I will not systematically put the hiragana for all the numbers because I consider that you have studied your lesson seriously and that you know your kanji.
Today we are moving up a gear. Now that you know how to count to 9,999, let’s get to the tens of thousands, and then the hundreds of thousands, the millions and the billions. So here we go to even higher numbers and if you thought the hard part was over, think again. So, be brave, here we go !
Before we start talking about the tens of thousands and all the rest, there is a peculiarity of the Japanese numeral system that you must understand : Japanese count in packs of four. And to help you better understand, we will start with the numeral system that you are familiar with : the Arabic numerals.
If we want to write « nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine » in numbers, we will write it like this : 9,999. To make it easier to read, we mark a space for each pack of three. Okay, that’s obvious to you, either, but the Japanese count in packs of four. To give you a slightly more telling example, if we want to write « nine million five hundred twenty-five thousand seven hundred seventy-six », we will write like this : 9,525,776. In packs of three therefore. A Japanese, if he had to write the same number, he would reason in packs of four. This is how he would perceive the same number : 952,5776.
Let it be clear ! If a Japanese has to write a number in Arabic numerals, he will write it exactly as Westerners do, in packs of three. The above example is here to show you how a Japanese thinks, in packs of four.
We will now return to the numbers and discuss the tens of thousands. For now, regarding what we have just seen above, keep this in mind, you will quickly understand the usefulness of this detail.
Well, how do you say ten thousand in Japanese ? I write to you first ten thousand in numbers by pack of three, then in numbers by pack of four, like the Japanese, and finally in kanji. Pay attention to the color scheme :
10 000 . 1 0000 . 一万
If we want to write ten thousand, first let’s reason like Japanese. In our first pack, we have four zeros and in our second pack, that of tens of thousands, we have the number « one » (read from right to left, the first package is rightmost). So, we will write : 一万
For the Japanese, 一万 can be translated as « a bundle of ten thousand ». Seen like that, it probably sounds a little weird to you, but that’s how the Japanese think.
10 000 . 1 0000 . 一万
That being said, you can now guess how we write twenty thousand, thirty thousand, forty thousand...
10 000 .
1 0000 .
一万
20 000 .
2 0000 .
二万
30 000 .
3 0000 .
三万
40 000 .
4 0000 .
四万
50 000 .
5 0000 .
五万
60 000 .
6 0000 .
六万
70 000 .
7 0000 .
七万
80 000 .
8 0000 .
八万
90 000 .
9 0000 .
九万
Now let’s look at a few more complex numbers. I will guide you for a first number. Let’s take the number 37,829. Let’s break it down into a pack of four :
37 829 . 3 7829
So, we have the number three in the package of 万 . マン, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 三万. Then in the last package, we have the number seven thousand two hundred twenty-nine, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 七百二十九.
37 229 . 3 7229 . 三万七百二十九
Take a good look at the other examples :
21 144 .
2 1144 .
二万一百四十四
45 131 .
4 5131 .
四万五百三十一
76 628 .
7 6628 .
七万六百二十八
94 429 .
9 4429 .
九万四百二十九
30 007 .
3 0007 .
四万七
88 088 .
8 8088 .
八十万八十八
Now you can count to 99,999. Now how are we going to write a hundred thousand in Japanese ? I write to you first a hundred thousand in figures by pack of three, then in figures by pack of four, like the Japanese, and finally in kanji :
100 000 . 10 0000
One hundred thousand is ten times ten thousand, so in kanji, we will write it like this :
100 000 . 10 0000 . 十万
That being said, you can now guess how we write two hundred thousand, three hundred thousand, four hundred thousand...
200 000 .
20 0000 .
二十万
300 000 .
30 0000 .
三十万
400 000 .
40 0000 .
四十万
500 000 .
50 0000 .
五十万
600 000 .
60 0000 .
六十万
700 000 .
70 0000 .
七十万
800 000 .
80 0000 .
八十万
900 000 .
90 0000 .
九十万
Now let’s look at a few more complex numbers. I will guide you for a first number. Let’s take the number 375,448. Let’s break it down into a pack of four :
375 448 . 37 5448
So, we have the number thirty-seven in the package of 万 . マン, so in kanji we will write it like this 三十七万. Then in the last package, we will write it like this : 千五百四十八.
Take a good look at the other examples :
413 125 .
41 3125 .
四十一万三千百二十五
156 717 .
15 6717 .
十五万六千七百七十一
125 555 .
12 5555 .
十二万五千五百五十五
750 000 .
75 0000 .
