Numbers 1 to 100 in Japanese (in words)
| Number | Japanese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | いち | ichi | one |
| 2 | に | ni | two |
| 3 | さん | san | three |
| 4 | よん | yon | four |
| 5 | ご | go | five |
| 6 | ろく | roku | six |
| 7 | なな | nana | seven |
| 8 | はち | hachi | eight |
| 9 | きゅう | kyuu | nine |
| 10 | じゅう | juu | ten |
| 11 | じゅういち | juuichi | eleven |
| 12 | じゅうに | juuni | twelve |
| 13 | じゅうさん | juusan | thirteen |
| 14 | じゅうよん | juuyon | fourteen |
| 15 | じゅうご | juugo | fifteen |
| 16 | じゅうろく | juuroku | sixteen |
| 17 | じゅうなな | juunana | seventeen |
| 18 | じゅうはち | juuhachi | eighteen |
| 19 | じゅうきゅう | juukyuu | nineteen |
| 20 | にじゅう | nijuu | twenty |
| 21 | にじゅういち | nijuuichi | twenty-one |
| 22 | にじゅうに | nijuuni | twenty-two |
| 23 | にじゅうさん | nijuusan | twenty-three |
| 24 | にじゅうよん | nijuuyon | twenty-four |
| 25 | にじゅうご | nijuugo | twenty-five |
| 26 | にじゅうろく | nijuuroku | twenty-six |
| 27 | にじゅうなな | nijuunana | twenty-seven |
| 28 | にじゅうはち | nijuuhachi | twenty-eight |
| 29 | にじゅうきゅう | nijuukyuu | twenty-nine |
| 30 | さんじゅう | sanjuu | thirty |
| 31 | さんじゅういち | sanjuuichi | thirty-one |
| 32 | さんじゅうに | sanjuuni | thirty-two |
| 33 | さんじゅうさん | sanjuusan | thirty-three |
| 34 | さんじゅうよん | sanjuuyon | thirty-four |
| 35 | さんじゅうご | sanjuugo | thirty-five |
| 36 | さんじゅうろく | sanjuuroku | thirty-six |
| 37 | さんじゅうなな | sanjuunana | thirty-seven |
| 38 | さんじゅうはち | sanjuuhachi | thirty-eight |
| 39 | さんじゅうきゅう | sanjuukyuu | thirty-nine |
| 40 | よんじゅう | yonjuu | forty |
| 41 | よんじゅういち | yonjuuichi | forty-one |
| 42 | よんじゅうに | yonjuuni | forty-two |
| 43 | よんじゅうさん | yonjuusan | forty-three |
| 44 | よんじゅうよん | yonjuuyon | forty-four |
| 45 | よんじゅうご | yonjuugo | forty-five |
| 46 | よんじゅうろく | yonjuuroku | forty-six |
| 47 | よんじゅうなな | yonjuunana | forty-seven |
| 48 | よんじゅうはち | yonjuuhachi | forty-eight |
| 49 | よんじゅうきゅう | yonjuukyuu | forty-nine |
| 50 | ごじゅう | gojuu | fifty |
| 51 | ごじゅういち | gojuuichi | fifty-one |
| 52 | ごじゅうに | gojuuni | fifty-two |
| 53 | ごじゅうさん | gojuusan | fifty-three |
| 54 | ごじゅうよん | gojuuyon | fifty-four |
| 55 | ごじゅうご | gojuugo | fifty-five |
| 56 | ごじゅうろく | gojuuroku | fifty-six |
| 57 | ごじゅうなな | gojuunana | fifty-seven |
| 58 | ごじゅうはち | gojuuhachi | fifty-eight |
| 59 | ごじゅうきゅう | gojuukyuu | fifty-nine |
| 60 | ろくじゅう | rokujuu | sixty |
| 61 | ろくじゅういち | rokujuuichi | sixty-one |
| 62 | ろくじゅうに | rokujuuni | sixty-two |
| 63 | ろくじゅうさん | rokujuusan | sixty-three |
| 64 | ろくじゅうよん | rokujuuyon | sixty-four |
| 65 | ろくじゅうご | rokujuugo | sixty-five |
| 66 | ろくじゅうろく | rokujuuroku | sixty-six |
| 67 | ろくじゅうなな | rokujuunana | sixty-seven |
| 68 | ろくじゅうはち | rokujuuhachi | sixty-eight |
