Why do Japanese have more than one way to say 4?
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Why do Japanese have more than one way to say 4?
The simple reason is that some numbers are derived from the native Japanese pronunciation, known as kunyomi. The other numbers’ pronunciations are drawn from the imported, ancient Chinese readings of kanji, known as onyomi. In the old days, Japanese only had, one, maybe two, ways of saying each number.
Should I say shi or yon?
As noted above, yon (4) and nana (7) are preferred to shi and shichi. The numbers 4 and 9 are considered unlucky in Japanese: 4, pronounced shi, is a homophone for death (死); 9, when pronounced ku, is a homophone for suffering (苦).
How do you say number 4 in Chinese?
Once you’ve learned the characters that represent 4 (四 sì), 5 (五 wǔ), 6 (六 liù), 7 (七 qī), 8 ( 八 bā), 9 (九 jiǔ) and 10 (十 shí), Chinese numbers, up to 99 (九 十九 jiǔshíjiǔ), are quite easy to learn….Chinese Numbers 0-10.
| Number | Hanzi | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 三 | Sān |
| 4 | 四 | Sì |
| 5 | 五 | Wǔ |
| 6 | 六 | Liù |
Why are the numbers 4 and 9 considered unlucky in Japanese?
The numbers 4 and 9 are considered unlucky in Japanese because し ( shi) and く ( ku) sound the same as the words for death (死, shi) and agony (苦, ku ). So, Japanese people avoid using those readings whenever possible.
How do you pronounce the number 4 in Japanese?
The number four in particular actually has three different ways to pronounce it depending on how it is used. They are よ (yo), よん (yon), and of course し (shi). よ (yo) and よん (yon) are both the Kun’yomi of the number four, which means that they are from the original Japanese language.
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.
What are the two types of numbers in Japanese?
There are two sets of numbers in Japanese: the native Japanese system and the Sino-Japanese system. The Sino-Japanese numbers are used in combination with counter words (助数詞 josūshi), when counting things, actions and events.