Mastering Numbers, Counters, Dates, and Time in GCSE Japanese
Welcome! Expressing quantities, telling the time, booking tickets, and talking about schedules are fundamental skills for your Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9–1) Japanese exam. These topics appear across all four exam papers: Paper 1 (Listening), Paper 2 (Speaking), Paper 3 (Reading), and Paper 4 (Writing).
Counting in Japanese might feel unfamiliar at first because objects use specific "counter words" depending on their shape and type. Don't worry if this seems tricky—once you spot the repeating patterns and sound changes, it becomes straightforward.
---1. Base Numbers: From 1 to 100,000,000
Japanese numbers follow a logical base-10 structure up to \(9,999\), but larger numbers group by ten-thousands (万 / まん) rather than thousands.
Key Large Units to Remember
10,000: 一万 (いちまん)
100,000: 十万 (じゅうまん)
1,000,000: 百万 (ひゃくまん)
10,000,000: 一千万 (いっせんまん)
100,000,000: 一億 (いちおく)
The General "~つ" Counting System (1 to 10)
When you are ordering items in a restaurant or counting general objects without a specific counter, use the native Japanese ~つ (tsu) series:
1: ひとつ (hitotsu)
2: ふたつ (futatsu)
3: みっつ (mittsu)
4: よっつ (yottsu)
5: いつつ (itsutsu)
6: むっつ (muttsu)
7: ななつ (nanatsu)
8: やっつ (yattsu)
9: ここのつ (kokonotsu)
10: とお (too) — Note: "10" does not end in つ!
Key Takeaway: The ~つ series only goes up to 10. Beyond 10, use regular base numbers.
---2. The 13 Essential GCSE Japanese Counters
In Japanese, you attach a counter suffix directly after a number. The Pearson Edexcel specification requires you to master exactly 13 counters.
Group A: People, Animals, and Objects
1. 人 (にん) — People
Used for counting human beings. Look out for the irregular readings for 1, 2, and 4 people:
• 1 person: ひとり (irregular)
• 2 people: ふたり (irregular)
• 3 people: さんにん
• 4 people: よにん (never say shinin!)
• 5 people: ごにん
2. 匹 (ひき) — Small Animals, Fish, and Insects
Used for dogs, cats, insects, and fish. Watch for sound shifts (ぴき and びき):
• 1 animal: いっぴき
• 2 animals: にひき
• 3 animals: さんびき
• 6 animals: ろっぴき
• 8 animals: はっぴき
• 10 animals: じゅっぴき
3. 台 (だい) — Machines, Vehicles, and Large Furniture
Used for cars, bicycles, computers, and TVs. This counter has regular pronunciation:
• 1 machine/car: いちだい
• 2 machines/cars: にだい
• 3 machines/cars: さんだい
4. 本 (ほん) — Long, Cylindrical Objects
Used for pens, bottles, umbrellas, and trees. Note the sound shifts (ぽん and ぼん):
• 1 bottle/pen: いっぽん
• 2 bottles/pens: にほん
• 3 bottles/pens: さんぼん
• 6 bottles/pens: ろっぽん
• 8 bottles/pens: はっぽん
• 10 bottles/pens: じゅっぽん
5. 枚 (まい) — Flat, Thin Objects
Used for paper, tickets, shirts, and plates. This counter is completely regular:
• 1 sheet/ticket: いちまい
• 2 sheets/tickets: にまい
• 3 sheets/tickets: さんまい
6. 冊 (さつ) — Bound Items
Used for books, magazines, and notebooks:
• 1 book: いっさつ
• 2 books: にさつ
• 3 books: さんさつ
• 8 books: はっさつ
• 10 books: じゅっさつ
7. 杯 (はい) — Cups and Glasses of Liquid
Used for cupfuls or glassfuls of drinks. Note the sound shifts (ぱい and ばい):
• 1 cup: いっぱい
• 2 cups: にはい
• 3 cups: さんばい
• 6 cups: ろっぱい
• 8 cups: はっぱい
• 10 cups: じゅっぱい
Group B: Sequence, Currency, Repetition, and Age
8. 才 / 歳 (さい) — Age
Used when stating how old someone is:
• 1 year old: いっさい
• 8 years old: はっさい
• 10 years old: じっさい
• 20 years old: はたち (special irregular reading!)
9. 円 (えん) — Japanese Currency (Yen)
Attached directly to numbers when discussing prices:
• 100 yen: ひゃくえん
• 1,000 yen: せんえん
• 10,000 yen: いちまんえん
10. 番 (ばん) — Order, Rank, or Number
Used for identifying an item's position or number (e.g., track numbers, telephone numbers):
• Number 1 / First place: いちばん
• Number 2: にばん
11. 目 (め) — Ordinal Suffix
Added onto other counters to turn them into ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd):
• 二つ目 (ふたつめ): The 2nd one
• 三人目 (さんにんめ): The 3rd person
12. 回 (かい) — Frequency / Occurrences
Used for the number of times an action occurs:
• 1 time: いっかい
• 2 times: にかい
• 6 times: ろっかい
• 8 times: はっかい
• 10 times: じゅっかい
13. 階 (かい) — Floors of a Building
Used to describe storeys or building levels:
• 1st floor: いっかい
• 2nd floor: にかい
• 3rd floor: さんがい (Notice the sound change from "kai" to "gai"!)
