Numbers, Time, and Counting
Japanese has two number systems: Chinese-origin on’yomi readings for math and dates, and native kun’yomi readings for counting things. Mandarin speakers will recognize much of the on’yomi side. This page covers numbers 1–10,000, counter words (量詞), telling time, days of the week, months, and everyday time expressions.
Counter words and irregular date readings are genuinely tricky. Even advanced learners pause to check the right counter or the reading for the 14th. Expect to revisit these tables often.
Two number systems: on’yomi and kun’yomi
Section titled “Two number systems: on’yomi and kun’yomi”Japanese uses two parallel number systems, the same way it uses two kanji reading systems:
| System | Origin | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| On’yomi (音読み) | Chinese | Math, dates, time, compound numbers | 一 (いち), 二 (に), 三 (さん) |
| Kun’yomi (訓読み) | Native Japanese | Counting objects (1–10) | 一つ (ひとつ), 二つ (ふたつ) |
Numbers 1–10
Section titled “Numbers 1–10”On’yomi (Chinese-origin)
Section titled “On’yomi (Chinese-origin)”| Kanji | Reading | Romaji | Mandarin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | いち | ichi | yī | Also ひと (rare alone) |
| 二 | に | ni | èr | |
| 三 | さん | san | sān | |
| 四 | し / よん | shi / yon | sì | よん preferred (し = death homophone) |
| 五 | ご | go | wǔ | |
| 六 | ろく | roku | liù | |
| 七 | しち / なな | shichi / nana | qī | なな preferred (しち = death) |
| 八 | はち | hachi | bā | |
| 九 | きゅう / く | kyū / ku | jiǔ | Both common |
| 十 | じゅう | jū | shí |
Kun’yomi (native, for counting things)
Section titled “Kun’yomi (native, for counting things)”| Number | Native form | Romaji | Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ひとつ | hitotsu | 一 + つ |
| 2 | ふたつ | futatsu | 二 + つ |
| 3 | みっつ | mittsu | 三 + つ |
| 4 | よっつ | yottsu | 四 + つ |
| 5 | いつつ | itsutsu | 五 + つ |
| 6 | むっつ | muttsu | 六 + つ |
| 7 | ななつ | nanatsu | 七 + つ |
| 8 | やっつ | yattsu | 八 + つ |
| 9 | ここのつ | kokonotsu | 九 + つ |
| 10 | とお | tō | 十 (standalone) |
Native counting uses heavy sound changes (ひとつ, ふたつ, みっつ). Kun’yomi fits bare counting of 1–10 things with no counter attached. Once you add a counter word (本, 枚, 人), switch to on’yomi: 三本 (san-bon), not みっつ本.
Numbers 11–10,000
Section titled “Numbers 11–10,000”Japanese combines tens and ones, the same way Mandarin does:
| Number | Japanese | Romaji | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | じゅういち | jū-ichi | 十一 (shíyī) |
| 20 | にじゅう | ni-jū | 二十 (èrshí) |
| 35 | さんじゅうご | san-jū-go | 三十五 (sānshíwǔ) |
| 99 | きゅうじゅうきゅう | kyū-jū-kyū | 九十九 (jiǔshíjiǔ) |
Pattern: [ones] + じゅう + [ones], mirroring Mandarin [tens][ones].
Hundreds, thousands, and 万
Section titled “Hundreds, thousands, and 万”| Number | Japanese | Romaji | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 百 | hyaku | 百 (bǎi) |
| 200 | に百 | ni-hyaku | 二百 |
| 300 | さん百 | san-byaku | 三百 (sound change!) |
| 600 | ろっ百 | rop-pyaku | 六百 (sound change!) |
| 800 | はっ百 | hap-pyaku | 八百 (sound change!) |
| 1000 | 千 | sen | 千 (qiān) |
| 3000 | さん千 | san-zen | 三千 (sound change!) |
| 8000 | はっ千 | hassen | 八千 |
| 10000 | 万 | man | 万 (wàn) |
万 (man/wàn) is the same character and the same value: 10,000. Japanese treats 万 as a core counting unit (100,000 = 十万 / jū-man; 1,000,000 = 百万 / hyaku-man). Mandarin speakers already count in 万, so the concept carries over directly.
