何百万
nanbyakuman
The English phrase "millions" can be expressed in Japanese as 何百万 (nanbyakuman).
何百万 is used to describe a large, indefinite number of millions.
Which one should you use?
While 何百万 is the base form, you may see variations like 何百万という or 何百万もの depending on the grammatical structure or the desired emphasis on the scale of the number.
How does it change in a sentence?
To function as a quantifier meaning "millions of" in a sentence, you can add という to the end of the phrase to get 何百万という. Alternatively, the form 何百万もの can be used to emphasize the vastness of the number, often conveying the sense of "millions upon millions" or "countless millions". Note that the term 百万 (hyakuman) specifically represents the number one million.
How do you pronounce it?
nanbyakuman
Did you know?
- The character 万 in 何百万 can also mean 'ten thousand things' or 'everything' in certain poetic contexts, giving the phrase a nuance of 'everything in the world'.
- When expressing 'millions' as a hyperbole for 'too many to count', Japanese speakers often switch to the word 億 (oku), which means one hundred million, to emphasize even greater scale.
- Japanese counting is based on units of four zeros rather than three, meaning a 'million' is treated as 'one hundred ten-thousands' (百万, hyakuman).
Examples in context
- この丘からは何百万という星が見える。You can see millions of stars on this hill.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use 何百万 to describe a large number of stars.Tatoeba #222388 by ITA, translation #59715 by Luornu
- 何百万という木が切り倒されて燃料になった。Millions of trees have been cut down for fuel.This sentence demonstrates the use of 何百万 when referring to a large number of trees.Tatoeba #187307 by tommy__san, translation #24444 by CK
- 世界中の何百万人もの子供たちにとって、学校で食べる食事が彼らの一日の唯一の食事です。For millions of children around the world, the meal they get at school is the only meal they get in a day.This sentence shows how to use 何百万 when discussing a large number of children.Tatoeba #8727069 by small_snow, translation #8727049 by Hybrid
- そのイベントには千百万人もの人々が参加しました。Millions of people participated in that event.
- この映画のチケットは五千円で、興行収入は一週間で四百五十万円になりました。The tickets for this movie cost 5,000 yen, and box office revenue reached 4.5 million yen in a week.
- 彼女のInstagramのフォロワーは八百万人います。She has eight million followers on Instagram.
- 百五十万1,500,000
- 千万10,000,000
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about the popularity of a new mobile game.
- 蓮 Renこのゲーム、何百万もの人が遊んでいるんだよ。Kono gemu, nanhyakuman mono hito ga asonde iru n da yo.Millions of people are playing this game.
- 結衣 Yui本当に、すごい人気だね。Hontou ni, sugoi ninki da ne.It really is incredibly popular.
- 蓮 Ren結衣もダウンロードしてみたら？Yui mo daunroodo shite mitara?Why don't you try downloading it too, Yui?
- 結衣 Yuiちょっと考えておくね。Chotto kangaete oku ne.I'll think about it.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
