You are on page 1of 27

BASIC COMPETENCY

JAPANESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE (N5) Level 1


Unit of Competency 1: Learn Japanese Characters, Symbols, and Sound
50 HOURS; 8hrs/day (6.25 days)

Prepared by: Sachiko A. Minochi

INTRODUCTION

This module covers the general features of the Japanese language with the introduction of
Reading, writing, and speaking including recognizing and interpreting the writings namely Hiragana
and Katakana

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Learn Japanese hiragana and katakana characters, symbols and sound

2. Learn Japanese voiced sounds and the p-sound

3. Learn Japanese Syllabary nasal consonant, double consonants, contracted sounds, and accents

KEY CONCEPTS
1.1a Japanese hiragana characters, symbols and sound
• Phonetic representations of 46 sounds but no meanings
• It has five (5) vowel, forty (40) Consonant-Vowel and one (1) independent
consonant
• Used for Japanese names and words
• Curve linear
• Used to end a word written in Kanji
• Used for particle such as wa, e, o, etc.
1.1b Japanese katakana characters, symbols and sound
• Phonetic representations of 46 sounds but no meanings
• It has five (5) vowel, forty (40) Consonant-Vowel and one (1) independent
consonant
• Used for Foreign sounding names and loanwords, Straight linear
• Used for Japanese names of animals, flowers, fruits, etc. for easy reading

1|Page
1.2a Hiragana Japanese voiced sounds and the p-sound
• Hiragana with Dakuten symbol and sounds
• Hiragana with Handakuten symbol and sounds
• Learn Japanese syllabary, nasal consonant, double consonant s contracted
sounds, and accents
1.2b Katakana Japanese voiced sounds and the p-sound
• Katakana with Dakuten symbol and sounds
• Katakana with Handakuten symbol and sounds
• Learn Japanese syllabary, nasal consonant, double consonant s contracted
sounds, and accents
1.3a Hiragana Japanese Syllabary nasal consonant, double consonants, contracted
sounds, and accents

• Reading, listening and speaking Chouon


• Reading, listening and speaking Sokuon
• Reading, listening and speaking Youon

1.3b Katakana Japanese Syllabary nasal consonant, double consonants, contracted


sounds, and accents
• Reading, listening and speaking Chouon
• Reading, listening and speaking Sokuon
• Reading, listening and speaking Youon

LEARNING RESOURCES
1. Competency Based Learning Materials
2. Online Learning Materials uploaded in LMS: https://gcjrizal.com/
3. Digital copy of Hiragana and Katakana (Downloadable)

STUDY QUESTIONS
1. How many phonetic representations are there in Hiragana and Katakana
2. What are the uses of Hiragana?
3. What are the uses of Katakana?
4. What are the characteristic of Hiragana and Katakana?

2|Page
5. Besides the Gojuuon, what are the other groups of pronunciation in Hiragana and Katakana?
6. What are the three basic rules in writing Hiragana and Katakana?

ACTIVITIES (Include Online and Offline activities)

A. Online Activities
1. Enrollment to the Online Module for Japanese Language and Culture Level I:
https://gcjrizal.com/
2. Participate in the Getting to Know you discussion and take the Pre-Test
3. Participate in Orientation thru Zoom, Google Meet
4. READ: Study Guide: Unit of Competency 1: Learn Japanese Characters, Symbols, and Sound
5. Complete the sequence in LMS https://gcjrizal.com/
6. Read the Handout in Hiragana
7. Watch the Video and answer the self-check
8. Answer Hiragana Test
9. Read the Handout in Katakana
10. Watch the Video and answer the self-check
11. Answer Katakana Test
B. Offline Activities
1. Download all pdf lesson and Task Sheet in Hiragana and Katakana.
2. Do all task sheets in every learning outcome.
2. Practice in writing of Hiragana and Katakana.
3. Read all pdf handouts of Hiragana and Katakana to develop reading ability.