Counter words (助数詞)
Section titled “Counter words (助数詞)”Like Mandarin 量词 (个, 本, 张, 杯), Japanese puts a counter word between the number and the noun. The number uses on’yomi. The counter often changes sound too, which is one of the harder parts of the system.
| Counter | Kanji | Used for | Example | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| こ | 個 | General small objects | りんご三個 | 三个苹果 |
| にん | 人 | People | 三人 | 三个人 |
| ほん | 本 | Long thin objects (bottles, pens, trees) | 三本 | 三本 |
| まい | 枚 | Flat objects (paper, shirts, plates) | 二枚 | 两张 |
| ひき | 匹 | Small animals | 二匹 | 两只 |
| だい | 台 | Machines, vehicles | 一台 | 一台 |
| はい | 杯 | Cups, glasses | 二杯 | 两杯 |
| さつ | 冊 | Books | 五冊 | 五册 |
When you are unsure, 個 (こ) works for many small items, similar to 个 in Mandarin. Natives prefer specific counters, but 個 is a reasonable placeholder while you learn the rest.
Example sentences
Section titled “Example sentences”| Japanese | Romaji | English | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|---|
| りんごを三個買いました | ringo o san-ko kaimashita | I bought three apples. | 我买了三个苹果。 |
| 学生が十人います | gakusei ga jū-nin imasu | There are ten students. | 有十个学生。 |
| 水を二杯飲みました | mizu o ni-hai nomimashita | I drank two glasses of water. | 我喝了两杯水。 |
| 本を五冊読みました | hon o go-satsu yomimashita | I read five books. | 我读了五本书。 |
| 猫が三匹います | neko ga san-biki imasu | There are three cats. | 有三只猫。 |
Telling time
Section titled “Telling time”Hours use on’yomi plus 時 (ji):
| Hour | Japanese | Romaji | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:00 | 一時 | ichiji | 一点 |
| 2:00 | 二時 | niji | 两点 |
| 3:00 | 三時 | sanji | 三点 |
| 4:00 | 四時 | yoji | 四点 |
| 7:00 | 七時 | shichiji | 七点 |
| 9:00 | 九時 | kuji | 九点 |
| 12:00 | 十二時 | jūniji | 十二点 |
Pattern: [number] + 時, the same logic as Mandarin [number] + 点.
Minutes
Section titled “Minutes”Minutes use on’yomi plus 分 (fun/pun), with sound changes:
| Minutes | Japanese | Romaji | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 min | 一分 | ippun | 一分 |
| 2 min | 二分 | nifun | 二分 |
| 3 min | 三分 | sanpun | 三分 |
| 5 min | 五分 | gofun | 五分 |
| 10 min | 十分 | juppun | 十分 |
Full time expressions
Section titled “Full time expressions”| Japanese | Romaji | English | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 三時半 | sanji han | 3:30 | 三点半 |
| 八時十分 | hachiji juppun | 8:10 | 八点十分 |
| 午前九時 | gozen kuji | 9 AM | 上午九点 |
| 午後二時 | gogo niji | 2 PM | 下午两点 |
| 今何時ですか | ima nanji desu ka | What time is it now? | 现在几点？ |
半 (han) matches Mandarin 半 (bàn): half past the hour. 三時半 = 三点半, same character and same placement after the hour.
Days of the week
Section titled “Days of the week”Japanese weekdays use the Chinese five elements plus sun and moon, the same system as Mandarin:
| Japanese | Romaji | Element | Mandarin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 月曜日 | getsuyōbi | 月 Moon | 星期一 | Monday |
| 火曜日 | kayōbi | 火 Fire | 星期二 | Tuesday |
| 水曜日 | suiyōbi | 水 Water | 星期三 | Wednesday |
| 木曜日 | mokuyōbi | 木 Wood | 星期四 | Thursday |
| 金曜日 | kin’yōbi | 金 Metal | 星期五 | Friday |
| 土曜日 | doyōbi | 土 Earth | 星期六 | Saturday |
| 日曜日 | nichiyōbi | 日 Sun | 星期日 | Sunday |
The element order 月火水木金土日 matches the Chinese weekday sequence: Monday is moon, Tuesday is fire, Wednesday is water, and so on.
Months and days of the month
Section titled “Months and days of the month”Months
Section titled “Months”Months follow the same pattern as Mandarin: number + 月.
| Japanese | Romaji | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|
| 一月 | ichigatsu | 一月 (yīyuè) |
| 二月 | nigatsu | 二月 |
| 三月 | sangatsu | 三月 |
| … | … | … |
| 十二月 | jūnigatsu | 十二月 |
April is an exception: 四月 is usually read しがつ, not よんがつ.