| 69 | ろくじゅうきゅう | rokujuukyuu | sixty-nine |
| 70 | ななじゅう | nanajuu | seventy |
| 71 | ななじゅういち | nanajuuichi | seventy-one |
| 72 | ななじゅうに | nanajuuni | seventy-two |
| 73 | ななじゅうさん | nanajuusan | seventy-three |
| 74 | ななじゅうよん | nanajuuyon | seventy-four |
| 75 | ななじゅうご | nanajuugo | seventy-five |
| 76 | ななじゅうろく | nanajuuroku | seventy-six |
| 77 | ななじゅうなな | nanajuunana | seventy-seven |
| 78 | ななじゅうはち | nanajuuhachi | seventy-eight |
| 79 | ななじゅうきゅう | nanajuukyuu | seventy-nine |
| 80 | はちじゅう | hachijuu | eighty |
| 81 | はちじゅういち | hachijuuichi | eighty-one |
| 82 | はちじゅうに | hachijuuni | eighty-two |
| 83 | はちじゅうさん | hachijuusan | eighty-three |
| 84 | はちじゅうよん | hachijuuyon | eighty-four |
| 85 | はちじゅうご | hachijuugo | eighty-five |
| 86 | はちじゅうろく | hachijuuroku | eighty-six |
| 87 | はちじゅうなな | hachijuunana | eighty-seven |
| 88 | はちじゅうはち | hachijuuhachi | eighty-eight |
| 89 | はちじゅうきゅう | hachijuukyuu | eighty-nine |
| 90 | きゅうじゅう | kyuujuu | ninety |
| 91 | きゅうじゅういち | kyuujuuichi | ninety-one |
| 92 | きゅうじゅうに | kyuujuuni | ninety-two |
| 93 | きゅうじゅうさん | kyuujuusan | ninety-three |
| 94 | きゅうじゅうよん | kyuujuuyon | ninety-four |
| 95 | きゅうじゅうご | kyuujuugo | ninety-five |
| 96 | きゅうじゅうろく | kyuujuuroku | ninety-six |
| 97 | きゅうじゅうなな | kyuujuunana | ninety-seven |
| 98 | きゅうじゅうはち | kyuujuuhachi | ninety-eight |
| 99 | きゅうじゅうきゅう | kyuujuukyuu | ninety-nine |
| 100 | ひゃく | hyaku | one hundred |
Numbers in Japanese are wonderfully regular: learn ten words and you can count all the way to ninety-nine. Tap any number on the chart above to hear it in Japanese and English, or press Count with me and count from いち (ichi) to ひゃく (hyaku, 100). This page also explains the two sets of Japanese numbers, why four has two names, and how Japanese children count on their fingers.
Japanese numbers 1 to 10
いち ichi, に ni, さん san, よん yon, ご go, ろく roku, なな nana, はち hachi, きゅう kyuu, じゅう juu. In kanji they are 一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十, the same characters as Chinese. Zero is usually said ゼロ (zero), from English, or れい (rei).
Japanese numbers 1 to 20 with romaji
| Number | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | いち | ichi |
| 2 | に | ni |
| 3 | さん | san |
| 4 | よん | yon |
| 5 | ご | go |
| 6 | ろく | roku |
| 7 | なな | nana |
| 8 | はち | hachi |
| 9 | きゅう | kyuu |
| 10 | じゅう | juu |
| 11 | じゅういち | juuichi |
| 12 | じゅうに | juuni |
| 13 | じゅうさん | juusan |
| 14 | じゅうよん | juuyon |
| 15 | じゅうご | juugo |
| 16 | じゅうろく | juuroku |
| 17 | じゅうなな | juunana |
| 18 | じゅうはち | juuhachi |
| 19 | じゅうきゅう | juukyuu |
| 20 | にじゅう | nijuu |
Eleven is "ten-one" (じゅういち), twelve "ten-two" (じゅうに). There are no special words like "eleven" or "twelve" to learn.