STUDY SCHEDULE
Please refer to the schedule for your reference
DATE/PERIOD TOPICS ACTIVITY VENUE NO OF
AND HOURS
TIME
Day 1 Orientation Zoom (Jan 6) Zoom 1 Hour
Jan. 7 to the online • How to use the LMS
learning
program
https://gcjrizal.com/
• Discussion on the learning flow
Recognition Online: LMS 4 hours
of Prior • Registration to LMS
Learning https://gcjrizal.com/
• Enrollment to Online Module 1
Unit of Competency 1

3|Page
• Watch Video: Basic Navigation of
LMS https://gcjrizal.com/
• Participate in the Discussion
Forum “Getting to know You”
• Watch Netiquette
• Watch Solid Waste Management
• Watch COVID awareness
• Tesda Online Program: COVID 19
Preventive in the Workplace
• Read the CBLM and CBC
• Join Trainee Orientation
• Do the Self-Introduction and
submit online
• Take Pre-Test (Self-assessment)
Day 2 Start Online: LMS 3 hours
Jan. 8 Hiragana • Join google meet discussion
writing① • READ: LO1.1-1a Learn Japanese
Hiragana characters, symbols
and sound.
• Download Task Sheet 1~10
• Watch Video 1.1a あ~お
• Take self-check ①あ~お
• Watch Video1.1b か~こ
• Take self-check ②か~こ
• Watch Video1.1c さ~そ
• Take self-check ③さ~そ
Offline: Do Task 1 hour
• Do the Task sheet ①あ~お Sheet
• Do the Task sheet ②か~こ
• Do the Task sheet ③さ~そ
Day 3 Hiragana Online: LMS 2 hours
Jan. 11 writing② • Watch Video1.1d た~と
• Take self-check ④た~と
• Watch Video1.1e な~の
• Take self-check ⑤な~の
• Watch Video 1.1f は~ほ
• Take self-check ⑥は~ほ
• Watch Video 1.1g ま~も
• Take self-check ⑦ま~も
Offline: Do Task 1
• Do the Task sheet ④た~と Sheet hour
• Do the Task sheet ⑤な~の
• Do the Task sheet ⑥は~ほ

4|Page
• Do the Task sheet ⑦ま~も
Day 4 Hiragana Online: LMS 1 hours
Jan. 12 writing③ • Watch Video 1.1h は~ほ
• Take self-check ⑧や~よ
• Watch Video 1.1i ら~ろ
• Take self-check ⑨ら~ろ
• Watch Video 1.1j わ~ん
• Take self-check ⑩わ~ん
Offline: Do Task 1 hour
• Do the Task sheet ⑧や~よ Sheet
• Do the Task sheet ⑨ら~ろ
• Do the Task sheet ⑩わ~ん
• Download pdf cblm and other
printed learning materials
Day 5 Hiragana Online: LMS 1 hour
Jan. 13 writing④ • READ: LO1.1-2a Learn Japanese
voiced sounds and the p-sound
• Watch video clip 1.2-1 Dakuon
• Watch video clip 1.2-2
Handakuon
Offline: Do Task 1 hour
• Review all the Hiragana and be Sheet
ready for the Hiragana Test
Hiragana • Take the Hiragana Test LMS 1 hours
writing⑤
Day 6 Start Online: LMS 3 hours
Jan. 14 Katakana • Google Meeting (1hr)
writing① • READ: LO1.1-1b Learn Japanese
Katakana characters, symbols
and sound.
• Download Task Sheet 1~10
• Watch Video 1.1a ア~オ
• Take self-check ①
• Watch Video1.1b カ~コ
• Take self-check ②
• Watch Video1.1c サ~ソ
Take self-check ③
Offline: Do Task 1 hour
• Do the Task sheet ①ア~オ Sheet
• Do the Task sheet ②カ~コ
Do the Task sheet ③サ~ソ
Day 7 Katakana Online: LMS 2 hours
Jan. 15 writing② • Watch Video1.1d タ~ト

