← Back to Lessons

Lesson 3: Numbers 1–10

Why This Lesson

Numbers appear in every real conversation: prices, time, age, phone numbers, addresses. Without them you cannot buy anything, tell time, or give your age in Japanese. This is the most immediately practical skill for daily life.

Goal

Count from 1 to 10 in Japanese, recognizing both the kanji numerals and their pronunciation.

What You Gain

After finishing, you can understand prices up to 10, tell someone your age (if under 10), and recognize number kanji on signs, menus, and addresses.

Japanese Numbers 一 to 十

Japanese numbers have two readings. Here we learn the most common (on'yomi) forms used in daily counting.

一 ichi 1 — "ee-chee"
二 ni 2 — "nee"
三 san 3 — "sahn"
四 shi / yon 4 — two readings
五 go 5 — "goh"
六 roku 6 — "roh-koo"
七 nana 7 — "nah-nah"
八 hachi 8 — "ha-chee"
九 kyuu 9 — "kyoo"
十 juu 10 — "joo"

Practice: Match the Number

Listen to the audio and identify which number is spoken.

1. Listen:
五 (go)
六 (roku)
七 (nana)
八 (hachi)
2. Listen:
一 (ichi)
二 (ni)
三 (san)
四 (shi)
3. Listen:
九 (kyuu)
八 (hachi)
七 (nana)
十 (juu)
4. Listen:
二 (ni)
三 (san)
五 (go)
一 (ichi)
5. Listen:
六 (roku)
七 (nana)
八 (hachi)
九 (kyuu)
Next: Essential Greetings →