An Easy Beginner's Guide on How to Count in Japanese Numbers

How learning Japanese numbers helps you - it’s not just about counting!

It’s essential to understand numbers in everyday life no matter where you go. Our fingers are not always helpful when communicating about numbers. But there is so much more you can benefit from learning Japanese numbers. Because, in Japan, numbers are more than just numerals.

Practical UAE uses: expats and professionals in the UAE use numbers daily - from negotiating with suppliers to reading menus in Dubai’s Japanese eateries - so learning numbers is immediately practical. Consider joining a conversation club or book a placement test at Berlitz Jumeirah Centre to make sure you practise numbers in realistic contexts.

 

Numbers in (proper) nouns

Japanese numbers are used in names of people, places, institutions, or things as well. The former baseball player Ichiro Suzuki has ‘one’ in his given name. There’s a city called Hachiōji in Tokyo, and it has ‘eight’ in the name. The mountain in central Japan called Sugoroku - dake has ‘six’. (Which word means which number? You’ll soon figure it out!) Knowing how to read or write numbers in Japanese helps you read or remember those proper nouns as well!

Meaning of numbers

What are the lucky numbers in your culture? How about unlucky numbers? The cultural meaning of numbers is reflected on various things like words or customs. With the knowledge of numbers in Japanese, you could see the association more easily.

Who doesn’t love wordplay?

When written in kanji (characters adapted from Chinese characters), numbers can be read in multiple ways. The Japanese use this to make it easier to remember a set of numbers like a phone number. You’d be amused to see how widely ‘number puns’ are used in Japan. By learning how to read the numbers in Japanese, you’ll know why meat is on sale at some shops on the 29th of the month!

How to read and write Japanese numerals

“Do I have to remember all the Japanese numbers in hiragana (phonetic alphabet), katakana (another type of phonetic alphabet) and kanji? Ugh!” - I hear you. Let’s start with how to read them. Luckily, Arabic numerals (e.g. 1, 2, 3…) are widely used in Japan, too! Chances are, there would rarely be an occasion where you have to write 5,870,624 in hiragana, katakana, or kanji. Though sometimes large numbers are written in Arabic numeral(s) and unit(s) (e.g. thousand) in kanji, there are not many of those units used in everyday life. Worry not! Now, how to write Japanese numerals. Breathe in, my friend. Then breathe out slowly. You know how complicated the Japanese writing system is… Good. I’m here to bring you good news; you’ll only have to remember how to write zero to ten plus some units of bigger numbers. Besides, they’re short words, and the corresponding kanjis are relatively simple. With the combination of less than 20 characters, we can write most Japanese numbers. How does it sound? Alright, let’s start counting!

How to count in Japanese from 0 - 10 (basics)

Romaji: Character that represents written Japanese using English alphabets. Spotted something that’s not Japanese? Yes, the Japanese use English ‘zero’, too! The numbers on the list with two ways to read may seem tricky. For now, I’m going to share a couple of basic rules.

Number	Hiragana	Katakana	Kanji	Romaji
0	れい、ぜろ	レイ、ゼロ	零	rei, zero
1	いち	イチ	一	ichi
2	に	ニ	二	ni
3	さん	サン	三	san
4	し、よん	シ、ヨン	四	shi, yon
5	ご	ゴ	五	go
6	ろく	ロク	六	roku
7	しち、なな	シチ、ナナ	七	shichi, nana
8	はち	ハチ	八	hachi
9	きゅう、く	キュウ、ク	九	kyuu, ku
10	じゅう	ジュウ	十	juu

When counting up (0 to 10)

Numbers are pronounced in a certain way when you count up from zero* to ten in Japanese. I want you to check how four and seven are read, in particular.

1. - ぜろ (zero)
2. - いち (ichi)
3. - に (ni)
4. - さん (san)
5. - し (shi)
6. - ご (go)
7. - ろく (roku)
8. - しち (shichi)
9. - はち (hachi)
10. - きゅう (kyuu)
11. - じゅう (juu)

When counting up, it normally starts with one.

When counting down (10 to 0)

Let’s look at how to count down in Japanese. Isn’t it interesting that only four and seven are read differently? (Not many Japanese speakers are even aware of this!)