七十五万
Now you can count to 999 999. Now we’re going to get into the millions. If we want to write one million :
1 000 000 . 100 0000
One million, it’s one hundred in the package of 万 . マン, so in kanji, we will write it like this :
1 000 000 . 100 0000 . 百万
That being said, you can now guess how we write two million, three million, four million...
2 000 000 .
200 0000 .
二百万
3 000 000 .
300 0000 .
三百万
4 000 000 .
400 0000 .
四百万
5 000 000 .
500 0000 .
五百万
6 000 000 .
600 0000 .
六百万
7 000 000 .
700 0000 .
七百万
8 000 000 .
800 0000 .
八百万
9 000 000 .
900 0000 .
九百万
Now let’s look at a few more complex numbers. I will guide you for a first number. Let’s take the number 2,513,942. Let’s break it down into a pack of four :
2 513 942 . 251 3942
From there, things start to get complicated (and wait a bit to see more). For us westerners, the number 1 000 000 is equivalent to a whole unit. But here, you really have to try to reason like the Japanese. And for the Japanese, 1 000 000 is 1,000 in the package of 万 . マン
So, we have the number six hundred and forty-two in the package of 万 . マン, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 二百五十一万. Then in the last package, we have the number three thousand nine hundred and forty-two, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 三千九百四十二.
2 513 942 . 251 3942 . 二百五十一万三千九百四十二
Take a good look at the other examples :
5 124 000 . 512 4000 . 五百万千二百四千
Now you can count to 9 999 999. Now we’re going to get into the tens of millions. If we want to write ten million :
10 000 000 . 1000 0000
Ten million is a hundred in the package of 万 . マン, so in kanji, we will write it like this :
10 000 000 . 1000 0000 . 一千万
That being said, you can now guess how we write twenty million, thirty million, forty million...
20 000 000 .
2000 0000 .
二千万
30 000 000 .
3000 0000 .
三千万
40 000 000 .
4000 0000 .
四千万
50 000 000 .
5000 0000 .
五千万
60 000 000 .
6000 0000 .
六千万
70 000 000 .
7000 0000 .
七千万
80 000 000 .
8000 0000 .
八千万
90 000 000 .
9000 0000 .
九千万
Now let’s look at a few more complex numbers. I will guide you for a first number. Let’s take the number 87 562 245. Let’s break it down into a pack of four :
87 562 245 . 8756 2254
So, we have the number eight thousand seven hundred fifty-six in the package of 万 . マン, so in kanji we will write it like this : 八千七百五十六万. Then in the last package, we have the number two thousand two hundred fifty-four, so in kanji we will write it like this : 三千九百四十二.
87 562 245 . 8756 2254 . 八千七百五十六万二千二百四十五
Be brave you all and hold on, you’ve already done half the route. Now you can count to 99,999,999. Now we’re going to see the hundreds of millions. If we want to write one hundred million :
100 000 000 . 1 0000 0000
Here we have the number one which ends up in a new package. And this new package is that of 億 . オク so in kanji, we will write it like this :
100 000 000 . 1 0000 0000 . 一億
That being said, you can now guess how we write two hundred million, three hundred million, four hundred million...
200 000 000 .
2 0000 0000 .
二億
300 000 000 .
3 0000 0000 .
三億
400 000 000 .
4 0000 0000 .
四億
500 000 000 .
5 0000 0000 .
五億
600 000 000 .
6 0000 0000 .
六億
700 000 000 .
7 0000 0000 .
七億
800 000 000 .
8 0000 0000 .
八億
900 000 000 .
9 0000 0000 .
九億
Now let’s look at a few more complex numbers. I will guide you for a first number. Let’s take the number 149 500 222. Let’s break it down into a pack of four :
149 500 222 . 1 4950 0222
Here we have the number one which ends up in a new package. And this new package is that of 億 . オク so in kanji, we will write it like this : 一億. Then we have the package of 万 . マン where it is written four thousand nine hundred and fifty, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 四千九百五十万. Finally, we have the last package where it is written two hundred and twenty-two, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 二百二十二.
149 500 222 . 1 4950 0222 . 一億四千九百五十万二百二十二
Let’s take a good look at the other examples :
155 700 246 .
1 5570 0246 .
一億五千五百七十万二百四十六
124 300 889 .
1 2430 0889 .
一億二千四百三十万八百八十九
485 270 345 .
4 8527 0345 .
四億八千五百二十七万三百四十五
You can count to 999 999 999. Now we’re going to go into the billions. If we want to write a billion :
1 000 000 000 . 10 0000 0000 . 八千七百五十六万二千二百四十五
Here, we have the number ten which is found in the package of 億 . オク so in kanji, we will write it like this :
1 000 000 000 . 10 0000 0000 . 十億
That being said, you can now guess how we write two billion, three billion, four billion...
