Numbers, Age & Contact Details

Japanese Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 3 · Numbers, Age & Contact Details

🔢 Numbers, Age & Contact Details — すうじとねんれい

Numbers are the first big chunk of Japanese you must learn well. This chapter is split into three parts: Part 1, the numbers 0 to 10 (including the three digits with two names); Part 2, counting up to 100; and Part 3, saying your age, your phone number and your email address. Take your time, and use the dialogs to practise out loud.

① Part 1 — Counting 1 to 10 — かぞえる

A: いち、に、さん、よん、ご。 Ichi, ni, san, yon, go. One, two, three, four, five.

B: ろく、なな、はち、きゅう、じゅう。 Roku, nana, hachi, kyū, jū. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

A: じょうずですね。 Jōzu desu ne. You're good!

B: ありがとうございます。 Arigatō gozaimasu. Thank you.

② Part 1 — Say It Again, Please — もういちど

A: ごじゅうさんです。 Gojūsan desu. It's fifty-three.

B: すみません。もういちどゆっくりおねがいします。 Sumimasen. Mō ichido yukkuri onegai shimasu. Sorry. Once more, slowly, please.

A: ごじゅうさん。 Gojūsan. Fifty-three.

B: わかりました。ありがとうございます。 Wakarimashita. Arigatō gozaimasu. I understand. Thank you.

③ Part 2 — A Room Number — へやのばんごう

A: へやはなんごうしつですか。 Heya wa nan gōshitsu desu ka. Which room number is it?

B: にじゅうさんごうしつです。 Nijūsan gōshitsu desu. It's room twenty-three.

A: にじゅうさんですね。 Nijūsan desu ne. Twenty-three, right?

B: はい、そうです。 Hai, sō desu. Yes, that's right.

④ Part 3 — How Old Are You? — おいくつですか

A: たなかさんはおいくつですか。 Tanaka-san wa oikutsu desu ka. How old are you, Tanaka-san?

B: にじゅうはっさいです。 Nijūhassai desu. I'm twenty-eight.

A: そうですか。 Sō desu ka. I see.

⑤ Part 3 — A Phone Number — でんわばんごう

A: でんわばんごうはなんばんですか。 Denwa bangō wa nanban desu ka. What is your phone number?

B: ゼロきゅうゼロのいちにさんよんのごろくななはちです。 Zero-kyū-zero no ichi-ni-san-yon no go-roku-nana-hachi desu. 090-1234-5678.

A: ゼロきゅうゼロのいちにさんよんのごろくななはちですね。 (repeats it) 090-1234-5678, right?

B: はい、そうです。 Hai, sō desu. Yes, that's right.

⑥ Part 3 — An Email Address — メールアドレス

A: メールアドレスをおしえてください。 Mēru adoresu o oshiete kudasai. Please tell me your email address.

B: はい。ここにかきます。 Hai. Koko ni kakimasu. Yes. I'll write it here.

A: ありがとうございます。 Arigatō gozaimasu. Thank you.

① Part 1 — The Numbers 0 to 10 — すうじ

Learn these first: everything else in this chapter is built from them. Three of the digits have two readings, and in everyday speech the second one on each line is rarely used.

Number	Japanese	Notes
0	ゼロ / れい zero / rei	ゼロ is the everyday word, れい more formal
1	いち ichi
2	に ni
3	さん san
4	よん / し yon / shi	よん is the safe, everyday one
5	ご go
6	ろく roku
7	なな / しち nana / shichi	なな is the safe, everyday one
8	はち hachi
9	きゅう / く kyū / ku	きゅう is the safe, everyday one
10	じゅう jū

Why 4 and 7 Have Two Names し (4) sounds like 死 (death), so people avoid it: use よん. しち (7) is easily confused with いち (1) when spoken, so なな is used. く (9) can sound like 苦 (suffering), so きゅう is the usual choice. In phone numbers always use よん, なな, きゅう and ゼロ.

② Part 2 — Counting to 100 — 11から100

Japanese numbers are very logical: tens first, then ones. 11 is ten-one, 20 is two-ten, 21 is two-ten-one. No exceptions to learn.

Number	Japanese	How it's built
10	じゅう jū	ten
11	じゅういち jūichi	ten + one
20	にじゅう nijū	two + ten
21	にじゅういち nijūichi	two + ten + one
30	さんじゅう sanjū	three + ten
40	よんじゅう yonjū	four + ten
50	ごじゅう gojū	five + ten
60	ろくじゅう rokujū	six + ten
70	ななじゅう nanajū	seven + ten
80	はちじゅう hachijū	eight + ten
90	きゅうじゅう kyūjū	nine + ten
99	きゅうじゅうきゅう kyūjūkyū	nine + ten + nine
100	ひゃく hyaku	hundred

Say the Tens, Add the Ones Once you know 1–10, you know up to 99: さんじゅうご (35) is three-ten-five, and ななじゅうはち (78) is seven-ten-eight. For 40, 70 and 90, use よんじゅう, ななじゅう and きゅうじゅう.