1. - じゅう (juu)
2. - きゅう (kyuu)
3. - はち (hachi)
4. - なな (nana)
5. - ろく (roku)
6. - ご (go)
7. - よん (yon)
8. - さん (san)
9. - に (ni)
10. - いち (ichi)
11. - ぜろ (zero)

Individual number

Apart from when we count up, four is often read as よん (yon) and seven as なな (nana). It helps differentiate numbers that sound similar such as し (shi), しち (shichi), いち (ichi).

How to count in Japanese from 11 - 90

Moving onto larger numbers. With the basics we’ve already looked at, it’s not that challenging! (Then follow the original 11 - 29 and 30 - 90 tables - unchanged - so learners can spot the pattern.) At this point, you might’ve noticed the pattern. The structure is like this: に (2, ni) + じゅう (10, juu) + いち (1, ichi) Digit + Unit + Digit This rule applies to most numbers in Japanese. When the first digit is one (e.g. 15) though, the number starts with the unit (e.g. じゅうご, juugo). With this in mind, you can easily count up to 99! (Include the 30 - 90 table unchanged.)

Number	Hiragana	Katakana	Kanji	Romaji
11	じゅういち	ジュウイチ	十一	juuichi
12	じゅうに	ジュウニ	十二	juuni
13	じゅうさん	ジュウサン	十三	juusan
14	じゅうし、じゅうよん	ジュウシ、ジュウヨン	十四	juushi, juuyon
15	じゅうご	ジュウゴ	十五	juugo
16	じゅうろく	ジュウロク	十六	juuroku
17	じゅうしち、じゅうなな	ジュウシチ、ジュウナナ	十七	juushichi, juunana
18	じゅうはち	ジュウハチ	十八	juuhachi
19	じゅうきゅう、じゅうく	ジュウキュウ、ジュウク	十九	juukyuu, juuku
20	にじゅう	ニジュウ	二十	nijuu
21	にじゅういち	ニジュウイチ	二十一	nijuuichi
22	にじゅうに	ニジュウニ	二十二	nijuuni
23	にじゅうさん	ニジュウサン	二十三	nijuusan
24	にじゅうし、にじゅうよん	ニジュウシ、ニジュウヨン	二十四	nijuushi, nijuuyon
25	にじゅうご	ニジュウゴ	二十五	nijuugo
26	にじゅうろく	ニジュウロク	二十六	nijuuroku
27	にじゅうしち、にじゅうなな	ニジュウシチ、ニジュウナナ	二十七	nijuushichi, nijuunana
28	にじゅうはち	ニジュウハチ	二十八	nijuuhachi
29	にじゅうきゅう、にじゅうく	ニジュウキュウ、ニジュウク	二十九	nijuukyuu, nijuuku

How to count in Japanese (100 to 900)

Let’s look at even larger numbers. 300, 600, and 800 are read slightly differently. (Keep table for 100 - 900 unchanged.) The same ‘digit + unit + digit’ / ‘no one before the unit’ rules apply here, too. Try reading out 195 and 418. Answer: 195 - ひゃくきゅうじゅうご (hyakukyuujuugo) and 418 - よんひゃくじゅうはち (yonhyakujuuhachi)!

Number	Hiragana	Katakana	Kanji	Romaji
100	ひゃく	ヒャク	百	hyaku
200	にひゃく	ニヒャク	二百	nihyaku
300	さんびゃく	サンビャク	三百	sanbyaku
400	よんひゃく	ヨンヒャク	四百	yonhyaku
500	ごひゃく	ゴヒャク	五百	gohyaku
600	ろっぴゃく	ロッピャク	六百	roppyaku
700	ななひゃく	ナナヒャク	七百	nanahyaku
800	はっぴゃく	ハッピャク	八百	happyaku
900	きゅうひゃく	キュウヒャク	九百	kyuuhyaku

Bigger units

In the English number system, the major unit is one thousand (1,000). The Japanese number system plays differently; the major unit is ten thousand (10,000). Ten thousands 万 (まん - man) makes the next unit 億 (おく - oku). Translating large numbers between English and Japanese can be tricky - useful to practise in context, for example while learning business Japanese in corporate training sessions offered by language centres in the UAE. Local example: When negotiating with Japanese suppliers in Dubai or reading Japanese financial news, it helps to recognise 万 (man) and 億 (oku) immediately - JLPT and business courses at Berlitz Jumeirah Centre include practice with large numbers and currency formats.