How to count to 100 in Japanese
Tens are "two-ten" (にじゅう, 20), "three-ten" (さんじゅう, 30) and so on. Add a unit for any number: にじゅういち is 21, よんじゅうご is 45, きゅうじゅうきゅう is 99. One hundred is ひゃく. Because the words describe the number exactly ("four tens and five"), children who count in Japanese get a head start on place value. Compare with the English 1 to 100 chart and let your child find the pattern.
Why 4, 7 and 9 have two names
Japanese borrowed its main numbers from Chinese long ago, and a few have an older reading too:
- 4 can be よん (yon) or し (shi). Because shi also sounds like the word for death, people prefer yon, and some hospitals and flats skip room 4.
- 7 can be なな (nana) or しち (shichi). Nana is more common when counting.
- 9 can be きゅう (kyuu) or く (ku), which sounds like the word for suffering, so kyuu is preferred.
The audio here uses yon, nana and kyuu, the forms young children hear most. If a Japanese grandparent counts いち、に、さん、し, that is correct too: both are right, and children learn both naturally.
The other way to count: hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu
Japanese also has native numbers for counting things up to ten: ひとつ、ふたつ、みっつ、よっつ、いつつ、むっつ、ななつ、やっつ、ここのつ、とお. Parents use them all the time with toddlers: "いちごを ふたつ どうぞ" (here are two strawberries). A child asked "いくつ？" (how many?) answers with these words, and a three-year-old's age is みっつ. Japanese also uses counters, little words after the number: 〜ひき for small animals, 〜ほん for long things like pencils. Just use them naturally; children absorb them over years.
Japanese finger counting
Japanese children count on their fingers the opposite way to many Western children: start with an open hand and fold a finger down for each number, thumb first. At five you have a fist, then open the fingers again for six to ten. Try it together while counting stairs, and use the counting 1 to 10 game for extra practice in English.
Numbers in Japanese culture
- Shichi-Go-San (seven-five-three) is a November celebration for children aged three, five and seven.
- Children's Day on 5 May: count the koinobori carp streamers flying above houses, one for each family member.
- Bath time counting: Japanese parents often ask children to count to ten, or even thirty, in the bath before getting out. It is a fun daily habit to copy.
- Hide and seek: the seeker counts to ten with eyes closed, then calls "もういいかい？" (ready?), and the hiders answer "まあだだよ" (not yet).
- Lucky numbers: seven and eight are considered lucky; the kanji 八 spreads wider at the bottom, like good fortune growing.
A simple plan by age
| Age | Goal | Idea |
|---|---|---|
| 2-3 | Hear 1 to 5 | Count shoes at the door: いち、に、さん |
| 3-4 | Say 1 to 10 | Bath-time count to ten; Count with me once a day |
| 4-5 | Count to 20, answer "how many?" | Use ひとつ、ふたつ at snack time |
| 5-6 | Tens to 100, kanji 一 to 十 | Tap the tens on the chart; write 一 二 三 |
Keep it playful and short. If your child mixes up yon and shi, smile: they are both correct.
For heritage and bilingual families
Counting is often the first thing a Japanese-speaking parent passes on, and bath-time counting is an easy routine to keep abroad. The numbers here use the same kanji as numbers in Chinese, and Korean shares the same double system (see numbers in Korean). There is no Japanese numbers worksheet PDF, but you can print this page from your browser; the 1 to 20 table prints as a clean chart with romaji.
いっしょに かぞえてみよう
にほんごの かずは とても わかりやすいです。いちから じゅうまで おぼえたら、じゅういちは「じゅう」と「いち」、にじゅうは「に」と「じゅう」。この きまりで ひゃくまで かぞえられます。
おふろで「いち、に、さん……じゅう！」と かぞえたり、おやつの いちごを「ひとつ、ふたつ」と かぞえたり。かくれんぼで じゅうまで かぞえるのも いい れんしゅうです。「よん」でも「し」でも どちらも せいかい。たのしく かぞえられたら、たくさん ほめてあげてください。
How to use this page at home
Say it, then find it
Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: japanese words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.
Ten minutes is enough
Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.
Use both languages
Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.
