Japanese uses two sets of numbers, Native-Japanese and Sino-Japanese, although they are not usually used as ‘pure’ sets.
Note – numbers and number–counter combinations (see 4.2) behave like nouns in that they can be modified by noun-modifying demonstrative words (example a).
a 戦後は遊郭も消滅、店々は旅館などに姿を変えてい〱。その夜、
泊まった「旅館みよし」もそんな一つ。
Sengo wa yokaku mo shnmetsu, misemise wa ryokan nado ni sugata o kaete iku. Sono yoru, tomatta ‘Ryokan Miyoshi’
mo sonna hitotsu.
After the war, the red-light district ceased to exist, and the
establishments changed into inns. The Miyoshi Inn, where we stayed that night, is one of these.
4.1.1 Counting things
When counting things, the combination number+counter is usual, where the Sino-Japanese and Native-Japanese numbers below (plus some varia- tions) are used to form number–counter combinations (see Table 4.1).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SJ: ichi ni san shi go roku shichi hachi kyo/ku jo NJ: hito- futa- mit- yo(t)- itsu- mut- nana yat- kokono- tn Numbers for 10 and above are basically Sino-Japanese (except for ti, which can be used by itself to count things):
•
D
112 4 Numbers and counters
10 . . . jo, joichi, ni, san, shi (yon), go . . . 20 . . . nijoichi, . . .
30 . . . sanjo, . . . 40 . . . yonjo (shijo), . . . 50 . . . gojo, . . .
60 . . . rokujo, . . . 70 . . . nanajo, . . . . . .
100 . . . hyaku, nihyaku, sanbyaku, yonhyaku, . . . roppyaku . . . , happyaku . . .
1,000 . . . sen, nisen, sanzen . . . 10,000 . . . ichiman, niman, sanman . . . 100,000 joman, nijoman . . .
1,000,000 hyakuman, nihyakuman . . . 10,000,000 issenman, nisenman . . . 100,000,000 ichioku, nioku . . .
4.1.1.1 Counting things approximately
4.1.1.1.1 Adjoining numbers
This can be done by using two adjoining numbers (in writing, these usually have a comma (or occasionally a hyphen) between them, but are pronounced as one unit). They are mostly used with counters, excepting ni, san, which is also used in the form of ni, san no noun in the sense of ‘several’ (see 4.2).
a •••二、三の疑問点を提示したい。
. . . ni, san no gimon-ten o teiji shitai.
. . . I wish to raise a couple of queries.
4.1.1.1.2 By prefixes, adverbs or adverbial particles
The Sino-Japanese prefix sj- ‘several’ and the adverb yaku ‘approximately’, precede the number (but see below for how sj- can be inserted between number and counter), whereas the adverbial particles gurai/kurai and hodo follow number (+ counter) (see 11.5.1.1, 11.5.2.1).
a 「一人または数人」とあれば、二人でもいいわけだが、最大値は 分からない。
‘Hitori mata wa sonin’ to areba, futari de mo ii wake da ga, saidai-chi wa wakaranai.
If it [= the advert] states ‘one or several people’, then two people are OK, but one doesn’t know the maximum figure.
cmmmmmmml
113 Numbers Note how
数
sj- can be inserted between number (units of ten and above)and counter in the sense of ‘unit-odd’.
b 2—3年のうちに20数巻をそろえる方針だ。
Ni kara san-nen no uchi ni nijo-so-kan o soroeru hnshin da.
Their aim is to complete the set of all 20-odd volumes in two or three years.
c 花は二十日間〱らい咲〱。
Hana wa hatsuka-kan kurai saku.
The flowers bloom for about 20 days.
d 免許は三十万円ほどで取得できる。
Menkyo wa sanjoman-en hodo de shutoku dekiru.
A licence can be obtained for about three hundred thousand yen.
4.1.1.2 Amounts involving nan-/iku- ‘how much/how many’
+ ka/mo/demo
The question words (+ counter) nan-/iku- combine with the particle ka (indefinite amount ‘a lot’, ‘lots’, etc.), mo (+ negative predicate, small amount ‘no . . .’, ‘not many’, etc.) and demo (/verb-te mo ‘any’) (see 5.2 and Table 5.2, 26.3.1.5).
a 電気を止められたことも何度もある。
Denki o tomerareta koto mo nan-do mo aru.
The electricity has been cut off many times.
b 何歳になってもダイビングを続けてい〱つもりでいる。
Nan-sai ni natte mo daibingu o tsuzukete iku tsumori de iru.
He intends to continue diving regardless of age.
4.1.2 Counting in sequence 4.1.2.1 Counting aloud
For counting out aloud, the Sino-Japanese set is the more common. Note the common Native-Japanese alternatives for the near-homophones (in rapid speech at any rate) shi and shichi.
1 ichi, 2 ni, 3 san, 4 shi (yon), 5 go, 6 roku, 7 shichi (nana), 8 hachi, 9 kyo/ku, 10 jo.
114 4 Numbers and counters
4.1.2.2 Phone and account numbers
Phone numbers are read more or less like counting out aloud, but there are some specific rules.
rei rather than zero is used; yon and nana are obligatory instead of shi and shichi; the single-syllable ni and go are obligatorily lengthened to nh and gi, and the longer variant kyj is obligatory rather than ku.
The (fictional) Tokyo phone numbers below, for instance, are normally read as follows (note the optional/more formal use of -kyoku ‘exchange [number]’ and -ban ‘[customer] number’):
(03) 123-4567: (Tnkyn) reisan ichinmsan(-kyoku) (no) yongnrokunana(-ban)
(03) 987-6543: (Tnkyn) reisan kyohachinana(-kyoku) (no) rokugnyonsan(-ban)
Phone numbers for businesses etc. are often given with kana attached that combine imaginative ‘readings’ of the number for mnemonic and/or adver- tising purposes. Such ‘readings’ use not only Native-Japanese and Sino- Japanese readings (with additional kana often thrown in), but ‘English’
pronunciation of the numbers too.
6 7 9 -3 6 2
ム リ ナ ク ス リ ム 二 murinaku surimu ni
‘getting slim without effort’
To explain: mu (Native-Japanese 6 + ri thrown in), na (Native-Japanese 7), ku (Sino-Japanese 9) suri (‘English’ ‘three’) mu (NJ 6), ni (SJ 2)
Or, the number of a hair-transplant clinic:
10 -2 3 2 3
い 〜 わ ふ さ ふ さ ii wa fusafusa
That’s nice! tufty [hair]
Here we have i (Sino-Japanese i(chi) lengthened to ii ‘nice’ (
〜
indicates a long sound), wa for 0 (wa is a Native-Japanese word for ‘circle’, used here for wa [final particle], and fu for Native-Japanese 2, sa for Sino- Japanese 3).115 Counters 4.1.3 Superstition and numbers
Many hotels in Japan lack a 13th storey, which is a Western import. More traditionally, because of the homophony between