5|Page
• Take self-check ④
• Watch Video1.1e ナ~ノ
• Take self-check ⑤
• Watch Video 1.1f ハ~ホ
• Take self-check ⑥
• Watch Video 1.1g マ~モ
Take self-check ⑦
Offline: Do Task 1 hour
• Do the Task sheet ④タ~ト Sheet
• Do the Task sheet ⑤ナ~ノ
• Do the Task sheet ⑥ハ~ホ
Do the Task sheet ⑦マ~モ
Day 8 Hiragana Online: LMS 1 hour
Jan. 18 writing③ • Watch Video 1.1h ヤ~ヨ
• Take self-check ⑧
• Watch Video 1.1i ラ~ロ
• Take self-check ⑨
• Watch Video 1.1j ワ~ン
Take self-check ⑩
Offline: Do Task 1 hour
• Do the Task sheet ⑧や~よ Sheet
• Do the Task sheet ⑨ら~ろ
• Do the Task sheet ⑩わ~ん
• Download pdf cblm and other
printed learning materials

Day 9 Katakana Online: LMS 1 hour
Jan. 19 writing④ • Google meet (3pm)
• READ: LO1.1-2b Learn Japanese
voiced sounds and the p-sound
• Watch video clip 1.2-1 Dakuon
• Watch video clip 1.2-2
Handakuon

Offline: Do Task 1 hour
• Review all the Hiragana and be Sheet
ready for the Hiragana Test
Katakana • Take the Katakana LMS 1 hour
writing⑤ Test
Note: The study schedule presented above is only approximately budgeting hours to manage their
time in every lesson and task. The trainees shall extend their time to study and finish the given course
in every competency unit. The time-allotted for every lessons depends on the trainees and how they
will complete all the tasks.

6|Page
REFERENCES:
Credit to: Nihongo Goal
Japanese-learn.com site

LO1.1-1a Learn Japanese hiragana characters, symbols and sound

About Hiragana

Hiragana is one of three character sets used in the Japanese language.

Each Hiragana letter represents particular syllable. Letter itself has no meaning.

Hiragana is used widely to form a sentence.

Origin A KA TA MA YA

Hiragana あ か た ま や
Original Kanji 安 加 太 末 也

Hiragana was developed in the 8-10th century by simplifying the form of particular Kanji
symbols. Compared to Katakana, Hiragana letters have more curved lines.

7|Page
Number of Letters

In modern Japanese, there are 46 basic Hiragana letters.

五十音(Go Juu On)

a i u e o
a あ い う え お
ka か き く け こ
sa さ し す せ そ
ta た ち つ て と
na な に ぬ ね の
ha は ひ ふ へ ほ
ma ま み む め も
ya や ゆ よ
ra ら り る れ ろ
wa わ を
n ん

3.0 Gojūon-zu

In Japanese, syllables are organized in the form of a table (5 x 10). This table is
called gojūon-zu (literally means table of 50 sounds).

To describe these sounds, Hiragana and Katakana alphabets are used.

Letters い, う and え appear more than once in the table. These 5 duplicates are
usually skipped or ignored.

Another syllable ん is included. It doesn't belong to any row or column.

In total, 46 letters (45+1) are counted as gojūon (50 sounds).

8|Page
4.0 Structure of the Table

The first row - あ [a], い [i], う [u], え [e] and お [o] are five vowels of the
Japanese language.

Letters in the same column contain the same vowel.

Letters in the same row are considered to contain the same consonant.

Letters お and を represent the same sound [o]. を is used only as the particle in
a sentence.

5.0 Characteristics of Hiragana

Hiragana is used for Japanese Names and word

• Curved linear
• Used to end a word written in kanji
• Example:
• 飲みます (noMIMASU) drink
• Used for particles such us は へ を etc.