Days of the month: the irregular set
Section titled “Days of the month: the irregular set”Days 1–31 mix on’yomi and kun’yomi readings. Days 1–10, 14, 20, and 24 are irregular and worth memorizing on their own.
| Date | Japanese | Romaji | Date | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 一ち | tsuitachi | 11th | 十一日 | jūichinichi |
| 2nd | 二か | futsuka | 14th | 十四日 | jūyokka |
| 3rd | 三か | mikka | 20th | 二十 | hatsuka |
| 4th | 四か | yokka | 24th | 二十四 | nijūyokka |
| 5th | 五か | itsuka | 31st | 三十一日 | sanjūichinichi |
| 10th | 十か | tōka |
From the 11th onward (except 14, 20, and 24), the pattern is regular: number + 日 (にち). Examples: 15日 = じゅうごにち, 25日 = にじゅうごにち.
Day readings and month readings follow different rules. 三日 as a calendar date is みっか (3rd day), while 三月 is さんがつ (March). Context tells you which reading to use.
Common time expressions
Section titled “Common time expressions”| Japanese | Romaji | English | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 今日 | kyō | today | 今天 |
| 明日 | ashita | tomorrow | 明天 |
| 昨日 | kinō | yesterday | 昨天 |
| 毎日 | mainichi | every day | 每天 |
| 毎週 | maishū | every week | 每周 |
| 毎月 | maitsuki | every month | 每月 |
| 毎年 | maitoshi | every year | 每年 |
| 今週 | konshū | this week | 这周 |
| 来週 | raishū | next week | 下周 |
| 先週 | senshū | last week | 上周 |
| 今 | ima | now | 现在 |
| 後 | ato | later / after | 以后 |
Japanese vs Mandarin: comparison tables
Section titled “Japanese vs Mandarin: comparison tables”Numbers 1–10
Section titled “Numbers 1–10”| # | Japanese (on) | Japanese (kun) | Mandarin | Kanji |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | いち | ひとつ | yī | 一 |
| 2 | に | ふたつ | èr | 二 |
| 3 | さん | みっつ | sān | 三 |
| 4 | よん | よっつ | sì | 四 |
| 5 | ご | いつつ | wǔ | 五 |
| 6 | ろく | むっつ | liù | 六 |
| 7 | なな | ななつ | qī | 七 |
| 8 | はち | やっつ | bā | 八 |
| 9 | きゅう | ここのつ | jiǔ | 九 |
| 10 | じゅう | とお | shí | 十 |
Counters shared with Mandarin
Section titled “Counters shared with Mandarin”| Concept | Japanese | Reading | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | 個 | こ (ko) | 个 (gè) |
| People | 人 | にん (nin) | 人 / 位 |
| Vehicles | 台 | だい (dai) | 台 (tái) |
| Cups | 杯 | はい (hai) | 杯 (bēi) |
| Books | 冊 | さつ (satsu) | 册 (cè) |
| Animals | 匹 | ひき (hiki) | 只 (zhī) |
| Flat objects | 枚 | まい (mai) | 张 (zhāng) |
| Long objects | 本 | ほん (hon) | 条/根 |
Time words
Section titled “Time words”| Concept | Japanese | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|
| Hour (o’clock) | ～時 (ji) | ～点 (diǎn) |
| Minute | ～分 (fun/pun) | ～分 (fēn) |
| Half past | ～時半 (han) | ～点半 (bàn) |
| AM | 午前 (gozen) | 上午 (shàngwǔ) |
| PM | 午後 (gogo) | 下午 (xiàwǔ) |
| What time? | 何時 (nanji) | 几点 (jǐ diǎn) |
| 10,000 | 万 (man) | 万 (wàn) |
Example sentences in context
Section titled “Example sentences in context”| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| 今日は水曜日です | kyō wa suiyōbi desu | Today is Wednesday. |
| 会議は三時からです | kaigi wa sanji kara desu | The meeting is from 3 o’clock. |
| 卵を六個買いました | tamago o rokko kaimashita | I bought six eggs. |
| 来月の五か日に行きます | raigetsu no itsuka ni ikimasu | I will go on the 5th of next month. |
| 毎日七時に起きます | mainichi shichiji ni okimasu | I wake up at 7 every day. |
On’yomi numbers, regular time patterns, and shared kanji give you a solid base. The remaining work is mostly counter sound changes and the irregular calendar dates. Those take repetition, but they cover most of what you need for schedules, shopping, and appointments.