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Japanese Numbers

The document provides information on telling time in Japanese. It begins by explaining that Japanese uses a system where the hour and minute are said together, such as "3 o'clock 12 minutes" being said as "ji san fun juuni." It then gives the terms for hours and minutes in Japanese using kanji, hiragana, and romanji scripts. Examples are provided such as "The earthquake occurred at 9:24 am." General time references like morning, afternoon, and adverbs of time are also defined. The date is told by combining the counter for month with the number.

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583 views

Japanese Numbers

The document provides information on telling time in Japanese. It begins by explaining that Japanese uses a system where the hour and minute are said together, such as "3 o'clock 12 minutes" being said as "ji san fun juuni." It then gives the terms for hours and minutes in Japanese using kanji, hiragana, and romanji scripts. Examples are provided such as "The earthquake occurred at 9:24 am." General time references like morning, afternoon, and adverbs of time are also defined. The date is told by combining the counter for month with the number.

Uploaded by

hellofrom theotherside
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Aren’t the Japanese numbers fascinating?

Once you learn how to count to 10, counting


to 100 is just a game of repeatedly compounding and adding.
Here are a few examples to help you better understand the process of counting to 100
in Japanese:

11 is 十一 (juuichi) or 10 (juu) + 1 (ichi);


following the exact same rule, 12 is 十二 (juuni) or 10 (juu) + 2 (ni).

Once you change the prefix, the rule remains the same. All you need to do is count the
10s (two 10s, three 10s, four 10s and so on) and then add the next number:

if 20 is 二十 (nijuu) or 2 (ni) 10s (juu), then 21 is 二十一 (nijuuichi) or 2 (ni) 10s (juu) + 1
(ichi);

if 70 is 七十 (nanajuu) or 7 (nana) 10s (juu), then 76 is 七十六 (nanajuuroku) or 7 (nana)


10s (juu) + 6 (roku);
then 100 comes with a new word: 百 (hyaku).
Japanese numbers to 10,000 and beyond
Number Kanji Hiragana Romaji
101 百一 ひゃくいち hyakuichi
145 百四十五 ひゃくよんじゅうご hyakuyonjuugo
199 百九十九 ひゃくきゅうじゅうきゅう hyakukyujuukyu
200 二百 にひゃく nihyaku
201 二百一 にひゃくいち nihyakuichi
300 三百 さんびゃく sanbyaku
400 四百 よんひゃく yonhyaku
500 gohyaku
600 roppyaku
700 nanahyaku
800 happyaku
900 kyuuhyaku
1,000 千 せん sen
1,001 千一 せんいち senichi
10,000 一万 まん ichiman
100,000 十万 じゅうまん juuman
1 million 百万 ひゃくまん hyakuman
10 million 千万 せんまん senman
As you can see, the rule we learned for the first 100 Japanese numbers is still
valid. To count further than 100 in Japanese, you just continue to stack
numbers. Then, when you get to 1,000, hyaku becomes sen and so on.

Let’s look at a more complex example and make sure you understood the rule.
Let’s take the number 1289. That’s 千二百八十九 in kanji and せんにひゃく
はちじゅうきゅう in hiragana. So 1000 (sen) + 2 (ni) 100s (hyaku) + 8 (hachi)
10s (ju) + 9 (kyuu) is sen nihyaku hachijuu kyuu.

As you probably have already realized, it’s easier to read or write Japanese
numbers using kanji since the hiragana can get pretty long with numbers such
as 1289. But then again, don’t forget that the Japanese use the Arab numerals
as well especially when it comes to bigger numbers.
Telling time is one of the most essential aspects of everyday life.
Learning how to tell time in Japanese will help you improve your
basic Japanese language skills. Whether you’re checking the time for
transportation or making an appointment, knowing how to say time
in Japanese will help you when visiting Japan.

Telling time in Japanese is quite simple and easy to understand.


