2008 in Japanese
二千八
Updated June 2026
2008 in Japanese is 二千八, written にせんはち in hiragana and read ni-sen-hachi. Heisei 20 (the global financial crisis year)
NUMERAL
2008
KANJI
二千八
HIRAGANA
にせんはち
ROMAJI
ni-sen-hachi
Year context
Heisei 20 (平成20年). The year of the Lehman Brothers collapse (15 September 2008) and the global financial crisis. The Beijing Olympics took place in August 2008. Heisei-era arithmetic: Heisei 1 = 1989, so Heisei 20 = 2008.
Real sentence examples
二〇〇八年の九月にリーマンショックが起きました (ni-sen-hachi-nen no ku-gatsu ni riiman-shokku ga okimashita): the Lehman Shock happened in September 2008.
平成二十年は経済的に厳しい年でした (heisei ni-jū-nen wa keizai-teki ni kibishii toshi deshita): Heisei 20 was an economically difficult year.
Pronunciation and morphology notes
For years in the 2000s, Japanese typically reads 2008 as ni-sen-hachi (literally “two thousand eight”). In writing, the form 二〇〇八 with the literal zero kanji 〇 is also seen, especially in formal documents. Both are correct. In the Heisei era, this year is Heisei 20.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write 2008 in Japanese?
2008 is written 二千八 in kanji and にせんはち in hiragana. In romaji (modified Hepburn) it is ni-sen-hachi.
What is 2008 in hiragana?
2008 in hiragana is にせんはち. Hiragana spells out the reading ni-sen-hachi phonetically; the kanji form is 二千八.
What is 2008 in the Japanese imperial calendar?
2008 is Heisei 20 (平成20年) in the Japanese imperial (nengo) calendar.
Related numbers
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