🔢 Japanese Numbers 1–100: Complete Guide with Pronunciation

Counting in Japanese is one of the first—and most fun—things every learner masters. Whether you’re ordering at a restaurant, counting money, or telling your age, numbers are everywhere in daily Japanese life.

This guide covers everything you need to count from 1 to 100 in Japanese—with pronunciations, examples, counting patterns, and tips to sound natural.

🎌 The Basics: Japanese Numbers 1–10

Japanese uses a base-10 system (decimal) just like English. Once you learn 1–10, you can build all the rest easily.

Number	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
1	一	いち	ichi	ee-chee
2	二	に	ni	ni
3	三	さん	san	san
4	四	し / よん	shi/yon	shee / yohn
5	五	ご	go	go
6	六	ろく	roku	roh-koo
7	七	しち / なな	shichi/nana	shee-chee / nah-nah
8	八	はち	hachi	hah-chee
9	九	きゅう / く	kyuu / ku	kyoo / koo
10	十	じゅう	juu	joo

🧠 Tip:
4 (shi) and 7 (shichi) are sometimes replaced with yon and nana — because “shi” sounds like “death” (死).

🧮 Counting from 11 to 19

In Japanese, numbers after 10 are built logically:

“10 + [number]” → just add after juu (十)

Number	Japanese	Romaji	English
11	十一	juu ichi	10 + 1
12	十二	juu ni	10 + 2
13	十三	juu san	10 + 3
14	十四	juu yon	10 + 4
15	十五	juu go	10 + 5
16	十六	juu roku	10 + 6
17	十七	juu nana	10 + 7
18	十八	juu hachi	10 + 8
19	十九	juu kyuu	10 + 9

So easy, right? Once you know 1–10, you can count up to 99 by simple addition patterns!

💯 Tens in Japanese (20, 30, 40…90)

For 20, 30, 40, etc., simply say

“[multiple of 10] × juu (十)”

Number	Japanese	Romaji	English
20	二十	ni-juu	2 × 10
30	三十	san-juu	3 × 10
40	四十	yon-juu	4 × 10
50	五十	go-juu	5 × 10
60	六十	roku-juu	6 × 10
70	七十	nana-juu	7 × 10
80	八十	hachi-juu	8 × 10
90	九十	kyuu-juu	9 × 10

🧩 Numbers 21–99

Combine tens + ones:

[Tens] + [Ones]

Examples:

21 → 二十一 (ni-juu ichi)
35 → 三十五 (san-juu go)
47 → 四十七 (yon-juu nana)
68 → 六十八 (roku-juu hachi)
99 → 九十九 (kyuu-juu kyuu)

Simple formula:
(Tens × juu) + Ones

Also, visit here:

💯 100 in Japanese

Number	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji	Pronunciation
100	百	ひゃく	hyaku	hyah-koo

🔍 Fun Fact:
The word hyaku (百) forms the base for higher numbers —
200 = nihyaku, 300 = sanbyaku, 400 = yonhyaku, etc.

📊 Chart: Japanese Numbers 1–100

Range	Pattern	Example
1–10	Simple	ichi, ni, san…
11–19	juu + number	juu ichi (11), juu go (15)
20–90	number + juu	ni juu (20), san juu (30)
21–99	number + juu + number	yon juu nana (47), roku juu ni (62)
100	hyaku	hyaku (100)

🗾 Everyday Use of Numbers

Situation	Example	English
Age	わたしは二十五歳です。 (Watashi wa nijū go sai desu)	I am 25 years old.
Money	三千円です。 (Sanzen en desu)	It’s 3,000 yen.
Time	九時です。 (Ku-ji desu)	It’s 9 o’clock.
Dates	十月二日 (Jūgatsu futsuka)	October 2nd

💡 Counting Tips

✅ Use “yon” instead of “shi” for 4.
✅ Use “nana” instead of “shichi” for 7.
✅ Always pronounce vowels clearly—Japanese has flat, rhythmic intonation.
✅ For higher numbers, remember:

100 = hyaku
1,000 = sen
10,000 = man

🧠 Quick Mnemonics

Number	Mnemonic
1 (ichi)	“Ichi, one sandwich.”
2 (ni)	“Knee for two legs.”
3 (san)	“The sun has 3 rays.”
4 (yon)	“Four yons in a row.”
5 (go)	“Go five steps!”
6 (roku)	“Rock you!”
7 (nana)	“Lucky 7—nana!”
8 (hachi)	“Hatch eight eggs.”
9 (kyuu)	“Queue of 9 people.”
10 (juu)	“Juul pods = 10 out of 10.” 😄

🌸 Conclusion: Count Like a Native

Counting in Japanese may seem new at first, but it’s beautifully logical and consistent. Once you understand the pattern behind juu (10) and hyaku (100), you can count to any number effortlessly.

Start small—practice 1–10 until natural, then expand daily.
Before long, you’ll be ordering sushi 🍣, buying tickets 🎫, and reading prices 💴 like a local!

🎯 Goal: Master the rhythm and pronunciation — that’s the real secret to sounding fluent.

Japanese Numbers 1–100: Complete Guide with Pronunciation