Large numbers · 万 and 億
Japanese number units grow in groups of four digits: 万 is 10,000, 億 is 100,000,000, and 兆 is one trillion. English groups large units in threes: thousand, million, billion, trillion. The written number can still use familiar commas; it is the named units that differ.
- When to use it
- Reading salaries, rents, prices, population figures, and budgets.
Rows in yellow are irregular forms that do not follow the counter’s usual pattern.
万 (man) · Ten thousand · Include 一 for exactly 10,000
- 10 thousand一万いちまんInclude 一 when saying 10,000: いちまん
- 100 thousand十万じゅうまんLiterally ten units of 万
- 1 million百万ひゃくまんOne million is one hundred units of 万
- 10 million千万せんまんTen million is one thousand units of 万
Sound changes within multiples of 万
- 3 million三百万さんびゃくまんびゃく, as in 三百
- 6 million六百万ろっぴゃくまんDoubled p in ぴゃく, as in 六百
- 8 million八百万はっぴゃくまんDoubled p in ぴゃく, as in 八百
- 30 million三千万さんぜんまんぜん, as in 三千
- 80 million八千万はっせんまんはっせん, as in 八千
億 (oku) · One hundred million · 兆 is one trillion
- 100 million一億いちおくInclude 一 when saying 100,000,000: いちおく
- 1 billion十億じゅうおくOne billion is ten units of 億
- 10 billion百億ひゃくおく
- 100 billion千億せんおく
- 1 trillion一兆いっちょういち + ちょう becomes いっちょう. This unit is useful for very large figures such as national budgets.
Illustrative amounts · Rent, salaries, and prices
- ¥50 thousand五万円ごまんえんExample rent amount; actual rents vary
- ¥250 thousand二十五万円にじゅうごまんえんExample monthly salary; actual salaries vary
- ¥1 million百万円ひゃくまんえんExample used-car price
- ¥5 million五百万円ごひゃくまんえんExample new-car price
- ¥30 million三千万円さんぜんまんえんExample property price — notice さんぜん, not さんせん
- ¥100 million一億円いちおくえんExample property price
Converting to Japanese units
For a whole multiple of 10,000, divide by 10,000: the result is the number before 万. If there is a remainder, say that part after 万. For example, 12,000 is one 万 plus two thousand.
- 250,000 ÷ 10,000 = 25 → 二十五万 (にじゅうごまん)
- 3,000,000 ÷ 10,000 = 300 → 三百万 (さんびゃくまん)
- 30,000,000 ÷ 10,000 = 3,000 → 三千万 (さんぜんまん)
Key patterns
- To state the numbers 10,000 and 100,000,000, say 一万 and 一億. Include 一; do not shorten those numbers to *まん or *おく. 万 and 億 alone can name the units when you are discussing them.
- The sound changes in 百 (びゃく, ぴゃく) and 千 (ぜん and doubled consonants) remain when those numbers come before 万 or 億.
- 兆 is useful for very large quantities. In 一兆 (いっちょう), the small っ marks the doubled consonant.
Sentence examples
- この家(いえ)は三千万円(さんぜんまんえん)です。 — This house costs 30 million yen.
- 月給(げっきゅう)は二十五万円(にじゅうごまんえん)です。 — The monthly salary is 250,000 yen.
- 東京(とうきょう)の人口(じんこう)は約(やく)千四百万人(せんよんひゃくまんにん)です。 — Tokyo's population is about 14 million. This is a sentence for practicing large numbers, not a live population estimate.