Lesson L1N5Core N5 Vocabulary and Communication⏱ 20 min

Numbers 1–10,000

Learn Japanese counting: 一 to 十, then 百, 千, 万. Practice reading prices, ages, and quantities. Learn counter words: 〜人 (people), 〜冊 (books), 〜枚 (flat things).

🎯 Goal: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to confidently count, read, and write numbers from 1 to 10,000 in Japanese, recognize key phonetic irregularities (such as in the hundreds and thousands columns), and apply this knowledge to understand prices and basic numerical data in everyday N5-level contexts.

Introduction

Numbers are the backbone of daily communication in Japanese, essential for shopping, telling time, sharing contact information, and stating ages. In this lesson, we will demystify the Japanese numerical system from 1 all the way to 10,000. You will learn the core digits, how to combine them to form larger numbers, and the crucial transition points where pronunciation changes (such as 300, 600, and 8,000). We will also introduce the concept of "man" (10,000), which is the fundamental unit for large numbers in Japanese. By mastering these patterns, you will build a solid foundation for practical, real-world conversations.

Lesson Content

Master Japanese Numbers 1–10,000 (JLPT N5)

Welcome! Mastering Japanese numbers is one of the most rewarding milestones in your language journey. Unlike English, Japanese numbers are incredibly logical. Once you learn the basic building blocks, you can construct almost any number up to 10,000 with ease.

Let’s unlock this system step-by-step.

1. The Foundation: Numbers 1–10

These ten numbers are your building blocks. Pay close attention to the numbers with multiple readings (4, 7, and 9); these are highly tested at the N5 level.

Number	Kanji	Hiragana	Romaji	Tutor Note
1	一	いち	ichi
2	二	に	ni
3	三	さん	san
4	四	よん / し	yon / shi	Shi is associated with death (死); yon is safer and more common.
5	五	ご	go
6	六	ろく	roku
7	七	なな / しち	nana / shichi	Nana is preferred to avoid confusion with ichi (1).
8	八	はち	hachi
9	九	きゅう / く	kyuu / ku	Ku is associated with suffering (苦); kyuu is standard.
10	十	じゅう	juu

2. Building 11 to 99: Simple Math

Japanese uses basic arithmetic to build numbers. You do not need new words like "eleven" or "twenty."

Teens (11–19): 10 + [Single Digit]
- 11 = 十一 (juu-ichi) — lit. "ten-one"
- 14 = 十四 (juu-yon)
Tens (20–90): [Single Digit] x 10
- 20 = 二十 (ni-juu) — lit. "two-tens"
- 70 = 七十 (nana-juu)
Combined (21–99): [Tens] + [Single Digit]
- 45 = 四十五 (yon-juu-go) — lit. "four-tens-five"
- 99 = 九十九 (kyuu-juu-kyuu)

3. The Big Leagues: 100 to 10,000

When we cross into the hundreds and thousands, we introduce new base units: 百 (100), 千 (1,000), and 万 (10,000).

百 (ひゃく - hyaku) = 100

Be careful! Sound changes (called rendaku) occur to make pronunciation smoother. These are prime targets for N5 listening exams:

100: 百 (hyaku) — Note: Do NOT say "ichi-hyaku"
300: 三百 (さんびゃく - sanbyaku)
600: 六百 (ろっぴゃく - roppyaku)
800: 八百 (はっぴゃく - happyaku)

千 (せん - sen) = 1,000

1,000: 千 (sen) — Note: Do NOT say "ichi-sen"
3,000: 三千 (さんぜん - sanzen)
8,000: 八千 (はっせん - hassen)

万 (まん - man) = 10,000

This is the ultimate N5 milestone. Unlike English, which counts in groups of three zeros (thousands), Japanese counts in groups of four zeros (myriads/ten-thousands).

10,000: 一万 (いちまん - ichiman) — Note: You MUST include "ichi" here!

4. Putting It All Together

To read any large Japanese number, break it down from the largest unit to the smallest.

3,452
- 3,000 (三千 / sanzen) + 400 (四百 / yonhyaku) + 50 (五十 / gojuu) + 2 (二 / ni)
- = 三千四百五十二 (sanzen-yonhyaku-gojuu-ni)
8,619
- 8,000 (八千 / hassen) + 600 (六百 / roppyaku) + 10 (十 / juu) + 9 (九 / kyuu)
- = 八千六百十九 (hassen-roppyaku-juu-kyuu)

Quick Practice Challenge

Can you translate these numbers into Japanese? (Scroll down for answers)

84
600
1,300
10,000

Answers:

八十四 (hachi-juu-yon)
六百 (roppyaku) — Watch out for the double 'p'!
千三百 (sen-sanbyaku) — Remember, no "ichi" before "sen", but 300 becomes "byaku".
一万 (ichiman) — Don't forget the "ichi"!