一、二、三、四、五
ichi, ni, san, shi, go
The phrase 'one, two, three, four, five' in Japanese is 一、二、三、四、五 (ichi, ni, san, shi, go).
This phrase represents the first five cardinal numbers used for counting.
Which one should you use?
The number four in this sequence can be pronounced as shi or as the alternative yon.
How do you pronounce it?
ichi, ni, san, shi, go
What mistakes should you avoid?
Because shi is a homophone for the Japanese word for 'death', it is sometimes considered unlucky. To avoid these negative connotations, speakers often prefer using yon instead of shi for the number four.
When do people say it?
In many contexts, the pronunciation shi is avoided because it is a homophone for the word for 'death'.
Did you know?
- In Japanese culture, the number four is so avoided that many hotels and hospitals in Japan skip the fourth floor entirely, jumping from three to five.
- When counting objects, Japanese speakers rarely use 一、二、三、四、五 and instead use a different counting system with counters like 一つ、二つ、三つ.
- The number one ichi is often used as a prefix in Japanese to denote the 'best' or 'top' rank, such as in the word ichi-ban.
Examples in context
- 私はりんごを 一 個買いました。I bought one apple.
- サッカーボールを ふたつ ください。Please give me two soccer balls.
- 一、二、三、四、五、準備はいい？ichi, ni, san, shi, go, junbi wa ii?One, two, three, four, five, are you ready?
Example conversation
Yota is helping Yui count some apples.
- 陽太 Yota一緒に数えよう。一、二、三、四、五。Issho ni kazoeyou. Ichi, ni, san, shi, go.Let's count together. One, two, three, four, five.
- 結衣 Yui全部で五個あるね。Zenbu de goko aru ne.There are five in total.
- 陽太 Yota正解！結衣は上手だね。Seikai! Yui wa jouzu da ne.Correct! Yui, you are good at this.
- 結衣 Yuiありがとう、陽太。Arigatou, Youta.Thank you, Yota.
