Show Me The Money!: How To Count Japanese Yen

Show Me the Money!: How to Count Japanese Yen

In the United States, a can of soda costs one dollar (give or take a few cents). However, in Japan, that same soda would cost 100 yen. Just like a pair of snazzy jeans in the states would cost 100 dollars, but in Japan would be closer to 10,000 yen. The high numbers can be intimi dating at first, but stick with it, and you'll be a master in no time!

Here are the basic numbers:

Here are the double-digit numbers. Notice that all of them take the first digit (see above) and add - to the end:

Triple-digit numbers, like the double-digit ones, take the first number and add - to the end (except for a 300, 600, and 800, which I will show below):

Let's say you want to buy a bag of chips at a convenience store. The total is 154 yen. When you say it in Japanese, you have to break it down by each part. Like so:

Oh no! You forgot something. You want a drink to go along with your chips. The drink is 151 yen.

154 yen + 151 yen = 305 yen

Wait, wait! You also want a sandwich for 354 yen!

154 + 151 + 354 = 659 yen

With the quadruple digits, there are only 2 exceptions, 3,000 and 8,000 (shown below).

Let's go shopping at a clothing store now. At first, you think you only want one item: a shirt that is on sale for 2,284 yen.

Just as you approach the register, you notice a cool pair of sunglasses for 1,184 yen that would go well with your new shirt.

The cashier rings up your total at the counter:

2,284 + 1,184 = 3,468 yen

Quintuple (bet you didn't know that word, wink) digits is where it gets complicated. At this point the Japanese group zeros not by threes, but by fours. A good strategy to use when dealing with sums of over 10,000 is to move the comma one place to the left in your mind.

So, instead of thinking of 10,000 in this way...

Ten + comma + three zeros = 10,000 (ten thousand)

...think about it in this way:

One + comma + four zeros = 1,0000 ( - )

This is just something you have to get used to when counting in Japanese.

Let's go to the Louis Vuitton store this time and pick out a new wallet. You see a good one that's nice and shiny and also fits your price range at 48,980 yen.

Notice above that we're thinking in now, not just thousands.

Congratulations on getting this far! Does your brain hurt yet? Keep at it, I believe in you!

When there are six digits, think of it just like you did above with five digits. We took the number 10,000 and moved the comma to the left one place in our minds and got 1,0000 ( ). Now, let's add an extra zero: 100,000.

Stop thinking about it like this...

One hundred + comma + three zeros = 100,000 (one hundred thousand)

...and start thinking about it like this:

Ten + comma + four zeros = 10,0000 ( )

Let's go back to the Louis Vuitton store and pick up a 600,000 yen fur coat to go with that 48,980 wallet (because why not?)

600,000 + 48,980 = 648,980 yen

Unless you're buying a car, putting a down payment on a piece of property, or negotiating a yearly salary, you probably won't be dealing with numbers this high. If the circumstance does lend itself, though, forget about the western concept of "one million" because it doesn't exist in Japanese. We have to get out of the mindset of grouping zeros by threes and group them by fours! It sounds complicated, but you'll get the hang of it! Trust me!

Counting money in Japanese can be challenging, but that's only because you're out of practice! Take what you've learned today about numbers and use them the next time you're out shopping.

Remember to always practice, practice, practice!

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