I want to know how to count in Japanese!
Difference between 数・数字・番号
When it comes to the number in Japanese, we need to distinguish well between the meanings of 数 (kazu), 数字 (suuji) and 番号 (bangou) because these three terms can be translated in the same way in English.
数
kazu
Number
Used to count something like an apple, two apples…
数字
suuji
Numerals
The writing system of the numbers like 1, 2, 3 and 一, 二, 三.
番号
bangou
Numeral indentifier
Used to specify something by numbers like telephone number.
And in this lesson, we will learn about 数 (kazu), how to count from 0 to 99.
How to count 0-99
So, let’s start counting.
Counitng up 0-9
From 0-9, we can use almost the same method with what we learned in a previous lesson on numerals.
So,
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 can be pronounced :
zero (rei), ichi, ni, san, yon (shi), go, roku, nana (shichi), hachi, kyuu (ku)
Conting from 10 -99
10 is pronunced as juu.
Counting from 11 to 99 is easier than in English.
We do a simple calculation.
So for example,
10 + 1 = 11
Juu ichi = Juu ichi
Just a word of caution about counting from 20 to 90.
For example, 20 is thought to be 2*10, so
2*10 = 20
Ni Juu = Ni juu
Like this, we basically pronounce the numbers in order.
Now let’s use this knowledge to count up to 99,
33 : san juu san
44 : yon juu yon (shi)
55 : go juu go
66 : roku juu roku
77 : nana juu nana (shichi)
88 : hachi juu hachi
99 : kyuu juu kyuu (ku)
Attention number
When it comes to counting 40, 70, 90, we need to pay attention to.
Although each of 4, 7, 9 has two pronunciations (4 : yon, shi, 7 : nana, shichi, 9 : kyuu, ku), there is only one way to pronounce 40, 70 and 90.
That is to say :
40 : YON juu
44 : YON juu yon (shi)
70 : NANA juu
77 : NANA juu nana (shichi)
90 : KYUU juu
99 : KYUU juu kyuu (ku)
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