LO1.1-2a Learn Hiragana Japanese voiced sounds and the p-sound

Hiragana with Dakuten symbols

Dakuon

a i u e o
ga が ぎ ぐ げ ご

9|Page
za ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ
da だ ぢ づ で ど
ba ば び ぶ べ ぼ

Dakuon literally means turbid or murky sound. It is the voiced sound


of か [ka], さ [sa], た [ta] and は [ha]-row syllables.

Dakuon is indicated with two small dots.

Pronunciation of じ and ぢ, ず and づ are the same.

Handakuon 【半濁音】

a i u e o

pa ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ

Handakuon literally means half-turbid or half-murky sound.

Handakuon is indicated with a small circle. (ぱ)

Yōon 【拗音】

きゃ きゅ きょ
kya kyu Kyo

しゃ しゅ しょ
sha shu sho

ちゃ ちゅ ちょ
cha chu Cho

10 | P a g e
にゃ にゅ にょ
nya nyu nyo

ひゃ ひゅ ひょ
hya hyu hyo

みゃ みゅ みょ
mya myu myo

りゃ りゅ りょ
rya ryu ryo

ぎゃ ぎゅ ぎょ
gya gyu gyo

じゃ じゅ じょ
jya jyu jyo

ぢゃ ぢゅ ぢょ
ja ju jo

びゃ びゅ びょ
bya byu byo

ぴゃ ぴゅ ぴょ
pya pyu pyo

Yōon is a combination of the consonant of i-column syllables and ya, yu or yo.

For example, k + ya = kya.

Yōon is described by i-column letters plus small や, ゆ or よ.

For example, き + ゃ = きゃ [kya].

Pronunciation of じゃ, じゅ, じょ and ぢゃ, ぢゅ, ぢょ are the same.

Sokuon 【促音】

きっぷ

11 | P a g e
kippu(Ticket)

Sokuon is a pause (no sound) between two syllables.

Sokuon is described by small つ.

Examples

さっき(saKKi) いった(iTTa)

Additional Letters

あ い う え お

These additional letters are invented in modern era to describe the sounds of
foreign language.

Note: Foreign words are usually written in Katakana. These additional Hiragana
letters are rarely used.

Examples
ふぁ [fa] てぃ [ti] どぅ [du] うぇ [we] ふぉ [fo]

Small あ [a], い [i], う [u], え [e] and お [o] are attached after particular letters.

Examples
う゛ぁ [va] う゛ぃ [vi] う゛ [vu] う゛ぇ [ve] う゛ぉ [vo]

う゛ is used for [v] sound.

INFORMATION SHEET 1.1-1b KATAKANA

LO1.1-1b Learn Japanese hiragana and katakana characters, symbols and sound

About Katakana

12 | P a g e
Katakana is one of three characters used in the Japanese language.

Katakana is a phonetic alphabet - each letter represents the sound of a syllable


(like English ABC). Letter itself has no meaning.

Katakana and Hiragana represent exactly the same set of sounds.

Katakana is used mostly for foreign loan words.

You can download/print Katakana chart (PDF) of all Katakana letters.

Origin

Katakana ア カ タ マ ヤ

Original Kanji 阿 加 多 万 也

Katakana was developed in the 8th century by simplifying the form of Kanji
symbols.

Many Katakana letters look exactly the same as a part of its original Kanji.

Some of Hiragana and Katakana letters were made from the same Kanji symbol.

Many of Katakana letters look exactly the same as a part of its original Kanji.

Number of Letters

In modern Japanese, there are 46 basic Katakana letters.

In addition to these 46 basic letters called gojūon, there are modified forms to
describe more sounds - 20 dakuon, 5 handakuon, 36 yōon, 1 sokuon and 6
additional letters.