2 000 000 000 .
20 0000 0000 .
二十億
3 000 000 000 .
30 0000 0000 .
三十億
4 000 000 000 .
40 0000 0000 .
四十億
5 000 000 000 .
50 0000 0000 .
五十億
6 000 000 000 .
60 0000 0000 .
六十億
7 000 000 000 .
70 0000 0000 .
七十億
8 000 000 000 .
80 0000 0000 .
八十億
9 000 000 000 .
90 0000 0000 .
九十億
Now let’s look at a few more complex numbers. I will guide you for a first number. Let’s take the number 7,237,555,358. Let’s break it down into a pack of four :
7 237 555 358 . 72 3755 5358
Here we have the number seventy-two which is found in the package of 億 . オク so in kanji, we will write it like this : 七十二億. Then we have the package of 万 . マン where it is written three thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 三千七百五十五万. Finally, we have the last package where it is written five thousand three hundred and fifty-eight, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 五千三百五十八.
7 237 555 358 . 72 3755 5358 . 七十二億三千七百五十五万五千三百五十八
Let’s go straight to the tens of billions. If we want to write ten billions :
10 000 000 000 . 100 0000 0000
Here we have the number hundred which is found in the package of 億 . オク donc so in kanji we will write it like this :
10 000 000 000 . 100 0000 0000 . 百億
That being said, you can now guess how we write twenty billion, thirty billion, forty billion...
20 000 000 000 .
200 0000 0000 .
二百億
30 000 000 000 .
300 0000 0000 .
三百億
40 000 000 000 .
400 0000 0000 .
四百億
50 000 000 000 .
500 0000 0000 .
五百億
60 000 000 000 .
600 0000 0000 .
六百億
70 000 000 000 .
700 0000 0000 .
七百億
80 000 000 000 .
800 0000 0000 .
八百億
90 000 000 000 .
900 0000 0000 .
九百億
Now let’s look at a few more complex numbers. I will guide you for a first number. Take the number 52,118,462,811. Let’s break it down into a pack of four :
52 118 462 811 . 521 1846 2811
Here we have the number five hundred and twenty-one which is found in the package of 億 . オク so in kanji, we will write it like this : 五百二十一億. Then we have the package of 万 . マン where it is written one thousand eight hundred and forty-six, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 千八百四十六万. Finally, we have the last package where it is written two thousand eight hundred eleven, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 二千八百十一.
52 118 462 811 . 521 1846 2811 . 五百二十一億千八百四十六万二千八百十一
Let’s go straight to the hundred billion. If we want to write one hundred billions :
100 000 000 000 . 1000 0000 0000
Here we have the number thousand which is found in the package of 億 . オク so in kanji we will write it like this :
100 000 000 000 . 1000 0000 0000 . 千億
That being said, you can now guess how we write two hundred billion, three hundred billion, four hundred billion...
200 000 000 000 .
2000 0000 0000 .
二千億
300 000 000 000 .
3000 0000 0000 .
三千億
400 000 000 000 .
4000 0000 0000 .
四千億
500 000 000 000 .
5000 0000 0000 .
五千億
600 000 000 000 .
6000 0000 0000 .
六千億
700 000 000 000 .
7000 0000 0000 .
七千億
800 000 000 000 .
8000 0000 0000 .
八千億
900 000 000 000 .
9000 0000 0000 .
九千億
Now let’s look at a few more complex numbers. I will guide you for a first number. Take the number 225 238 142 271. Let’s break it down into a pack of four :
225 238 142 271 . 2252 3814 2271
Here we have the number two thousand two hundred and fifty-two which is found in the package of 億 . オク so in kanji we will write it like this : 二千二百五十二億. Then we have the package of 万 . マン where it is written three thousand eight hundred and fourteen, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 三千八百十四万. Finally, we have the last package where it is written two thousand two hundred seventy-one, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 二千二百七十一.
225 238 142 271 . 2252 3814 2271 .
二千二百五十二億三千八百十四万二千二百七十一
Here, I will use the term « trillions » for more simplicity.
We are in the final stretch, let’s talk about the trillions.
1 000 000 000 000 .1 0000 0000 0000
Here we have the number one which ends up in a new package. And this new package is that of 兆 . チョウ so in kanji we will write it like this :
100 000 000 000 .1 0000 0000 0000 . 一兆
Namely, 一兆 is pronounced like this : イッチョウ. The number 1 is contracted to facilitate pronunciation. And since we’re talking about it, know that 8,000,000,000,000 is in kanji written like this, 八兆 is pronounced ハッチョウ. These are the last two irregular pronunciations to remember.
