Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 2: Numbers 1-10
• Method 2 of 2: Counting objects
• Tips

Not only does this mean the 1-10 numeric system in Japan, but it's super fun to say and almost sounds like a poem. It's easy to remember and you can start telling people you speak Japanese!

To step

Method 1 of 2: Numbers 1-10

Practice the following:

1. Ichi means one. (一)
   • The i sounds like ea in each and the chee is like cheek.
   • When you pronounce it quickly it becomes ee part not or hardly spoken and the whole word sounds like each.
2. Ni means two.　(二)
   • It sounds like knee.
3. San means three.　(三)
   • It sounds like sahn.
4. Shi means four.　(四)
   • It just sounds like chi.
   • It can also be pronounced as Jon (sounds like john, not like jahn)
5. Go means five.　(五)
   • English speakers tend to take the floor go pronounce as if there gohw state. When you go in Japanese, then you should keep your mouth shut when you're done, to avoid heading towards one w sound slips.
6. Roku means six.　(六)
   • The R is pronounced like a cross between the R and L, so when you pronounce it, it should sound like loh-koo. An English R is pronounced in the center of the tongue, but a Dutch and also a Japanese R are pronounced using only the tip of the tongue.
7. Shichi means seven.　(七)
   • Sounds like she-chee, with a slight tch at the chee.
   • It can also be pronounced as nana (the As are pronounced Ah).
8. Hachi means eight.　(八)
   • It sounds like ha! and then tchee.
9. Kyuu means nine.　(九)
   • It sounds like the letter q in English. Just like go English speakers tend to pronounce it as kyoow - make sure to keep your mouth shut on the oo sound and not to the w slips.
10. Juu means ten. (十)
    • It is pronounced joo, with a little bit of zh on the j.

Method 2 of 2: Counting objects

If you plan to speak or study Japanese, it is helpful to know the alternative counting system used to number objects. As noted below, different articles have different counting suffixes associated with the number. In the case of long, thin objects such as pencils san-bon (３ 本), in the case of cats san-biki (３ 匹). However, some items do not have suffixes or you may not know them. In these cases you can use the system below.

1. Hitotsu means one. (一つ)
   • It is pronounced hie, totsu. (This is probably the hardest sound for English speakers to make as it doesn't exist in English. Think of "Sue" where you start with your tongue between your teeth.)
   • Note that the kanji consists of ichi (一) and hiragana tsu (つ). This pattern will continue with all other numbers in this system.
2. Futatsu means two.　(二つ)
   • It sounds like foo (the f is quieter and less noticeable than in English) ta (as in talk) tsu (that annoying tsu again).
3. Mittsu means three.　(三つ)
   • It sounds like mie [unspoken pause of a beat] tsu.
   • Japanese is a rhythmic language. Every character and every pause gets a hit. So if you spoke it to a metronome, the silences and pauses are just as important as the sounds spoken. If you look at the phonetic characters of this word, “み っ つ”, it doesn't consist of two sounds, but three; that little tsu in the middle represents a pause in speech. When Japanese is written with Latin characters (ロ ー マ 字 called "rōmaji"), you can indicate these pauses by two consonants next to each other - in this case the two Ts (mittsu). It's tricky, but if you listen to it, you'll soon begin to understand.
4. Yottsu means four.　(四つ)
   • It sounds like yo [pause] tsu.
5. Itsutsu means five.　(五つ)
   • It sounds like ie (as in iek) tsutsu (double tsu!).
6. Muttsu means six.　(六つ)
   • It sounds like moo (with a short oo - don't stretch it) [pause] tsu.
7. Nanatsu means seven.　(七つ)
   • "nana" "tsu"
8. Yatsu means eight.　(八つ)
   • It sounds like "yah" "tsu".
9. Kokonotsu means nine.　(九つ)
   • It sounds like "coco" "no" "tsu".
10. To means ten.　(十)
    • It sounds like to, but again, let the oo not in one w slipping.
    • This is the only number in the system that does not have つ at the end.
    • It may seem complicated, but if you can remember this then you can count almost any item and Japanese people will understand. It's much easier than learning all the different counters.
    • Why does Japanese have two counting systems? In a nutshell, the pronunciations of the first system are based on Chinese (音 読 み on'yomi "Chinese reading"), as the Japanese use their kanji (ideographic, or ideas-expressing, characters) borrowed from the Chinese language centuries ago. The second system is derived from the original Japanese words (訓 読 み kun’yomi “Japanese Reading”) for numbers. In modern Japanese, most have kanji both one on'yomi like a kun’yomi - and often more than one - and both readings are used depending on the (grammatical) situation.

Tips

• Numbers from 11 to 99 are combinations of the numbers 1-10. For example 11 is juu ichi (10 + 1), 19 is juu kyuu (10 + 9). For 20 it's monkets; 25 is ni juu go (2 * 10 + 5).
• When using the hitotsu-futatsu number system, you can get 目 me (pronounced "meh") add to indicate order. So hitotsume is the first, futatsume is the second, mittsume is the third, etc. "Nanatsume no inu" is then The seventh dog as in That's the seventh dog I've seen in my yard today. But if you want to say There were seven dogs, then you have to use nana-hiki.
• Japanese continues to add a comprehensive system for counting different types of objects, which requires memorization as it doesn't really follow any rules. For instance -piki is the counter for animals. Instead of ichi inu in front of a dog is the i-piki (ee-peekee). Three pencils are san-bon (san + bone).
• Four and seven both contain the sound shi, which also means death, so they have different sayings that are used at different times. When counted to ten, they use their normal shi-containing names, but other numbers can use the alternate pronunciations. For example, 40 yon is juu, 41 is yon juu ichi. It's just a matter of remembering which one is used when.
• Go to Japanese Online and use their interactive curriculum to learn how to pronounce these and other words.