Basic Japanese

Using numbers

This chapter introduces Japanese number systems and many situations where you need to use numbers. You will learn how to speak about time-related concepts, such as ages, calendar dates, and holidays. You will also learn how to ask and answer questions such as “how much?” and “how many?”

Numbers from 1 to 10

There are two number systems in Japanese: the Chinese system and the native Japanese system. The native Japanese system is a native numeral plus the native counter tsu. It is frequently used, and it only goes up to 10 in modern Japanese.

The Chinese system is predominantly used in business/administrative/academic contexts. However, shi (four) and shichi (seven) in the Chinese system are often replaced by yon and nana in the native Japanese system. In fact, shi, shichi, and ku (a variation of ky) are used only in reciting numerals, such as when quickly counting or doing physical exercises.

Numbers are written as Arabic numerals most of the time in business/administrative/academic contexts, but they may be written in kanji. The following table shows the Arabic numeral, the kanji, the pronunciation in the Chinese system, and the pronunciation in the native Japanese system for the numbers 1 through 10:

Read the sequence of the numbers in the Chinese system from 1 to 10 until you memorize it.

Read the sequence of the numbers in the native Japanese system from 1 to 10 until you memorize it.

What is your favorite number? Say it in Japanese in the two systems.

Numbers from 11 to 99

The native Japanese number system goes only through 10 in modern Japanese, so beyond that, Japanese use the Chinese system. In the Chinese system, the numbers from 11 to 19 are compound words consisting of j (ten) plus one of the other digits. For example, 12 is j-ni. The even tens (twenty, thirty, forty, etc.) are compound words consisting of one of the numbers plus j (ten). For example, 20 is ni-j. Beyond 20, you use the word for the even ten plus the other digit. As you would expect, 23 is ni-j-san, and 99 is ky-j-ky.

Read the sequence of the numbers from 11 to 20 aloud.

Note: Alternative pronuciations for 14, 17, and 19 are j-yon, j-nana, and j-ky.

Write the following numbers in hiragana or romaji.

1. 15 ____________________________________

2. 38 ____________________________________

3. 56 ____________________________________

4. 77 ____________________________________

5. 89 ____________________________________

Numbers from 100 to 99,999

The following table shows the multiples of 100, 1,000, and 10,000. Notice some sound changes with the multiples of 100 (hyaku, byaku, and pyaku) and 1,000 (sen and zen).

Write the following numbers in hiragana or romaji and then pronounce them a few times each.

1. 22,222 ____________________________________

2. 33,333 ____________________________________

3. 66,666 ____________________________________

4. 88,888 ____________________________________

5. 99,999 ____________________________________

Write the following numbers in hiragana or romaji.

1. 19,800 ____________________________________

2. 44,771 ____________________________________

3. 56,525 ____________________________________

Expressing age with the counter sai

To express a person’s age, you add sai after the numeral in the Chinese system. For example, 15 j-go-sai means 15 years old. You can express the age of a young child by using the native Japanese system also. For example, mittsu means 3 years old. To ask someone his age, say Nan-sai desu ka (How old are you?). For elderly people, you can ask O-ikutsu desu ka (How old are you?) to sound polite. When sai is combined with certain numerals, it causes some sound change, as you can see:

Read the previous table three times aloud.

How old are you? Say it in Japanese.

Write your grandparents’ ages in Japanese.

Telephone numbers

The word for telephone number is denwa-bang. Telephone numbers are expressed using the Chinese number system. However, use rei or zero (from the English word zero) for zero. Use yon for four and nana for seven. To ask someone’s telephone number, say the person’s name and add no denwa-bang wa nan desu ka. For example:

Yamada-san no denwa-bang wa nan desu ka.

What is your phone number, Ms. Yamada?

For asking someone else’s phone number, you can use wakarimasu ka at the end, as in:

Yoshikawa-san no denwa-bang wa wakarimasu ka.

Do you know Mr. Yoshikawa’s telephone number?

Read the following sentences aloud, paying attention to the pronunciation of the telephone numbers.

1.
Tky no Yamada-san no denwa-bang wa zero-san go-ni-nana-ni yon-san-go-san desu.

2.
saka no Ishida-san no denwa-bang wa zero-roku roku-yon-go-ky ichi-go-zero-nana desu.

3.
Nagoya no kawa-san no denwa-bang wa zero-go-ni yon-go-ky zero-ni-hachi-ichi desu.

Write your telephone number in Arabic numerals and say it in Japanese 10 times.

Write the cell phone numbers of your family members in Arabic numerals and say them three times each in Japanese.

Jerry asks Yukiko some questions. Read their conversation and indicate what the underlined parts mean.

1. _____________________________________

2. _____________________________________

Telling time

Time-related expressions include absolute time expressions that specify the time that you can point at on a calendar or on a clock—for example, June 2, 4 PM, etc.—and relative time expressions, such as now, tomorrow, and last month. In addition, Japanese has many words that refer to specific time periods in a day.

Counters for time: ji and fun

The following list shows how time is expressed in Japanese. Pay special attention to irregular pronunciations.

Add gozen (AM) and gogo (PM) before the time phrase. A half an hour (30 minutes) can be expressed by han. For example:

gozen ni-ji j-go-fun (2:15 AM)

gogo san-ji san-jup-pun (3:30 PM)
gozen ni-ji han (2:30 AM)

Use the particle ni after a time phrase to express the time of an event. For example:

Shichi-ji ni okimashita.

