Japanese Numbers 1-100

The whole system in one rule

Below twenty, put ten first: 11 is jū-ichi, ten-one.

From twenty up, put the multiplier first: 20 is ni-jū, two-ten, and 40 is yon-jū.

Then add the unit on the end. 47 is yon-jū-nana, four-ten-seven. There are no new words to learn between 20 and 99.

One hundred is simply hyaku, with no ichi in front of it.

• 四十七 よんじゅうなな47, four-ten-seven
• 八十二 はちじゅうに82, eight-ten-two
• 九十九 きゅうじゅうきゅう99

Which system to use, and the counter problem

Use ichi, ni, san for anything measured: prices, dates, phone numbers, ages, maths. That is the list at the top of this page and the one that reaches 100.

Use hitotsu, futatsu for counting general objects up to ten, which is why it is what you say when ordering: コーヒーを二つください, two coffees please.

The reason the second system exists is counters. Japanese normally needs a small word after the number that matches the shape of the thing: 本 hon for long objects, 枚 mai for flat ones, 人 nin for people. The hitotsu set sidesteps all of that, which makes it the safe choice for a beginner pointing at something.

Four, seven and nine each have two readings. Yon, nana and kyū are the safe ones. Shi also means death and ku sounds like the word for suffering, so both are avoided in hospitals and when reading numbers aloud.