Sep/Oct 2008

• Introduction
• What's New @ Samurai Tours
  • New Gardens of Japan Tour
• The Road Less Traveled
  • Fushimi Inari Shrine
• Japanese Travel Tips
  • Japanese Maps
• Culture Corner
  • Common Japnese Garden Elements
• Language 101
  • Counting in Japanese
• Photo of the Month
• Tour Member Photos

• Newsletters Index

Language 101

Counting in Japanese

As anywhere, it can be useful in Japan to know how to say a number in Japanese. Here are the ordinal numbers from 0 to 10.

• 0 Zero or Rei
• 1 Ichi
• 2 Ni
• 3 San
• 4 Shi or Yon
• 5 Go
• 6 Roku
• 7 Shichi or Nana
• 8 Hachi
• 9 Ku or Kyu
• 10 Ju

If you want a number between 10 and 20, you add "Ju" (10), and the desired number. So the number 11 would be "Ju-Ichi", 12 would be "Ju-Ni", etc. The number 20 is expressed as "Ni-Ju (or 2-10s), 30 is "San-Ju" (or 3-10s), etc. And, as you might guess, the number 21 is expressed as "Ni-Ju-Ichi". So, now you know how to count to 99. (We will leave numbers over 100 for a later discussion.)

It should be noted that Shi (4) and Ku (9) have hidden, darker alternate definitions. Shi also means death, and Ku also means suffering or agony. For these reasons, these numbers are sometimes avoided (especially Shi). However, when counting from 1 to 10, Shi is used for four. If you always use Yon and Kyu, you are safe.