Gojūon (五十音)

13 | P a g e
a i u e o
column column column column column

a
row a i u e o

ka
row ka ki ku ke ko

sa
row sa shi su se so

ta
row ta chi tsu te to

na
row na ni nu ne no

ha
row ha hi fu he ho

ma
row ma mi mu me mo

ya
row ya (i) yu (e) yo

ra
row ra ri ru re ro

wa
row wa (i) (u) (e) o

14 | P a g e
n

G o j ūo n -z u (五十音図 )

Traditionally, sounds of basic syllables are organized in the form of a table (5 x 10).
This table is called gojūon-zu (literally means table of 50 sounds).
To describe these sounds, Katakana and Hiragana alphabets are used.
Letters イ, ウ and エ appear more than once in the table. These 5 duplicates
(colored in gray) are usually skipped or ignored.
Another syllable ン is included. It doesn't belong to any row or column.
In total, 46 letters (45+1) are counted as gojūon (50 sounds).

S tru ctu re o f th e T ab l e
The structure is exactly the same as the Hiragana table.
The first row - ア[a], イ[i], ウ[u], エ[e] and オ[o] are five vowels of the Japanese
language.
Letters in the same column contain the same vowel.
Letters in the same row are considered to contain the same consonant.
Letters オ[o] and ヲ[o] represent the same sound. Letter ヲ is rarely used.

Dakuon (濁音)

a i u e o
column column column column column

ga
row ga gi gu ge go

za
row za ji zu ze zo

da
row da ji zu de do

ba
row ba bi bu be bo

15 | P a g e
Dakuon literally means turbid or murky sound. It is the voiced sound of カ[ka], サ
[sa], タ[ta] and ハ[ha]-row syllables.
Dakuon is indicated with two small dots.
Pronunciation of ジ[ji] and ヂ[ji], ズ[zu] and ヅ[zu] are the same.
Letters ヂ and ヅ are rarely used.

Handakuon (半濁音)

a i u e o
column column column column column

pa
row pa pi pu pe po
Handakuon literally means half-turbid or half-murky sound.
Handakuon is indicated with a small circle.

Yōon (拗音)

kya kyu kyo

sha shu sho

cha chu cho

nya nyu nyo

hya hyu hyo

16 | P a g e
mya myu myo

rya ryu ryo

gya gyu gyo

ja ju jo

ja ju jo

bya byu byo

pya pyu pyo


Yōon is a combination of the consonant of i-column syllables and ya, yu or yo. For
example, k + ya = kya.
Yōon is described by i-column letters associated with ャ(small ya), ュ(small yu)
or ョ(small yo). For example, キ + ャ = キャ[kya].
Pronunciation of ジャ[ja], ジュ[ju], ジョ[jo] and ヂャ[ja], ヂュ[ju], ヂョ[jo] are the
same.
Letters ヂャ, ヂュ, ヂョ are rarely used.

Sokuon (促音)

pause
Sokuon is a pause (no sound) between two syllables.
Sokuon is described by ッ(small ツ[tsu]).
Examples

17 | P a g e
サッカー[sakkā] メッセージ[messēji] ポケット[poketto] カップ[kappu]

Additional Letters

These additional letters are invented in modern era to describe the sound of
foreign languages.
Examples

ファ[fa] ティ[ti] ドゥ[du] ウェ[we] フォ[fo]

ァ, ィ, ゥ, ェ and ォ(small ア[a] イ[i] ウ[u] エ[e] オ[o]) are attached after
particular letters.
Examples

ヴァ[va] ヴィ[vi] ヴ[vu] ヴェ[ve] ヴォ[vo]

ヴ is used for [v] sound.

