appropriate reflection of her singular status. Ruka disagrees with the entire counter system on principle and believes all cats should be counted using a unit not yet invented — something that conveys both majesty and appetite. Together they are 二匹（ni hiki）, which Go says entirely too often when explaining to guests that no, you cannot feed them, they have already had their dinner, and yes, Ruka’s eyes are always that dramatic. Their joint advice: learn the man unit first, practice at convenience stores, and don’t let irregular date readings put you off. Numbers unlock Japan in a very practical way — every price tag, every train time, every expiry date suddenly makes sense. You’ve got this. 🐾
⚠️ Disclaimer: Japanese language usage, pronunciation variations, and number readings may vary by region and context. Tax rates are subject to change — always verify current consumption tax rates. Era calendar information is based on current Imperial era as of 2026.
Last updated: May 2026 | Written by Sunny & Go — a multicultural couple learning Japanese in Tokyo 🇭🇰🇰🇷🇯🇵
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