Japanese Cardinal Numbers

Japanese cardinal numbers are the numbers used for counting and expressing quantity.

Table of Contents

They answer the question:

“How many?”

Examples include:

Cardinal numbers are used in many everyday situations such as:

Learning cardinal numbers is the foundation for understanding Japanese numbers.

Japanese Cardinal Numbers 1–20

The first twenty numbers should be memorized because they form the foundation for larger numbers.

You can also view the full number chart here:

Japanese numbers follow a very regular pattern.

Examples:

21 = 二十一 (ni jū ichi)
24 = 二十四 (ni jū yon)
37 = 三十七 (san jū nana)
48 = 四十八 (yon jū hachi)
59 = 五十九 (go jū kyū)

The structure is generally:

ten + unit

Examples:

42 = 四十二 (yon jū ni)
67 = 六十七 (roku jū nana)

These combine with the numbers 1–9 to form larger numbers.

Example:

45 = 四十五 (yon jū go)

Japanese hundreds follow a consistent pattern.

Examples:

100 = 百 (hyaku)
200 = 二百 (ni hyaku)
300 = 三百 (sanbyaku)

These numbers combine with smaller numbers to form larger values.

Example:

245 = 二百四十五
ni hyaku yon jū go

Examples:

1,000 = 千 (sen)
2,000 = 二千 (ni sen)
10,000 = 一万 (ichi man)

Japanese numbers continue to follow consistent patterns as they increase.

Example sentences:

本が三冊あります。
Hon ga san-satsu arimasu.

Meaning:

There are three books.

Another example:

価格は五十円です。
Kakaku wa gojū en desu.

Meaning:

The price is fifty yen.

You can practice Japanese numbers using the interactive tools below.

Example: 1234

Further reference: Coto Academy guide to Japanese numbers.