| Numeral | Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|
| 0 | 零 | れい/ゼロ | rei / zero |
| 1 | 一 | いち | ichi |
| 2 | 二 | に | ni |
| 3 | 三 | さん | san |
| 4 | 四 | し/よん | shi / yon |
| 5 | 五 | ご | go |
| 6 | 六 | ろく | roku |
| 7 | 七 | しち/なな | shichi / nana |
| 8 | 八 | はち | hachi |
| 9 | 九 | きゅう/く | kyuu / ku |
| 10 | 十 | じゅう | juu |
⚠️ 4, 7, and 9 have two common readings. し (4) and く (9) sound like the words for "death" and "suffering", so よん and きゅう are often preferred, especially when counting things.
| Numeral | Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|
| 11 | 十一 | じゅういち | juu-ichi |
| 12 | 十二 | じゅうに | juu-ni |
| 13 | 十三 | じゅうさん | juu-san |
| 14 | 十四 | じゅうよん | juu-yon |
| 15 | 十五 | じゅうご | juu-go |
| 16 | 十六 | じゅうろく | juu-roku |
| 17 | 十七 | じゅうなな | juu-nana |
| 18 | 十八 | じゅうはち | juu-hachi |
| 19 | 十九 | じゅうきゅう | juu-kyuu |
| Numeral | Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|
| 20 | 二十 | にじゅう | ni-juu |
| 30 | 三十 | さんじゅう | san-juu |
| 40 | 四十 | よんじゅう | yon-juu |
| 50 | 五十 | ごじゅう | go-juu |
| 60 | 六十 | ろくじゅう | roku-juu |
| 70 | 七十 | ななじゅう | nana-juu |
| 80 | 八十 | はちじゅう | hachi-juu |
| 90 | 九十 | きゅうじゅう | kyuu-juu |
Numbers 21–99 combine these: 十 (tens) + digit, e.g. 二十五 (ni-juu-go) = 25.
| Numeral | Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|
| 100 | 百 | ひゃく | hyaku |
| 200 | 二百 | にひゃく | ni-hyaku |
| 300 | 三百 | さんびゃく | san-byaku (sound change) |
| 400 | 四百 | よんひゃく | yon-hyaku |
| 500 | 五百 | ごひゃく | go-hyaku |
| 600 | 六百 | ろっぴゃく | rop-pyaku (sound change) |
| 700 | 七百 | ななひゃく | nana-hyaku |
| 800 | 八百 | はっぴゃく | hap-pyaku (sound change) |
| 900 | 九百 | きゅうひゃく | kyuu-hyaku |
⚠️ 300, 600, and 800 undergo a sound change (rendaku/gemination) for easier pronunciation: さんびゃく, ろっぴゃく, はっぴゃく.
Thousands (千)
| Numeral | Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|
| 1,000 | 千 | せん | sen |
| 2,000 | 二千 | にせん | ni-sen |
| 3,000 | 三千 | さんぜん | san-zen (sound change) |
| 4,000 | 四千 | よんせん | yon-sen |
| 5,000 | 五千 | ごせん | go-sen |
| 6,000 | 六千 | ろくせん | roku-sen |
| 7,000 | 七千 | ななせん | nana-sen |
| 8,000 | 八千 | はっせん | has-sen (sound change) |
| 9,000 | 九千 | きゅうせん | kyuu-sen |
Ten-thousands and beyond (万)
Japanese groups large numbers by 10,000 (万, man), not by 1,000 like English. This is the biggest mental shift when reading big numbers.
| Numeral | Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|
| 10,000 | 一万 | いちまん | ichi-man |
| 100,000 | 十万 | じゅうまん | juu-man |
| 1,000,000 | 百万 | ひゃくまん | hyaku-man |
| 10,000,000 | 千万 | せんまん | sen-man |
| 100,000,000 | 一億 | いちおく | ichi-oku |
Japanese often requires a counter word attached to the number depending on what's being counted, instead of just the bare number:
| Counter | Used for | Example (3) | Romaji |
|---|
| 個 (ko) | small objects | 三個 | san-ko |
| 人 (nin) | people | 三人 | san-nin |
| 本 (hon) | long thin objects | 三本 | san-bon |
| 枚 (mai) | flat thin objects | 三枚 | san-mai |
| 匹 (hiki) | small animals | 三匹 | san-biki |
| 歳 (sai) | age | 三歳 | san-sai |
⚠️ Some counters, people counts (1 and 2), and ages (20) have special irregular readings: 一人 (hitori, "one person"), 二人 (futari, "two people"), 二十歳 (hatachi, "20 years old").