# JLPT N5 Japanese Numbers and Counters

> Japanese numbers use Sino-Japanese readings (ichi, ni, san...) and native readings (hitotsu, futatsu...). Learn common counters for people, days, hours, minutes and ages.

Canonical: https://inkujapanese.com/jlpt/n5/vocabulary/numbers
Last updated: 2026-04-30

How to count to a billion in Japanese, plus the 10 essential counters every learner needs.

[Bao H.](https://inkujapanese.com/authors/bao-hua)Updated April 30, 20266 min read

## Short answer

Japanese numbers use Sino-Japanese readings (ichi, ni, san...) and native readings (hitotsu, futatsu...). Learn common counters for people, days, hours, minutes and ages.

## Why this list

Numbers at N5 are deceptively important. Japanese counters mean that the same number changes its reading depending on what you're counting (ichi-jikan, ippun, ichi-mai, hitori). Learning the 10 most common counters early saves you embarrassment in restaurants and at ticket counters.

The four irregular readings (4: yon vs shi; 7: nana vs shichi; 9: kyū vs ku; 0: rei vs zero) cause the most beginner confusion. Memorize which reading is preferred per counter rather than trying to derive a rule.

## The 24 words

| Kanji | Kana | Romaji | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 一 | いち | ichi | one |
| 二 | に | ni | two |
| 三 | さん | san | three |
| 四 | よん/し | yon/shi | four |
| 五 | ご | go | five |
| 六 | ろく | roku | six |
| 七 | なな/しち | nana/shichi | seven |
| 八 | はち | hachi | eight |
| 九 | きゅう/く | kyū/ku | nine |
| 十 | じゅう | jū | ten |
| 百 | ひゃく | hyaku | hundred |
| 千 | せん | sen | thousand |
| 万 | まん | man | ten thousand |
| 一つ | ひとつ | hitotsu | one (generic) |
| 二つ | ふたつ | futatsu | two (generic) |
| 一人 | ひとり | hitori | one person |
| 二人 | ふたり | futari | two people |
| ~時 | ~じ | -ji | o'clock (counter) |
| ~分 | ~ふん/ぷん | -fun/-pun | minute (counter) |
| ~歳 | ~さい | -sai | years old (counter) |
| ~枚 | ~まい | -mai | flat objects (counter) |
| ~本 | ~ほん/ぽん/ぼん | -hon/-pon/-bon | long objects (counter) |
| ~階 | ~かい | -kai | floor of a building (counter) |
| ~回 | ~かい | -kai | times, occurrences (counter) |

## Common questions

### Why does 4 have two readings?+

Yon is the native Japanese reading; shi is the Sino-Japanese (and homophone with 死, death). Most counters prefer yon to avoid the death overlap. Shi appears in compound words (四月 shigatsu, April; 四時 yoji has the unique reading yoji not shi-ji).

### Do I need to learn all the counters?+

No. Learn 10 high-frequency ones (people, days, hours, minutes, ages, floors, generic things, flat objects, long objects, occurrences) and use the generic -tsu (hitotsu, futatsu) as a fallback when you forget the specific one.

### How do I say 'twenty years old' in Japanese?+

Hatachi (二十歳). It's a unique reading you have to memorize, not nijū-sai. Every other age uses the regular -sai counter (25-sai, 30-sai, etc.).

## Related

- [Japanese numbers (deep dive)](https://inkujapanese.com/japanese/numbers)

- [JLPT N5 study guide](https://inkujapanese.com/jlpt/n5)

These 24 words are part of this site's themed N5 editorial selection. Inku's mobile app expands that into a 551-card N5 bundle with bundled pronunciation audio and FSRS spaced review. [Download Inku](https://inkujapanese.com/).