• 6th floor: ろっかい
• 8th floor: はっかい
• 10th floor: じゅっかい
Memory Trick for "H" Sound Counters (本, 匹, 杯):
Numbers 1, 6, 8, 10 trigger a small tsu and shift the "h" sound to "p" (ip-, rop-, hap-, jup-). Number 3 shifts the "h" sound to "b" (sanbon, sanbiki, sanbai).
3. Telling Time: Hours and Minutes
Time expressions are built with 時 (じ) for hours and 分 (ふん / ぷん) for minutes.
Hours: ~時 (じ)
• 1:00: いちじ
• 2:00: にじ
• 3:00: さんじ
• 4:00: よじ (Irregular: not yonji or shiji)
• 5:00: ごじ
• 6:00: ろくじ
• 7:00: しちじ (Irregular: not nanaji)
• 8:00: はちじ
• 9:00: くじ (Irregular: not kyuuji)
• 10:00: じゅうじ
• 11:00: じゅういちじ
• 12:00: じゅうにじ
Minutes: ~分 (ふん / ぷん) & Half Past
Minutes alternate between ふん and ぷん:
• 1 min: いっぷん
• 2 min: にふん
• 3 min: さんぷん
• 4 min: よんぷん
• 5 min: ごふん
• 6 min: ろっぷん
• 7 min: ななふん
• 8 min: はっぷん
• 9 min: きゅうふん
• 10 min: じゅっぷん
• 30 min / Half past: ~じはん (e.g., 2:30 is にじはん)
4. Dates, Months, and Days of the Week
Months of the Year: ~月 (がつ)
Simply take the number and add がつ. Watch out for months 4, 7, and 9:
• January: いちがつ
• February: にがつ
• March: さんがつ
• April: しがつ (Exam Trap: never yongatsu!)
• May: ごがつ
• June: ろくがつ
• July: しちがつ (Exam Trap: never nanagatsu!)
• August: はちがつ
• September: くがつ (Exam Trap: never kyuugatsu!)
• October: じゅうがつ
• November: じゅういちがつ
• December: じゅうにがつ
Days of the Month: ~日
The first 10 days and specific mid-month days use special native readings:
1st: ついたち
2nd: ふつか
3rd: みっか
4th: よっか
5th: いつか
6th: むいか
7th: ななつ
8th: ようか
9th: ここのか
10th: とおか
14th: じゅうよっか
20th: はつか
24th: にじゅうよっか
Days of the Week: ~曜日 (ようび)
• Monday: 月曜日 (げつようび)
• Tuesday: 火曜日 (かようび)
• Wednesday: 水曜日 (すいようび)
• Thursday: 木曜日 (もくようび)
• Friday: 金曜日 (きんようび)
• Saturday: 土曜日 (どようび)
• Sunday: 日曜日 (にちようび)
5. Relative Time Vocabulary
These relative time words frequently set the scene in GCSE Listening and Reading passages:
• Yesterday: 昨日 (きのう)
• Today: 今日 (きょう)
• Tomorrow: 明日 (あした)
• This week: 今週 (こんしゅう)
• Next month: 来月 (らいげつ)
• Last year: 去年 (きょねん)
6. High-Frequency Exam Traps & Pitfalls
GCSE examiners frequently test whether you can spot sound shifts and irregular readings. Avoid these common mistakes:
1. "1st of the month" vs. "1 day long"
• The 1st day of the month is ついたち.
• A duration of one day is いちにち.
2. The "4, 7, 9" Trap
• 4:00 is よじ | April is しがつ.
• 7:00 is しちじ | July is しちがつ.
• 9:00 is くじ | September is くがつ.
3. Floors vs. Repetition
• "3 times" = さんかい (回)
• "3rd floor" = さんがい (階 — with a voiced "g")
4. Age 20
• Turning 20 years old is はたち, not nijuusai.
5. People Counters
• 1 person is ひとり and 2 people is ふたり. Do not use ichinin or ninin!
• 4 people is よにん.
7. Quick Knowledge Review
Test your understanding with these essential checks:
1. How do you say 3 long objects? → さんぼん (sanbon)
2. How do you say April 14th? → しがつ じゅうよっか (shigatsu juuyokka)
3. How do you say 3rd person using an ordinal? → 三人目 (さんにんめ / sanninme)
4. How do you say 9:30? → くじはん (kujihan)
5. How do you say 20 years old? → はたち (hatachi)