八千
hassen[ha̠sːẽ̞ɴ]
The English phrase "eight thousand" is translated into Japanese as 八千 (hassen).
八千 is used as a cardinal number to denote the quantity of eight thousand.
Meaning: cardinal number (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of the kanji 八, which means eight and 千, which means thousand.
How does it change in a sentence?
When counting people, the phrase is expressed as hachi sen nin to mean "eight thousand people".
How do you pronounce it?
hassen
Did you know?
- While 八千 can mean 'countless', this usage is closely tied to the Shinto belief that the world is populated by 'eight million' 八百万 gods, making 'eight' a symbol for infinity.
- The number eight 八 is considered lucky in Japan because the kanji widens toward the bottom, symbolizing prosperity and spreading wealth.
- The word hassen is a phonetic contraction of hachi sen. In Japanese, the sound 'chi' often changes to 'ss' when followed by 'sen' to make the word easier to say quickly.
Examples in context
- 八千円あります。hassen en arimasu.I have eight thousand yen.
- 八千メートル走りました。hassen meetoru hashirimashita.I ran eight thousand meters.
- そこには八千人がいます。soko ni wa hassen nin ga imasu.There are eight thousand people there.
Example conversation
陽葵 asks 陽太 how much the souvenir cost.
- 陽葵 Himariそのお土産、いくらだった？sono omiyage, ikura datta?How much was that souvenir?
- 陽太 Yota八千円だったよ。hassen en datta yo.It was eight thousand yen.
- 陽葵 Himari結構高かったね。kekkou takakatta ne.That was quite expensive.
- 陽太 Yotaでも、とても美味しかったよ。demo, totemo oishikatta yo.But it was very delicious.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “eight thousand” translations and entries 八千, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