That being said, you can now guess how we write two trillion, three trillion, four trillion, five trillion...
2 000 000 000 000 .
2 0000 0000 0000 .
二兆
3 000 000 000 000 .
3 0000 0000 0000 .
三兆
4 000 000 000 000 .
4 0000 0000 0000 .
四兆
5 000 000 000 000 .
5 0000 0000 0000 .
五兆
6 000 000 000 000 .
6 0000 0000 0000 .
六兆
7 000 000 000 000 .
7 0000 0000 0000 .
七兆
8 000 000 000 000 .
8 0000 0000 0000 .
八兆
9 000 000 000 000 .
9 0000 0000 0000 .
九兆
Now let’s look at a few more complex numbers. I will guide you for a first number. Let’s take the number 4,492,832,577,126. Let’s break it down into a pack of four :
4 492 832 577 126 .4 4928 3257 7126
Here we have the number four in the package of 兆 . チョウ. Then we have the number four thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight which is found in the package of 億 . オク so in kanji we will write it like this : 四千九百二十八億. Then we have the package of 万 . マン where it is written three thousand two hundred and fifty-seven, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 三千二百五十七万. Finally, we have the last package where it is written seven thousand one hundred and twenty-six, so in kanji, we will write it like this : 七百十二十六.
4 492 832 577 126 .4 4928 3257 7126 .四兆四千九百二十八億三千二百五十七万七百十二十六
We’re going straight to billiards, the very last unit we’ll see in this course and that will probably only be used by one percent of you… maybe even less than one percent. But as I am very picky, we have to go through this final step.
1 000 000 000 000 000 .1000 0000 0000 0000
Here we have the number thousand which is found in the package of 兆 . チョウ so in kanji, we will write it like this :
1 000 000 000 000 .1000 0000 0000 0000 . 千兆
That being said, you can now guess how we write two billiards, three billiards four billiards, five billiards…
2 000 000 000 000 000 .
2 0000 0000 0000 .
二千兆
3 000 000 000 000 000 .
3 0000 0000 0000 .
三千兆
4 000 000 000 000 000 .
4 0000 0000 0000 .
四千兆
5 000 000 000 000 000 .
5 0000 0000 0000 .
五千兆
6 000 000 000 000 000 .
6 0000 0000 0000 .
六千兆
7 000 000 000 000 000 .
7 0000 0000 0000 .
七千兆
8 000 000 000 000 000 .
8 0000 0000 0000 .
八千兆
9 000 000 000 000 000 .
9 0000 0000 0000 .
九千兆
I don’t think I’ll give you a number as an example or we’ll end up with something absolutely huge, anyway, you’ve got the point now. You have to know how to count up to 9,999 per pack of four and know the name of these package as well as the few irregular pronunciations that we find here and there.
To recap the name of the packages, the first package has no name :
0000 → no name
The second package is that of 万. マン :
0000 0000 → package of 万 . マン
The third package is that of 億 . オク :
0000 0000 0000 → package of 億 . オク
The fourth package is that of 兆 . チョウ :
0000 0000 0000 0000 → package of 兆 . チョウ
There are of course plenty of other kanji to represent the following packages. The fifth package, for example, is that of 京 . ケイ, which is equivalent to 1016, it is a « one » with sixteen zeros behind, or ten billiards :
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
→ 京 . ケイ
The sixth package, for example, is that of 垓 . ガイ, which is equivalent to 1020, it is a « one » with twenty zeros behind, or one hundred trillion :
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000
→ 垓 . ガイ
Phew! Let’s stop there…
We can move on to the conclusion.
Here we are at the end of this third course on Japanese numbers. I congratulate you because you have certainly overcome the most difficult chapters of this part.
Perhaps most of you are still having trouble making the difference between millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions, billions... as the Japanese perceive them. This is quite understandable. As Westerners, you are used to the Arabic numeral system where you divide the numbers in packs of three. It is therefore important that you get out of this habit to think of numbers in packs of four like the Japanese do. It will not happen overnight, of course, but it is only through training that you will succeed.
An excellent tip for achieving this is, of course, to recite the numbers by heart (without forgetting the irregular pronunciations), but above all to recite them out of order. Make a list of random numbers from time to time and practice reciting and writing them down until you are able to recognize any number instantly. Practice starting from the Arabic numbers to go to the kanji and vice versa.
The next few lessons to come in this section will be lighter, so practice hard. You will have plenty of time to take a break afterwards.
If you play video games in Japanese language, for example video games including a scoring system, there is a good chance that the score will be displayed in Arabic numerals with commas to delimit the thousands, exactly as do English speakers.
Introduction