③ Part 3 — Age, Phone Numbers and Contact Details — ねんれいとれんらくさき

To say your age, add さい (sai, "years old") after the number. Some of the numbers change slightly before さい.

Age	Japanese	Notes
1	いっさい issai	small っ before さい
2	にさい nisai
3	さんさい sansai
4	よんさい yonsai
5	ごさい gosai
6	ろくさい rokusai
7	ななさい nanasai
8	はっさい hassai	small っ again
9	きゅうさい kyūsai
10	じゅっさい jussai	small っ again
20	はたち hatachi	special word: not にじゅっさい
21	にじゅういっさい nijūissai

Ask someone's age politely with おいくつですか, or with なんさいですか (more casual, and best for children).

Phone Numbers and Contact Words

Phone numbers are read one digit at a time, with の (no) between the groups. Use ゼロ, よん, なな and きゅう.

Word	Meaning	Notes
でんわばんごう denwa bangō	phone number	say each digit separately
メールアドレス mēru adoresu	email address	@ is アットマーク
じゅうしょ jūsho	address
ばんごう bangō	number	as in a room or ID number

Reading 090-1234-5678 ゼロきゅうゼロのいちにさんよんのごろくななはち: zero-kyū-zero · no · ichi-ni-san-yon · no · go-roku-nana-hachi. (This is a dummy number for practice.)

🔤 Three More Verbs — どうし

Verb	Present (polite)	Negative	Past
to tell; to teach (おしえる)	おしえます oshiemasu	おしえません oshiemasen	おしえました oshiemashita
to write (かく)	かきます kakimasu	かきません kakimasen	かきました kakimashita
to understand (わかる)	わかります wakarimasu	わかりません wakarimasen	わかりました wakarimashita

📖 Vocabulary — ごい

20 key words. Read the Japanese first, then check the romaji.

#	Japanese	Romaji	English	Type
1	ゼロ	zero	zero	noun
2	いち	ichi	one	noun
3	に	ni	two	noun
4	さん	san	three	noun
5	よん	yon	four	noun
6	ご	go	five	noun
7	ろく	roku	six	noun
8	なな	nana	seven	noun
9	はち	hachi	eight	noun
10	きゅう	kyū	nine	noun
11	じゅう	jū	ten	noun
12	ひゃく	hyaku	hundred	noun
13	さい	-sai	years old (age counter)	noun
14	おいくつ	oikutsu	how old (polite)	phrase
15	はたち	hatachi	twenty years old	noun
16	でんわばんごう	denwa bangō	phone number	noun
17	メールアドレス	mēru adoresu	email address	noun
18	じゅうしょ	jūsho	address	noun
19	ばんごう	bangō	number	noun
20	もういちど	mō ichido	once more; again	phrase

Real Japanese Tip — The Lifesaver: もういちどゆっくりおねがいします Numbers are the hardest thing to follow in a new language, because they come fast. Learn this phrase before anything else: もういちどゆっくりおねがいします (mō ichido yukkuri onegai shimasu), "once more, slowly, please". It works for prices, times, room numbers and phone numbers. You can add わかりません ("I don't understand") if you need to.

はたち: Twenty Is Special At 20 the age word changes completely: はたち, not にじゅっさい. Twenty is the age of adulthood in Japan, which is why it has its own word. From 21 you're back to にじゅういっさい.

Phone Numbers in Japan Japanese mobile numbers begin with 090, 080 or 070, so you'll hear ゼロきゅうゼロ or ゼロはちゼロ all the time. People often give numbers in groups of four and three, with の between the groups.

Kanji Spotlight — 一二三 The first three kanji you will ever need are the simplest: 一 (ichi, one), 二 (ni, two) and 三 (san, three): one, two and three horizontal lines. And 十 (jū, ten) is a cross. Prices and addresses in Japan often use these kanji instead of 1, 2, 3, so you'll see them everywhere.

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Read these numbers aloud in Japanese: 3, 7, 4, 9, 10.

Show answer

さん、なな、よん、きゅう、じゅう

2. Say 35, 48 and 76.

Show answer

さんじゅうご · よんじゅうはち · ななじゅうろく

3. Say your own age, using さい (for example 30).

Show answer

さんじゅっさい (sanjussai: 30). Check small っ for 10, 30, 40…

4. How do you say "20 years old"?

Show answer

はたち (hatachi): the special word.

5. Someone gives you a phone number too fast. What do you say?

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もういちどゆっくりおねがいします。

6. Read this dummy phone number aloud: 090-1234-5678.

Show answer

ゼロきゅうゼロのいちにさんよんのごろくななはち

Coming Up in Chapter 4 Where you're from: 〜からきました ("I come from…"), countries and nationalities, and the katakana country names you learned in Katakana 1 and 2: アメリカ, イギリス, ハンガリー and more.

Numbers, Age & Contact Details