Unlike in English, when expressing time in Japanese, the words which
indicate the hour and minute are always added next to the numbers
(e.g. 3:12 or three twelve = 時 (3ji) 分 (12fun). Thus, even without
context or a sentence, you’ll easily understand that these phrases
indicate time in Japanese.
Here’s a list of the most typical phrases for asking about
time in Japanese.

1- What time is it now?


Japanese: 今何時ですか。
Reading: Ima nanji desu ka.

すみません、今何時ですか。
Sumimasen, ima nanji desu ka.
Excuse me, what time is it now?
2- Do you know the time now?
Japanese: 今何時かわかりますか。
Reading: Ima nanji ka wakarimasu ka.

ちょっといいですか、今何時かわかりますか。
Chotto ii desu ka, ima nanji ka wakarimasu ka.
Can I talk to you a bit? Do you know the time now?
3. What time is the [e.g. meeting]?
Japanese: [会議] は何時ですか。
Reading: [Kaigi] wa nan-ji desu ka.

田中さん、到着は何時ですか。
Tanaka-san, tōchaku wa nan-ji desu ka.
Mr. (Ms.) Tanaka, what time is the arrival?
Telling Time in Japanese: Hours
When speaking, the twelve-hour clock is more
commonly used; when written, either the twelve-hour
clock or the twenty-four-hour clock is used for telling
time in Japanese.

When using the twelve-hour clock, add 午前 (gozen)


meaning “a.m.” or 午後 (gogo) meaning “p.m.” to
clarify.
1- The Twelve-Hour Clock in Japanese
Add 時 (ji), meaning “hour” or “o’clock,” after the Japanese numbers. Keep in
mind that Arabic numbers are commonly used.
English Kanji Hiragana Reading
0 o’clock 零時 れいじ rei-ji
1 o’clock 一時 いちじ ichi-ji
2 o’clock 二時 にじ ni-ji
3 o’clock 三時 さんじ san-ji
4 o’clock 四時 よじ yo-ji
5 o’clock 五時 ごじ go-ji
6 o’clock 六時 ろくじ roku-ji
7 o’clock 七時 しちじ shichi-ji
8 o’clock 八時 はちじ hachi-ji
9 o’clock 九時 くじ ku-ji
10 o’clock 十時 じゅうじ juu-ji
11 o’clock 十一時 じゅういちじ juuichi-ji
12 o’clock 十二時 じゅうにじ juuni-ji
2- Examples
昼食の時間は午後１時です。
Chūshoku no jikan wa gogo ichiji desu.
Lunch time is at one o’clock p.m.

会議は10時からですか。
Kaigi wa juuji kara desu ka.
Is the meeting at ten o’clock?

明日の朝7時に来てください。
Ashita no asa shichiji ni kite kudasai.
Please come at seven o’clock tomorrow morning.
3. Telling Time in Japanese: Minutes
1- Minutes in Japanese
Unlike in English, 分 (fun) or (pun) meaning “minute” is
always added after the numbers when telling minutes
in Japanese.
“Minute(s)” in Japanese is 分 and it’s pronounced
either fun or pun depending on which number comes
before 分.
Minutes are usually written with Arabic numbers rather
than Kanji.
English Kanji Hiragana Reading
1 minute 一分 いっぷん ippun
2 minutes 二分 にふん ni-fun
3 minutes 三分 さんぷん san-pun
4 minutes 四分 よんふん yon-fun
5 minutes 五分 ごふん go-fun
6 minutes 六分 ろっぷん roppun
7 minutes 七分 ななふん nana-fun
8 minutes 八分 はっぷん happun
9 minutes 九分 きゅうふん kyuu-fun
10 minutes 十分 じゅっぷん juppun
11 juuippun
20 minutes 二十分 にじゅっぷん ni-juppun
30 minutes 三十分 さんじゅっぷん san-juppun
40 minutes 四十分 よんじゅっぷん yon-juppun
50 minutes 五十分 ごじゅっぷん go-juppun
Examples
地震は朝9時24分に起きました。
Jishin wa asa ku-ji ni-jū yon-fun ni okimashita.
The earthquake occurred at 9:24 in the morning.

