Japanese Numbers
36,800 is 三万六千八百 in kanji, read さんまんろくせんはっぴゃく (sanmanrokusenhappyaku). Note the sound changes: 300 is さんびゃく, 600 is ろっぴゃく, 3,000 is さんぜん and 8,000 is はっせん.
How to use
- Type a number (1,234,567) or Japanese numerals (三百六十). The result shows the other form, the reading in hiragana, romaji and how the price in yen is read.
- Press Listen to hear the reading. Open Counters to see 1 to 10 for people, long objects, flat things, animals, minutes and more, with the changes written out.
- Open Practice for a quiz. Pick Numbers, Prices or Counters, choose the right reading from four, and watch your score and streak.
How it works
Japanese counts in groups of four digits, not three. The units are 万 (10,000), 億 (100,000,000) and 兆 (1,000,000,000,000). So 36,800 is 3万 6,800, which is 三万六千八百 and is read さんまんろくせんはっぴゃく. A good way to read a large number is to regroup the commas into fours first.
Inside a group of four digits, 十 (10), 百 (100) and 千 (1,000) are the place names. The 一 is dropped before 十, 百 and 千 (so 100 is 百 and not 一百), but kept before 万, 億 and 兆 (10,000 is 一万).
Some sounds change when numbers join the next word. 百 becomes びゃく after 3 (さんびゃく) and ぴゃく after 6 and 8 (ろっぴゃく, はっぴゃく). 千 becomes ぜん after 3 (さんぜん) and takes a small っ after 8 (はっせん). Before 兆, 1, 8 and 10 take a small っ too (いっちょう, はっちょう, じゅっちょう).
The digits 4, 7 and 9 have two readings. This tool uses the standard よん, なな and きゅう. し, しち and く still appear in set words such as 4月 (しがつ) and 9時 (くじ).
Sound changes to memorize
| Number | Kanji | Reading | What changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 | 三百 | さんびゃく | ひゃく to びゃく |
| 600 | 六百 | ろっぴゃく | ろく to ろっ, ひゃく to ぴゃく |
| 800 | 八百 | はっぴゃく | はち to はっ, ひゃく to ぴゃく |
| 3,000 | 三千 | さんぜん | せん to ぜん |
| 8,000 | 八千 | はっせん | はち to はっ |
| 1 trillion | 一兆 | いっちょう | いち to いっ |
| 8 trillion | 八兆 | はっちょう | はち to はっ |
| 10 trillion | 十兆 | じゅっちょう | じゅう to じゅっ |
Prices in yen
Prices add 円 (えん) after the number. The only change is 4 yen, read よえん, and so 14 yen is じゅうよえん and 104 yen is ひゃくよえん. Tens like 40 yen stay よんじゅうえん.
Native counting (ひとつ, ふたつ)
Besides the Chinese-style numbers, Japanese has a native set for counting objects up to ten: ひとつ, ふたつ, みっつ, よっつ, いつつ, むっつ, ななつ, やっつ, ここのつ, とお. From 11 you switch to the regular numbers, so 11 things is 十一個 (じゅういっこ). The Counters tab has the full set.
Zero and other readings
- 0 is read ぜろ or れい. れい is common in math and phone numbers, ぜろ in everyday talk.
- In phone numbers, digits are read one at a time, and 0 is ゼロ or まる.
- Year 2026 is read にせんにじゅうろくねん. Wareki eras are read separately.
FAQ
Why does 600 sound like roppyaku and not rokuhyaku?
Sounds blend when a number meets 百. After 3, ひゃく turns into びゃく (さんびゃく). After 6 and 8 the first syllable takes a small っ and ひゃく turns into ぴゃく (ろっぴゃく, はっぴゃく). The numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9 do not change.
Is 1,000 いっせん or せん?
Both are used. せん is the standard reading and the one this tool shows. いっせん is also common when you want to stress "one thousand", and with 万 it is said いっせんまん for 10 million.
Why group numbers by four digits?
Japanese has its own units every four digits: 万, 億, 兆. 1,000,000 is 百万 (100 of 万), not "one million". Regroup the commas into fours to read quickly.
What is the biggest number this handles?
Up to 9999兆9999億9999万9999, which is 9,999,999,999,999,999. Larger units such as 京 (ten quadrillion) are not included.
Is the audio a real voice?
It uses the Japanese text-to-speech built into your browser, so a Japanese voice must be installed on your device. The reading is spoken from the hiragana text, so sound changes are correct, but the voice itself varies by device.