Why does Japanese have multiple words for numbers?

So why does Japanese have multiple words for the same number? It’s partly to do with superstition – “shi” sounds like the Japanese word for death and “ku” can mean suffering; “shichi” can also mean “place of death”.

Are there different ways to say numbers in Japanese?

There are two ways of writing the numbers in Japanese: in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) or in Chinese numerals (一, 二, 三). The Arabic numerals are more often used in horizontal writing, and the Chinese numerals are more common in vertical writing.

Why are there multiple ways to count 4 and 7 in Japanese?

The simple reason is that some numbers are derived from the native Japanese pronunciation, known as kunyomi. What is this? The other numbers’ pronunciations are drawn from the imported, ancient Chinese readings of kanji, known as onyomi. Because of this, sometimes there are multiple different onyomi for a single word.

What does 6 mean in Japan?

6 – 六 (roku) Another unlucky number is 6. Its’ pronunciation as a counting number is muttsu. This can sound like the word for nothingness, 無 (mu).

Why does 893 mean yakuza?

893 can be read as “ya-ku-za” (やくざ) or “Yakuza”. It is traditionally a bad omen for a student to receive this candidate number for an exam.

Is Ichi pronounced ich?

So, ichi becomes “ich(i)” (with the second “i” essentially whispered), roku becomes “rok(u)”, shichi becomes shich(i) (or alternatively, as Jennifer indicates, “sh(i)chi”, or even “sh(i)ch(i)”, and hachi becomes “hach(i).”

How do you say number 9 in Japanese?

Nine (9) is 九 (kyuu, pronounced “kyoo”). Ten (10) is 十 (juu, pronounced “joo”).

How do you say the number 1 million in Japanese?

Large numbers are divided into units of ten thousand, so 1 million is one hundred ten-thousands: 百萬 (hyaku man). The numbers 4 and 9 are considered unlucky in Japanese: 4, when pronounced shi, sounds like the word for death (死), and 9, when pronounced ku, sounds like the word for suffering (苦). So they are often pronounced yon and kyu instead.

How do you count and say numbers in Japanese?

But in Japanese, there are many ways to count and say numbers. (From eleven to nineteen, simply combine 10 which is juu and numbers 1-9 , for example one which is ichi, so for eleven you say juuichi; but so as not to make our study hard, let’s just focus on numbers 1-10.)

Why is the number 9 considered unlucky in Japanese?

The numbers 4 and 9 are considered unlucky in Japanese: 4, when pronounced shi, sounds like the word for death (死), and 9, when pronounced ku, sounds like the word for suffering (苦). So they are often pronounced yon and kyu instead. On financial and legal documents complex forms of the numerals known as 大字 (daiji) are used to prevent fraud.

What is the difference between kanji and Japanese numerals?

The native Japanese numbers are usually only used up to 10. The Western (Arabic) numerals are generally used in horizontal texts, while the Kanji numerals are used in vertical texts. If any of the numbers are links, you can hear a recording by clicking on them.