I woke up at 7 AM.

Relative time expressions

You use relative time expressions to specify time relative to the current moment, such as tomorrow or last year. The following list shows some common relative time expressions:

Daily time frames

Based on the combination of the absolute time and the position of the sun, a day can be divided into at least eight time frames, as shown in the following list. Here you can see that gogo can mean both PM and afternoon.

Complete the following dialog between Mike and a stranger at a train station.

Complete the conversation between Akiko and Takeshi.

Mr. Tanaka is going to Boston tomorrow for a conference. Complete the conversation between him and Ms. Ueda.

The calendar

To refer to a specific day, you can combine the name of the day in a week, the name of the month, the name of the date in the month, and the name of the year. Unlike in English, the names of months include numerals in Japanese. This section shows you how to combine these names to refer to a specific day in Japanese.

Days of the week

The following list shows how to express the days of the week in Japanese:

Months

The following list shows how to express the months in Japanese:

Days of the month

The days of the month are very difficult to learn because the first 10 days are not systematic. As the following list shows, most of the days after the 10th follow an easily learned pattern:

Years are expressed using the Western system, with the counter -nen, as in 2013 ni-sen-j-san-nen (2013), or using the Japanese system, with neng (era name) and the counter -nen, as in Heisei ni-j-go-nen (Heisei 25, 2013). A new neng is created every time a new emperor ascends the throne in Japan and continues to be used until a different emperor takes his place. For example, a date can be written as:

(Pronunciation: ni-sen-j-san-nen j-ni-gatsu j-yokka Doybi)

Saturday, December 14th, 2013

Specify the following in Japanese.

1. Monday____________________________________

2. April 1st____________________________________

3. 9 PM_______________________________________

4. 2:30 AM____________________________________

5. 1998_______________________________________

Asking “when?”

Here you’ll learn how to ask “when?” appropriately depending on the context. You’ll also learn major Japanese holidays.

Question word itsu (when)

Use itsu to ask “when?” You do not need to place a particle after itsu. However, to ask more specific question, you can use expressions like nan-ji (what o’clock), nan-pun (what minute), nan-ybi (what day of a week), nan-gatsu (what month), nan-nen (what year), nan-nichi (what date), etc., along with the particle ni.

For example:

Ima nan-ji desu ka.

What time is it now?

Ky wa nan-ybi desu ka.

What day is it today?

Japanese national holidays

The following table lists some of Japan’s national holidays. Can you state which date each of the national holiday is in Japanese?

Answer the following questions in Japanese.

1.
Kodomo no hi wa itsu desu ka.
When is the Children’s Day?

2.
Barentain D wa itsu desu ka.
When is Valentine’s Day?

Answer the following questions in Japanese based on the fact.

1.
Ima, nan-gatsu desu ka.
What month is it now?

2.
Sengetsu wa nan-gatsu deshita ka.
What month was it last month?

3.
Raigetsu wa nan-gatsu desu ka.
What month is it next month?

4.
Ky wa nan-gatsu nan-nichi desu ka.
What month and date is it today?

5.
Ashita wa nan-nichi desu ka.
What date is it tomorrow?

Answer the following questions about yourself in Japanese.

1.
Nan-nen ni umaremashita ka.
Which year were you born in?

2.
Tanjbi wa itsu desu ka.
When is your birthday?

Asking “how much?” at a store

When you want to purchase something in a store, you need to know how to ask “how much?” along with the name of the item you want. You also need to know how to say which item or items you would like to purchase.

Things you might buy at an electronics store

Examine the following list of goods you might purchase at an electronics store:

Asking “how much?” with ikura

Use ikura to ask the price of something. For example:

Ano kamera wa ikura desu ka.

How much is that camera?

You can also use Nan-doru desu ka (How much in dollars?) or Nan-en desu ka (How much in Japanese yen?) if currency units need to be clarified.

Shopping by saying … o kudasai

Once you decide to buy something, say the name of the item and add o kudasai. It means Please give it to me, and is a perfect phrase to let the store clerk know what you decided to buy. For example:

Ano tokei o kudasai.

I’ll take that watch.

Listing nouns with to

If you are buying multiple items, connect them with the particle to. For example:

Kono pasokon to kono sukyan to ano purint o kudasai.

May I have this PC, this scanner, and that printer?

Kazuko is trying to buy a wrist watch at a store in Japan. Complete the following conversation appropriately.

Asking “how many?” with counters

Japanese uses different counters to express the amount or quantity of a variety of items. The choice of counters varies depending on the shapes, sizes, and types of items. When you ask “how many?” you need to use a number phrase that is made of a numeral and the appropriate counter.

Using number phrases in a sentence

You need to place a counter after the numeral whenever you want to express the quantity or amount of virtually anything—whether it’s people, animals, or cars. The choice of counters varies depending on the shape, size, and type of the item. For example, if there are two sheets of origami paper, you say Origami ga ni-mai arimasu. If there are two pens, you say Pen ga ni-hon arimasu. To express existence or to mean there is … or there are …, arimasu is used for inanimate items, and imasu is used for animate items. See Chapter 6 for these existential verbs.

Frequently used counters

The following are some frequently used counters:

Some of these counters cause irregular sound changes. The pronunciations of the counters with numerals from 1 to 10 are as follows. Notice that the pronunciation shi for the number 4 is rarely used when combined with a counter.