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1 to 9 in Japanese
Let's learn to say 1 to 9 in Japanese. It is essential to learn them because it is a basic way of saying numbers.
How to say Japanese numbers 1 to 9
Learn how to read from 1 to 9 first.
Japanese language has Kanji characters, so please learn Kanji characters as well. Kanji numbers are used to write addresses vertically and also in idioms. They are relatively simple and easy to remember compared with other Kanji.
| Number | Romaji | Kanji | Hiragana |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ichi | 一 | いち |
| 2 | ni | 二 | に |
| 3 | san | 三 | さん |
| 4 | yon/shi | 四 | よん／し |
| 5 | go | 五 | ご |
| 6 | roku | 六 | ろく |
| 7 | nana | 七 | なな |
| 8 | hachi | 八 | はち |
| 9 | kyuu | 九 | きゅう |
What are Japanese counters?
When counting things in Japanese, counter is necessary.
For example, when counting bananas in English, we say "one banana". But in Japanese, "1本のバナナ/ippon no banana/ one banana" is used. The "本/hon, pon/" is added to long and thin objects.
Other ways of saying things are different depending on the object, such as "枚 /mai/" when counting sheets of paper, "足 /soku/" when counting shoes, and "台 /dai/" when counting computers.
Many of my students find it more difficult to memorize the counters than to memorize numbers. However, it is a basic part of the Japanese language, so please learn numbers along with counters too.