Saying 1-10 in Japanese is not only fun, it sounds like poetry. You can remember it easily and afterwards can be proud of being able to speak Japanese even if only a little!
Step
Method 1 of 2: Number 1-10
Practice saying:
Step 1. Ichi means one
(一)
- The "i" sound in it is read like the "i" in "mother" and the "chi" is read as "cyi".
- If spoken quickly, the "i" in "chi" will sound faint and/or muted and the "ichi" will sound like "each" in English.
Step 2. Ni means two
(二)
Pronounced like the "ni" in "farmer."
Step 3. San means three
(三)
Pronounced like "san" in "bored."
Step 4. Shi means four
(四)
- Pronounced like "she" in English.
- "Yon" has the same meaning and is read as usual.
Step 5. Go means five
(五)
English speakers tend to pronounce the word "go" as "gauw". In Japanese, "go" is spoken casually with round lips
Step 6. Roku means six
(六)
The "r" in "roku" is pronounced like a faint R like L and when fully read it becomes "loku". In English the letter R is pronounced using the center of the tongue and L is pronounced from the part that is about half a centimeter from the tip of the tongue, while in Japanese the letter R is pronounced from the tip of the tongue
Step 7. Shichi means seven
(七)
- Pronounced as "sicyi".
- "Nana" has the same meaning, with the letter "A" read as "Ah".
Step 8. Hachi means eight
(八)
Pronounced as "ha!" and "cyi"
Step 9. Kyuu means nine
(九)
Sounds like the letter "q". Like "go", English speakers tend to pronounce this number as "kyou" - this number should be pronounced with rounded lips
Step 10. Juu means ten
(十)
Pronounced like the "ju" in "cheese", but the "j" is pronounced like "zh"
Method 2 of 2: Counting Objects
If you want to speak or learn Japanese, try to know the system for counting objects in that language. Each type of object has a different count suffix. For example, long, slender objects such as pencils have their own suffix. Three pencils translates to san-bon (３本), three cats translates to san-biki (３匹). Even so, there are some objects that do not have a suffix. Use the instructions below to find out which suffix to use for these items or things you don't know the suffix for:
Step 1. Hitotsu means one
(一つ)
- Pronounced as "hi-to-tsu". English speakers often have difficulty pronouncing this word because the sound "tsu" is absent in English.
- This number consists of the kanji ichi (一) and the hiragana hiragana tsu (つ). This pattern will be repeated in subsequent numbers in this system.
Step 2. Futatsu means two
(二つ)
Reads as "fu-ta-tsu". The "F" in this word is read smoothly, unlike the F in English which is read clearly
Step 3. Mittsu means three
(三つ)
- Reads as "mi-tsu" (with a one-tap pause between the two syllables).
- Japanese is a language that has rhythm. Each character has its own pause or beat. Pauses in pronunciation have no less important role than letters that have sounds. For example, if you look at the phonetic characters in the word "みっつ", the word does not consist of two sounds, but three; the small tsu character in the middle serves as a stop sign. When a word from Japanese is written in Latin characters (referred to as "rōmaji"), you can recognize a break in it if the written word has two consonants next to each other - for example the two Ts in mi yyyysu. It may sound difficult, but this concept can be understood more easily if you have heard the word before.
Step 4. Yottsu means four
(四つ)
Reads as "yo-[pause]-tsu"
Step 5. Itsutsu means five
(五つ)
Read as "i-tsu-tsu" (two "tsu)
Step 6. Muttsu means six
(六つ)
Reads as "mu-[pause]-tsu"
Step 7. Nanatsu means seven
(七つ)
Reads as "nana-tsu"
Step 8. Yatsu means eight
(八つ)
Reads like "yah-tsu."
Step 9. Kokonotsu means nine
(九つ)
Reads as "koko-no-tsu."
Step 10. To means ten
(十)
- Reads as "To".
- Ten is the only number in the Japanese system that doesn't have the character at the end.
- It may sound complicated, but you can say the number of various items in Japanese and be understood by others if you can remember this system. This method is easier when compared to memorizing all existing counting systems.
- Japanese has two different counting systems because the first pronunciation system was based on Chinese (音読み on'yomi "how to read Chinese"), because the kanji (ideographic characters, i.e. characters that can represent ideas) used in Japan came from Chinese and absorbed into Japanese hundreds of years ago. The second system comes from the original Japanese words (訓読み kun'yomi "Japanese reading") for counting. In modern-day Japan most "kanji" are written using both systems and often contain more than one type of kanji. Both reading systems are used based on certain grammatical contexts.
Tips
- Using the hitotsu-futatsu counting system, you can add me (pronounced "me") to mark the sequence. For example, hitotsume means first, futatsume means second, and so on. "Nanatsume no inu" means "seventh dog" and can be used to say "that's the seventh dog that walks in my yard." You have to use "nana-hiki" to say "There are seven dogs".
- The numbers 11 to 99 are mentioned using a combination of numbers 1-10. For example, 11 is juu ichi (10 + 1), 19 is juu kyuu (10 + 9). For the variant number 20, ni juu go means 25 (2 * 10 + 5).
- Four and seven have the sound "shi," which also means death and has a different pronunciation depending on the conditions. Both numbers are pronounced "shi"-[noun] when used to count to ten, but can also be pronounced using other pronunciations. For example, 40 can be pronounced as yon-juu, 41 can be pronounced as yon-juu ichi, and so on. Try memorizing these alternative pronunciations to see how they are used.
- The Japanese language has different counting rules for different types of items and these rules must be memorized because they don't have a specific pattern. For example, "-piki" is used to count animals. "One dog" cannot be translated as "ichi inu", but "i-piki inu". Three pencils count as "san-bon".
- Visit the Japanese Online site and use the interactive learning program provided to learn the pronunciations listed above and more.