Japanese number songs?

"Can we learn numbers with music, like the alphabet song?" Possibly, yes. Some children’s videos on YouTube elongate pronunciation, which can be fun but not ideal for precise speaking. If you prefer structured practice, try a kids class at Jumeirah Centre or an online lesson with guided audio drills.

Japanese counter words (助数詞 / josuushi)

Counters are essential when counting objects, people or actions in Japanese. They’re called 助数詞 (じょすうし - josuushi). There are many counters, but here are the most common used in everyday life: • - つ (tsu) : general - purpose (up to nine) • - 個 (ko) : for small/round objects • - り / にん (ri/nin) : for people (Include original counter table unchanged.) Tip for learners in Dubai: practise counters in roleplay activities - for example, shopping scenes or restaurant orders - in a conversation club or group class at Berlitz Jumeirah Centre.

Number	-つ Hiragana / Kanji Romaji	-こ / 個 Hiragana / Kanji Romaji	-り / にん / 人 Hiragana / Kanji Romaji
1	ひとつ 一つ hitotsu	いっこ 一個 ikko	ひとり 一人 hitori
2	ふたつ 二つ futatsu	にこ 二個 niko	ふたり 二人 futari
3	みっつ 三つ mittsu	さんこ 三個 sanko	さんにん 三人 sannin
4	よっつ 四つ yottsu	よんこ 四個 yonko	よにん 四人 yonin
5	いつつ 五つ itsutsu	ごこ 五個 goko	ごにん 五人 gonin
6	むっつ 六つ muttsu	ろっこ 六個 rokko	ろくにん 六人 rokunin
7	ななつ 七つ nanatsu	ななこ 七個 nanako	しちにん / ななにん 七人 shichinin / nananin
8	やっつ 八つ yattsu	はちこ / はっこ 八個 hachiko / hakko	はちにん 八人 hachinin
9	ここのつ 九つ kokonotsu	きゅうこ 九個 kyuuko	きゅうにん / くにん 九人 kyuunin / kunin
10	n/a	じゅっこ 十個 jukko	じゅうにん 十人 juunin
11	n/a	じゅういっこ 十一個 juuikko	じゅういちにん 十一人 juuichinin

Unlucky and lucky numbers - cultural notes

Superstition ain’t the way. But some of them are rooted deeply in the culture. Lucky and unlucky numbers are one of them:

Unlucky numbers

Four and nine are seen as ominous because their pronunciations match words with negative meanings: し (shi) → 死 (death), く (ku) → 苦 (suffering).

Lucky numbers

Odd numbers traditionally fare better in Japan. Eight (八 - hachi) is auspicious - the kanji broadens as strokes are drawn - suggesting prosperity. Seven is considered lucky too (a concept shared from the West), and special dates such as 1/1, 3/3, 5/5 are celebrated. UAE note: If you’re booking event dates for a Japanese - themed workshop or JLPT mock at Jumeirah Centre, be mindful of cultural preferences for certain numbers - small touches like this can make your event feel more authentic.

Enjoy learning numbers in Japanese everywhere!

The Japanese love number puns. You’ll see shop promotions tied to dates (meat sales on the 29th because 29 ⇒ にく (niku - meat)), phone numbers chosen for memorable words (e.g., 831 ⇒ やさい (yasai - vegetable)), and even playful “days” like Nose Day. Learning numbers unlocks these cultural games and makes your Japanese feel alive.

Final practical suggestions for UAE learners:

Join a Japanese conversation club or JLPT prep course at Berlitz Jumeirah Centre. Book a placement test or short trial lesson online to focus on numbers and counters. Attend cultural workshops (food, festivals, business etiquette) near Jumeirah to practise numbers in context. Given your birthday is November 5th, what day could it be? Can your name be represented with numbers? These number games are a fun way to keep motivated. You’re most welcome to use a dictionary/translation app for this game! For structured practice, Berlitz UAE can help - whether you learn at our Dubai branches (Jumeirah or JLT), study on-site in DIFC, or visit our Abu Dhabi branches in Khalidiya and Khalifa. When studying a foreign language, it can be challenging to stay motivated. Remembering numbers in Japanese doesn’t have to be boring. You can bring some fun and creativity into your learning journey - and you can do it right here in the UAE at Berlitz Jumeirah Centre or via flexible online lessons.