About NumbersInJapanese.com

Last verified May 2026

Independent reference for Japanese numbers, counters, and number-related context. Built by Oliver Wakefield-Smith at Digital Signet. Reviewed against primary sources May 2026.

Why this site exists

Japanese numerical morphology and the counter-word system scatter across half a dozen authoritative bodies: the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkacho) sets orthographic standards and maintains the Joyo Kanji list; the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (NINJAL / Kokken) maintains the corpus and lexicographic data; the Japan Foundation publishes the JLPT specification; the NHK Broadcasting Pronunciation Dictionary fixes the modified Hepburn romanisation standard; Daijisen, Daijirin, and Kojien provide cross-references; Kanjipedia anchors stroke-order and reading data. Consumer-facing language sites (Busuu, Migaku, Tofugu, WaniKani) are excellent but commercial app marketing or instructional blog posts. They do not consolidate the converter + reference layer with primary-source citations.

The typed-numeral SERP for queries like “97 in japanese”, “10000 in japanese”, or “2026 in japanese” is served by thin tools at 40 to 500 words per page, no audio, no kanji breakdown, no sentence examples. Depth wins here. NumbersInJapanese.com is the depth response: every page hand-curated, every claim cited, the script toggle the unique differentiator no other Japanese reference offers.

Who builds this

Oliver Wakefield-Smith at Digital Signet, the publisher of NumbersInJapanese.com. Sister sites:

Numbers in French
Vigesimal converter and reference for French numerical morphology.
Days of the Week in French
Lundi to dimanche reference with audio and conjugation context.
Days of the Week in Spanish
Lunes to domingo reference with audio.
Digital Signet
Publisher of NumbersInJapanese.com and sister language references.

Editorial position

Independent reference and converter. NumbersInJapanese.com is not affiliated with the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkacho), the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics (NINJAL), the Japan Foundation, NHK, the JLPT administration, Tofugu, WaniKani, Busuu, Genki / Tobira publishers (The Japan Times), Imabi, Kanjipedia, Migaku, Rosetta Stone, or any Japanese-language educational publisher. Brand names appear for editorial specificity (e.g. “the NHK Broadcasting Pronunciation Dictionary specifies…”) and are not endorsements.

No paid placement influences source selection. Affiliate links, when present, carry rel="noopener sponsored".

What this site covers

Home and Script Toggle
Kanji / hiragana / Arabic numeral toggle that persists across every page. 1-to-10 reference table with audio.
Numbers 1 to 10
Sino (ichi, ni, san) and native (hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu) systems with kanji stroke counts.
Numbers 1 to 100
Every cardinal 1 to 100 with the build-by-place rule and sound-changes at 300, 600, 800, 3000, 8000.
Big Numbers Man, Oku, Cho
The 4-digit grouping system: man (10,000), oku (100M), cho (trillion), with a colour-coded chunk visualiser.
Native Yamato Numbers
Hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu and the tsu general counter. Where the native system survives in modern Japanese.
Reading Variations 4 / 7 / 9
Yon vs shi, nana vs shichi, kyu vs ku. Context-by-context lookup table.
Writing Numbers
Arabic numerals, kanji 一二三, hiragana, and the formal daiji 壱弐参 for cheques and contracts.
Counters Hub
The 12 essential counter words (nin, hon, mai, ko, tsu, hiki, ji, fun, kai, sai, en) with a picker tool.
Ages
Sai counter, irregulars at 1, 8, 10, 20 (hatachi). How to ask age politely.
Prices in Yen
Hyaku-en, sen-en, ichi-man-en. Reading price tags and the asking-how-much formula.
Addresses
Postal code, prefecture, city, chome, banchi, go. Largest-to-smallest convention.
Dates
2026年5月11日 format. Day-of-month native readings (tsuitachi, futsuka, yokka). Reiwa imperial-year calendar.
Phone Numbers
Mobile and landline formats. The yon / nana / kyu clarity convention.
Quiz and Flashcards
Free practice tools: four quiz modes, multi-deck flashcards. No signup, local-only progress.

Editorial principles

Primary-source pattern
Every linguistic claim references Bunkacho, NINJAL, the Joyo Kanji list, JLPT specification, NHK Broadcasting Pronunciation Dictionary, or a vetted dictionary (Daijisen, Daijirin, Kanjipedia, Jisho). Anime, Reddit, and AI-generated content are not sources.
Not language instruction
This is a reference, not a curriculum. We tell you what the standard form is, not how to memorise it. Pair with Genki, Tobira, WaniKani, or Tofugu for instruction.
No fabricated rules
We never invent grammar or pretend rules where authorities disagree. When sources conflict, both readings are noted with one marked as standard, formal, or rare.
Monthly review cadence
Sources reviewed monthly during the first business week. Out-of-cycle review triggers on Bunkacho rulings, Joyo Kanji revisions, NHK pronunciation updates, and new JLPT specifications.
Single-source freshness
One LAST_VERIFIED_DATE constant drives every freshness indicator: footer stamp, page-hero badge, schema dateModified. Roll it once and the entire site updates.
No fabricated cultural conventions
Cultural conventions around 4 (tetraphobia / shi-死), 9 (kuphobia / ku-苦), and 7 (lucky / shichi-fuku-jin) are cited to NINJAL or Wikipedia japanese-superstitions. We do not freelance superstition claims.

Methodology in brief

Every page on NumbersInJapanese.com carries a “Last verified May 2026” stamp. Linguistic claims trace to Bunkacho, NINJAL, the Joyo Kanji Cabinet Order (2010 revision), JLPT specification, NHK Broadcasting Pronunciation Dictionary, Daijisen / Daijirin via Goo dictionary, and Kanjipedia. Romanisation follows modified Hepburn. Audio uses the Web Speech API ja-JP voice where the browser supports it. The full source list, refresh cadence, and limitations live at /methodology.

Disclosures

Contact and corrections

Spotted an error? Email hello@digitalsignet.com. Five-business-day SLA on correction acknowledgements. Linguistic claims should be reproducible from one of the sources listed in /methodology. Please reference the source you believe is correct.

For tutoring or accredited Japanese-language tuition, please contact the Japan Foundation, your local JLPT administering body, or a certified instructor. NumbersInJapanese.com does not offer tutoring services.