Long Vowels

ā ii ū ē ō
Long vowels are indicated with ー(horizontal bar).
Examples

カーテン[kāten] ビール[biiru] ユーロ[yūro] ケーキ[kēki] コート[kōto]

18 | P a g e
Information Sheet 2.1-1

1. Counting in Japanese Numbers 1-100 for Beginners.

Japanese Numbers 1 to 100

Number Romaji Hiragana Kanji

1 ichi いち 一

2 ni に 二

3 san さん 三

4 yon よん 四

5 go ご 五

6 roku ろく 六

7 nana しち 七

8 hachi はち 八

9 kyuu きゅう 九

Let’s count by tens in Japanese. (10-90)

This is the other set that you should memorize.

Tips: Try this format:


In 10 you say juu only
In 20, you say ni (2)+ juu (10) = ni juu, (number 2 to 9 add juu)

19 | P a g e
Number Romaji Hiragana Kanji

10 juu じゅう 十

20 ni juu にじゅう 二十

30 san juu さんじゅう 三十

40 yon juu よんじゅう 四十

50 go juu ごじゅう 五十

60 roku juu ろくじゅう 六十

70 nana juu ななじゅう 七十

80 hachi juu はちじゅう 八十

90 kyuu juu きゅうじゅう 九十

Let’s count by joining tens and ones together.

For the last step, this would be easy since you know the numbers above. Just
consider the tips, which will help you count from 1-100 in Japanese.

Tips:

Remember this formula, juu (10) + ichi (1) = juu ichi (11).

In like manner, ni juu (20) + ichi (1) = ni juu Ichi (21), and so forth.

Number Romaji

11 juu ichi

22 ni juu ni

33 san juusan

44 yon juu yon

55 go juu go

66 roku juu roku

77 nana juu nana

88 hachi juu hachi

20 | P a g e
99 kyuu juu kyuu

It’s very easy, right? By just reading the Romaji, you will learn the proper
pronunciation. Besides, counting numbers in Japanese has a similarity in
counting numbers in English. That is why it’s not difficult to remember the
numbers. So, let’s practice more.

Counting in Japanese number 1-100

Here are the full lists of numbers and Romaji.

1-20

1 ichi 11 juu ichi

2 ni 12 juu ni

3 san 13 juu san

4 yon 14 juu yon

5 go 15 juu go

6 roku 16 juu roku

7 nana 17 juu nana

8 hachi 18 juu hachi

9 kyuu 19 juu kyuu

10 juu 20 ni juu

21-40

21 ni juu ichi 31 san juu ichi

21 | P a g e
22 ni juu ni 32 san juu ni

23 ni juu san 33 san juu san

24 ni juu yon 34 san juu yon

25 ni juu go 35 san juu go

26 ni juu roku 36 san juu roku

27 ni juu nana 37 san juu nana

28 ni juu hachi 38 san juu hachi

29 ni juu kyuu 39 san juu kyuu

30 san juu 40 yon juu

41-60

41 yon juu ichi 51 go juu ichi

42 yon juu ni 52 go juu ni

43 yon juu san 53 go juu san

44 yon juu yon 54 go juu yon

45 yon juu go 55 go juu go

46 yon juu roku 56 go juu roku

47 yon juu nana 57 go juu nana

48 yon juu hachi 58 go juu hachi

49 yon juu kyuu 59 go juu kyuu

50 go juu 60 roku juu

61-80

61 roku juu ichi 71 nana juu ichi

62 roku juu ni 72 nana juu ni

63 roku juu san 73 nana juu san

22 | P a g e
64 roku juu yon 74 nana juu yon

65 roku juu go 75 nana juu go

66 roku juu roku 76 nana juu roku

67 roku juu nana 77 nana juu nana

68 roku juu hachi 78 nana juu hachi

69 roku juu kyuu 79 nana juu kyuu

70 nana juu 80 hachi juu

81-100

81 hachi juu ichi 91 kyuu juu ichi

82 hachi juu ni 92 kyuu juu ni

83 hachi juu san 93 kyuu juu san

84 hachi juu yon 94 kyuu juu yon

85 hachi juu go 95 kyuu juu go

86 hachi juu roku 96 kyuu juu roku

87 hachi juu nana 97 kyuu juu nana

88 hachi juu hachi 98 kyuu juu hachi

89 hachi juu kyuu 99 kyuu juu kyuu

90 kyuu juu 100 hyaku

2. Counting in Japanese Numbers 10/100/1000/10,000

23 | P a g e
juu hyaku sen man

0 - 10

日本語[Japanese] 読み[Reading] 数字[number]

