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Hello all,
I realize this may be on the obscure side, but I have a question about really big numbers (specifically between 100,000 and 100,000,000). Up to 99,999. The rule is essentially the same: a word for a single digit number followed by a magnitude indicator, and this repeats from the most significant digit all the way down to the one’s digit. For example 25,243 should be something like
にまん ごせん にひゃく よんじゅう さん
where I am adding spaces to indicate the rule I described above. For bigger numbers, まん continues to be used but now we append more than just a single digit number at the beginning. This is where I wonder what the rule is. I think an example would be best. Which of the following is correct for 32o,000:
さんじゅうにまん (translates to thirty two groups of ten thousand)
versus
さんじゅうまんいまん (translates to thirty groups of ten thousand and two groups of ten thousand).
I can see arguments for both. The first is more efficient, but the second could be translated as three groups of one hundred thousand and two groups of ten thousand, with the convention that じゅうまん just means one hundred thousand. This would mean that the general rule I described above would continue to hold, but the larger magnitude indicators are just compounds of smaller ones.
I imagine that whichever of the above is correct also indicates how the rule generalizes. I would be curious to know if such a generalization is not correct.
Thanks!
Dylan.
It’s the same as English, except where we count in groups of a thousand, Japanese counts in ten-thousands.
So, for example, 123,456,789 is, when spoken in (Australian) English, “a hundred and twenty three million, four hundred and fifty-six thousand, seven hundred and eighty-nine”. Other countries might word it a little differently.
In Japanese, you’d count it as 1,2345,6789 – i.e. “one hundred-million, two thousand, three hundred and forty-five ten-thousands, six thousand, seven hundred and eighty-nine”. Or in actual Japanese, 一億二千三百四十五万六千七百八十九… though a number is more likely to be written in Hindu-Arabic numerals these days. Especially if it’s going to be that big. =P
So from your example, さんじゅうにまん is the correct answer.
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This reply was modified 12 years ago by
Joel.
ありがとう, Joel!
You answered my question perfectly. I knew that it would be more likely to write such large number using Hindu-Arabic numerals, but I was curious what the progression was anyway. Also, I thought it would be useful to know the progression for when large numbers are spoken.
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This reply was modified 12 years ago by
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