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Counting in Japanese Numbers 1-100 for Beginners

2018.09.18 / Last modified at 2020.12.04

If you find it hard to count in Japanese, well, here are some easy ways to do it. I will help you to memorize the numbers by reading the Romaji or Roman letters and by following some helpful guides. But before we start, I’ll give you some practical information about Japanese numerals.

In writing, Japanese numerals entirely based on Chinese numerals.
In reading, there are two sets;
Onyomi reading based on Chinese, Sino-Japanese.
Kun’yomi reading based on Japanese Yamato Kotoba.

To learn counting numbers in Japanese, this is what we are going to do.

Let’s count by ones in Japanese (1-9).
Let’s count by tens (10, 20, 30…) in Japanese.
Let’s count by joining tens and ones together.

If you want to learn the Japanese Alphabet, please, click the link below.

Easy way to learn Japanese Alphabet Katakana and Hiragana.

Let’s count by ones in Japanese from 1-9.

All you have to do is to memorize the first set of numbers.
Tips: You can use the picture below to help you to remember the Japanese numbers.

Number 1, in Japanese ichi; Remember this picture “itchy.”

Number 2, in Japanese ni; Remember this picture “knee.”

Number 3, in Japanese san; Remember this picture “sun.”

Number 4, in Japanese yon; Remember this picture “yawn”

Number 5, in Japanese, go; Remember this picture “go.”

Number	Romaji	Hiragana	Kanji
1	ichi	いち	一
2	ni	に	二
3	san	さん	三
4	yon	よん	四
5	go	ご	五
6	roku	ろく	六
7	nana	しち	七
8	hachi	はち	八
9	kyuu	きゅう	九

Let’s count by tens in Japanese. (10-90)

This is the other set that you should memorize.

Tips: Try this format:
In 10 you say juu only
In 20, you say ni (2)+ juu (10) = ni juu, (number 2 to 9 add juu)

Number	Romaji	Hiragana	Kanji
10	juu	じゅう	十
20	ni juu	にじゅう	二十
30	san juu	さんじゅう	三十
40	yon juu	よんじゅう	四十
50	go juu	ごじゅう	五十
60	roku juu	ろくじゅう	六十
70	nana juu	ななじゅう	七十
80	hachi juu	はちじゅう	八十
90	kyuu juu	きゅうじゅう	九十

Let’s count by joining tens and ones together.

For the last step, this would be easy since you know the numbers above. Just consider the tips, which will help you count from 1-100 in Japanese.

Tips:

Remember this formula, juu (10) + ichi (1) = juu ichi (11).

In like manner, ni juu (20) + ichi (1) = ni juu Ichi (21), and so forth.

Number	Romaji
11	juu ichi
22	ni juu ni
33	san juusan
44	yon juu yon
55	go juu go
66	roku juu roku
77	nana juu nana
88	hachi juu hachi
99	kyuu juu kyuu

It’s very easy, right? By just reading the Romaji, you will learn the proper pronunciation. Besides, counting numbers in Japanese has a similarity in counting numbers in English. That is why it’s not difficult to remember the numbers. So, let’s practice more.

Counting in Japanese number 1-100

Here are the full lists of numbers and Romaji.

1-20

1	ichi	11	juu ichi
2	ni	12	juu ni
3	san	13	juu san
4	yon	14	juu yon
5	go	15	juu go
6	roku	16	juu roku
7	nana	17	juu nana
8	hachi	18	juu hachi
9	kyuu	19	juu kyuu
10	juu	20	ni juu

21-40

21	ni juu ichi	31	san juu ichi
22	ni juu ni	32	san juu ni
23	ni juu san	33	san juu san
24	ni juu yon	34	san juu yon
25	ni juu go	35	san juu go
26	ni juu roku	36	san juu roku
27	ni juu nana	37	san juu nana
28	ni juu hachi	38	san juu hachi
29	ni juu kyuu	39	san juu kyuu
30	san juu	40	yon juu

41-60

41	yon juu ichi	51	go juu ichi
42	yon juu ni	52	go juu ni
43	yon juu san	53	go juu san
44	yon juu yon	54	go juu yon
45	yon juu go	55	go juu go
46	yon juu roku	56	go juu roku
47	yon juu nana	57	go juu nana
48	yon juu hachi	58	go juu hachi
49	yon juu kyuu	59	go juu kyuu
50	go juu	60	roku juu

61-80

61	roku juu ichi	71	nana juu ichi
62	roku juu ni	72	nana juu ni
63	roku juu san	73	nana juu san
64	roku juu yon	74	nana juu yon
65	roku juu go	75	nana juu go
66	roku juu roku	76	nana juu roku
67	roku juu nana	77	nana juu nana
68	roku juu hachi	78	nana juu hachi
69	roku juu kyuu	79	nana juu kyuu
70	nana juu	80	hachi juu

81-100

81	hachi juu ichi	91	kyuu juu ichi
82	hachi juu ni	92	kyuu juu ni
83	hachi juu san	93	kyuu juu san
84	hachi juu yon	94	kyuu juu yon
85	hachi juu go	95	kyuu juu go
86	hachi juu roku	96	kyuu juu roku
87	hachi juu nana	97	kyuu juu nana
88	hachi juu hachi	98	kyuu juu hachi
89	hachi juu kyuu	99	kyuu juu kyuu
90	kyuu juu	100	hyaku

Here’s another tip so you won’t easily forget it. Counting in Japanese numbers 1-100 with your friends or your loved ones.

Learning a new language is truly challenging and fun. So if you are interested to travel in Japan and want to study the Japanese language for 1 week or more, contact us by filling out the form below. We would be glad to help you.