Although the Japanese language may be easier to learn than other languages, counting in Japanese can be much more difficult. This is because Japanese uses numbers as well as object-specific counters, which widely differ depending on the objects being counted. This article will teach the basics of how to count in Japanese.

When counting independent of an object, one would use generic numbers. Some numbers have multiple words, which would depend on the context.

• 0 - ree (raay), zero (zay roe)
• 1 - ichi (ee chee)
• 2 - ni (knee)
• 3 - san (sahn)
• 4 - yon (yohn), shi (she)
• 5 - go (go)
• 6 - roku (row coo)
• 7 - shichi (she chee), nana (nah nah)
• 8 - hachi (ha chee)
• 9 - kuu (coo), kyuu (cyoo)
• 10 - juu (jew)
• 100 - hyaku (hyah coo)
• 1,000 - sen (sAn)Tohsaku, Yasu-Hiko, 1994. "Yookoso! An Invitation to Contemporary Japanese." McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York.

When counting higher than 10, one simply needs to add the number of tens or hundreds preceding the end number. For example:

• 12 would be one 10 + 2, or "juu ni"; note, one would not add "ichi" at the beginning, because without a numerical qualifier, singularity is assumed.
• 85 would be eight 10s + 5, or "hachi juu go",
• 231 would be two 100s + three 10s + 1, or "ni hyaku san juu ichi".

Using counters is when things get difficult. This is because there is a different counter for every classification of object. People are counted differently than books, which are counted differently than time, etc. It is beyond the scope of this article to list every counter, but below is the generic counter, which you could use understandably, even if incorrectly, in most situations.

• 1 - hitotsu (hee toe tsue)
• 2 - futatsu (foo tah tsue)
• 3 - mittsu (meet tsue)
• 4 - yottsu (yoht tsue)
• 5 - itsutsu (ee tsue tsue)
• 6 - muttsu (moot tsue)
• 7 - nanatsu (nah nah tsue)
• 8 - yattsu (yaht tsue)
• 9 - kokonotsu (coe coe no tsue)
• 10 - to (toe)

Check out these other helpful How Tos to learn more about Japanese.

1. How to Say Hello in Japanese
2. How to Say Goodbye in Japanese
3. How to Flirt in Japanese
4. How to Ask For Directions in Japanese
5. How to Order Food in Japanese
6. How to Pronounce Japanese Words
7. How to Ask Questions in Japanese
8. How to Count in Japanese
9. How to Greet Somebdoy in Japanese
10. How to Say No in Japanese
11. How to Say Excuse Me in Japanese
12. How to Say Please in Japanese
13. How to Say Thank You in Japanese
14. How to Ask For Help in Japanese
15. How to Say I Want to in Japanese
16. How to Say This and That in Japanese
17. How to Say I Dont Understand in Japanese
18. How to Say Common Hotel Phrases in Japanese
19. How to Ride the Train in Japanese
20. How to Buy Something in Japanese
21. How to Say Cheers in Japanese
22. How to Read Basic Japanese
23. How to Say Good Morning in Japanese
24. How to Say Good Afternoon in Japanese
25. How to Say Good Evening in Japanese