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COUNTING IN JAPANESE
Start at the beginning
In most dojo's
today, despite the various local languages that may be
spoken in the surrounding area, the language of the dojo
will often include some Japanese. One of the most frequent
times that Japanese will likely be spoken is when the Sensei
or one of the senior students is counting out loud. In fact
learning to count in Japanese is really quite simple, and
since these commands are used often, and repeated over and
over again, at least up to the number ten, you are bound to
catch on quickly.
Now if you are
ever asked to count during the course of a class try to do
so in Japanese, and always be sure and do so in a loud firm
voice so that all those present in the dojo can clearly hear
you, but be sure not to shout in an unseemly, or
disrespectful manner. If you are counting to keep the rhythm
to warmups for example, always remember to count during
each excercise, this will help to keep both you and the
class at a synchronized pace.
In order to learn
count up to ninety-nine all you really need to know are the
Japanese terms for the numbers 1 through 10 - after that it
is just a matter of remembering to combine these numbers in
a specific sequence to get the desired result.
The numbers from
one to ten are pronounced as follows:
|
one |
ichi |
|
two |
ni |
|
three |
san |
|
four |
shi |
|
five |
go |
|
six |
roku |
|
seven |
shichi |
|
eight |
hachi |
|
nine |
kyu |
|
ten |
ju |
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- Above ten the
numbers are pronounced differently: for example the
number 11 in Japanese is translated as "10 plus
1"
|
eleven |
ju ichi |
|
twelve |
ju ni |
|
thirteen |
ju san |
|
fourteen |
ju shi |
|
fifteen |
ju go |
|
sixteen |
ju roku |
|
seventeen |
ju shichi |
|
eighteen |
ju hachi |
|
nineteen |
ju kyu |
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- Above the
number twenty the numbers are again pronounced in a
slightly different manner. For example the number 20 in
Japanese translates as "2 - 10's" and continuing on
therefore, the number 21 would be considered as "2 -
10's plus 1"
|
twenty |
ni ju |
|
twenty-one |
ni juichi |
|
twenty-two |
ni juni |
- and so on -
all the way up to the number 99.
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- For example
the number 56 would be "5 - 10's plus 6" - or - "gojuroku"
- the number 61 would then be "6 - 10's plus 1" -
or - "rokujuichi"
and so on and so on.
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- The number 100
is pronounced as "hyaku"
so counting above 100 is basically just a matter of
adding the word "hyaku"
in the appropriate place and then following the same
general principle for example the number 150 is
pronounced as "hyakugoju".
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- So give it a
try, and learn to count with confidence, at least up to
the number ten, since you will find that in most dojos
the "count" during class will normally only go up to
ten, at which point the count usually starts over again
at the number one, with this pattern repeating it's self
as often as maybe required by the sensei.
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- You just never
know, one day you may find that you too are asked to
count out loud for the benefit of the rest of the class,
at which point being able to do so in Japanese just may
make your task that much more interesting, and
enjoyable.
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