Numbers Part 1

Like the rest of the world, Japan uses numbers that you will recognize (1, 2, 3, etc.) but it's also important to recognize the Japanese kanji characters for numbers. These should be the first kanji you learn since they are pretty easy to work with and memorize.

0                 ゼロ, れい   (zero, rei)               零

1                 いち            (ichi)                       一

2                 に                (ni)                         二

3                 さん            (san)                       三

4                 し, よん      (shi, yon)                四

5                 ご                (go)                        五

6                 ろく            (roku)                     六

7                 しち, なな   (shichi, nana)         七

8                 はち            (hachi)                    八

9                 きゅう, く   (kyuu, ku)              九

10               じゅう        (jyuu)                     十

For 0, ゼロ and れい are both equally used.

For 4, よん is more commonly used. In some cases, it will be only よ (よにん = 4 people). Also, in some cases only し is used for certain things (しがつ = April).

For 7, なな is more commonly used. In some cases, only しち is used for certain things (しちじ = 7 o’clock).

For 9, きゅう is more commonly used. In some cases, only く is used for certain things (くじ = 9 o’clock).