次の電車は3時47分に来ます。
Tsugi no densha wa san-ji yon-jū nana-fun ni kimasu.
The next train comes at 3:47.

今の時間は午後6時18分です。
Ima no jikan wa gogo roku-ji jū happun desu.
The current time is 6:18 p.m.
Examples
地震は朝9時24分に起きました。
Jishin wa asa ku-ji ni-jū yon-fun ni okimashita.
The earthquake occurred at 9:24 in the morning.

次の電車は3時47分に来ます。
Tsugi no densha wa san-ji yon-jū nana-fun ni kimasu.
The next train comes at 3:47.

今の時間は午後6時18分です。
Ima no jikan wa gogo roku-ji jū happun desu.
The current time is 6:18 p.m.
General Time Reference of the Day
English Kanji Hiragana Reading
AM 午前 ごぜん gozen
PM 午後 ごご gogo
morning 朝 あさ asa
early morning 早朝 そうちょう sōchō
sunrise 日の出 ひので hinode
Noon 正午 しょうご shōgo
midday 日中 にっちゅう nicchū
early evening 夕方 ゆうがた yūgata
sunset 日没 にちぼつ nichibotsu
evening / night 夜 よる yoru
midnight 深夜 しんや shin’ya
Adverbs of Time in Japanese
English Kanji Hiragana Reading
right now 今すぐ いますぐ ima sugu
before 前 まえ mae
after 後 あと/ご ato/go
soon ー もうすぐ mō sugu
soon ー ほとんど hotondo
around 頃 ころ/ごろ koro/goro
About 約 やく yaku
currently 現在 げんざい genzai
meanwhile その間に そのあいだに sono aida ni
at the same time 同時に どうじに dōji ni
at the same time ー いつでも itsu demo
as soon as possible 出来るだけ早く できるだけはやく dekirudake hayaku
in a while 間もなく/しばらく まもなく/しばらく mamonaku/shibaraku
for a long time 長い間 ながいあいだ nagai aida
How to tell the date

ichi-gatsu (ee-chee-gah-tsoo) (January) shichi-gatsu (shee-chee-gah-tsoo) (July)

ni-gatsu (nee-gah-tsoo) (February) hachi-gatsu (hah-chee-gah-tsoo) (August)

san-gatsu (sahn-gah-tsoo) (March) ku-gatsu (coo-gah-tsoo) (September)

shi-gatsu (shee-gah-tsoo) (April) jū-gatsu (juuu-gah-tsoo) (October)

go-gatsu (goh-gah-tsoo) (May) jūichi-gatsu (juuu-ee-chee-gah-tsoo)


(November)
roku-gatsu (roh-coo-gah-tsoo) (June)
jūni-gatsu (juuu-ni-gah-tsoo) (December)
How to tell the date
Tsuitachi the first
jûshichi-nichi the 17th
Futsuka the second
jûhachi-nichi the 18th
Mikka the third
jûku-nichi the 19th
Yokka the fourth
hatsuka the 20th
Itsuka the fifth
nijûichi-nichi the 21st
Muika the sixth
nijûni-nichi the22nd
Nanoka the seventh
nijûsan-nichi the 23rd
yôka the eighth
nijûyokka the 24th
Kokonoka the ninth
nijûgo-nichi the 25th
tôka the tenth
nijûroku-nichi the 26th
jûichi-nichi the 11th
nijûshichi-nichi the 27th
jûni-nichi the 12th
nijûhachi-nichi the 28th
jûsan-nichi the 13th
nijûku-nichi the 29th
jûyokka the 14th
sanjû-nichi the 30th
jûgo-nichi the 15th
sanjûichi-nichi the 31st
jûroku-nichi the 16th
Saying a date in Japanese is much like saying it in English:
You just put the day of the month after the month itself.
For instance, if today’s date were November 11, you would
say: きょうはじゅういちがつじゅういちにちです
(kyou wa juuichigatsu juuichinichi desu).

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