0 (ゼロ/零) zero 0

1 (一) ichi 1

2 (二) ni 2

3 (三) san 3

4 (四) yon 4

5 (五) go 5

6 (六) roku 6

7 (七) nana 7

8 (八) hachi 8

9 (九) kyū 9

10 (十) jū 10

This is the standard way of reading the numbers 0 to 10.

Kanji 零 is rarely used. It is usually written in Arabic number or Katakana.

Arabic number is used more often than Kanji numbers.

11 - 100

日本語 [nihongo] 読み [yomi] 数字 [sūji]

11 (十一) jūichi 11

12 (十二) jūni 12

13 (十三) jūsan 13

14 (十四) jūyon 14

15 (十五) jūgo 15

24 | P a g e
16 (十六) jūroku 16

17 (十七) jūnana 17

18 (十八) jūhachi 18

19 (十九) jūkyū 19

20 (二十) nijū 20

30 (三十) sanjū 30

40 (四十) yonjū 40

50 (五十) gojū 50

60 (六十) rokujū 60

70 (七十) nanajū 70

80 (八十) hachijū 80

90 (九十) kyūjū 90

100 (百) hyaku 100

101 - 1,000

日本語 [にほんご] 読み [よみ] 数字 [すうじ]

101 (百一、一〇一) hyakuichi 101

200 (二百、二〇〇) nihyaku 200

300 (三百、三〇〇) sanbyaku 300

400 (四百、四〇〇) yonhyaku 400

500 (五百、五〇〇) gohyaku 500

600 (六百、六〇〇) roppyaku 600

700 (七百、七〇〇) nanahyaku 700

800 (八百、八〇〇) happyaku 800

900 (九百、九〇〇) kyūhyaku 900

1,000 (千、一〇〇〇) sen 1,000

25 | P a g e
Irregular readings are colored in red.

These changes happen because of the interaction between two syllables. It's
better to just get used to it, rather than analyzing it.

To describe the price or the western calender year, units 十, 百, 千 are usually
omitted. For example, 1980 is 一九八五, not 千九百八十五.

1,001 - 10,000

日本語 読み 数字
1,001 (千一、一〇〇一) senichi 1,001

2,000 (二千) nisen 2,000

3,000 (三千) sanzen 3,000

4,000 (四千) yonsen 4,000

5,000 (五千) gosen 5,000

6,000 (六千) rokusen 6,000

7,000 (七千) nanasen 7,000

8,000 (八千) hassen 8,000

9,000 (九千) kyūsen 9,000

10,000 (一万) ichiman 10,000

10,000 is [ichi man], not just [man].

More than 10,000

日本語 読み 数字
1万1,001 ichimanissenichi 11,001

2万 (二万) niman 20,000

10万 (十万) jūman 100,000

100万 (百万) hyakuman 1 million

26 | P a g e
1,000万 (一千万) issenman 10 million

1億 (一億) ichioku 100 million

10億 (十億) jūoku 1 billion

100億 (百億) hyakuoku 10 billion

1,000億 (一千億) issenoku 100 billion

1兆 (一兆) icchō 1 trillion

10兆 (十兆) jucchō 10 trillion

When 1,000 appears in the higher units, you read it [issen (ichi + sen)]. For
example, 21,000 is [ni man issen], 10 million is [issen man].

100 million is [ichi oku], not just [oku].

1 trillion is [icchō (ichi + chō)], not just [chō].

Reference: studyjapan.fairness-world.com/japanese-learn.com

27 | P a g e

You might also like