How to Say "Twenty Two" in Japanese

二十二

nijūni[ɲ̟iʑɨːɲ̟i]

The Japanese phrase for "twenty two" is 二十二 (nijūni).

二十二 is used to represent the number that follows twenty-one.

What does it mean word for word?

The number is composed of the characters for twenty (二十) and two (二).

nijūni

In very old-fashioned or formal ledger-keeping, numbers like 二十二 were sometimes written using 'daiji', a set of more complex kanji to prevent fraud by adding strokes to simple characters.
In the Japanese 'goroawase' wordplay system, the sounds in 二十二 can be used to create puns or mnemonic codes for other words.
If you were counting objects like 'two' of something, you would rarely use the base form of the number used in 二十二, but rather a specific counter like 二つ (futatsu).

彼は二十二歳で結婚した。
He got married when he was twenty-two years old.
This sentence is useful for seeing how to use 二十二 when stating someone's age.
Tatoeba #1244087 by Scott, translation #2700282 by CK
二十二枚のカードがあります。
nijūni-mai no kādo ga arimasu.
There are twenty-two cards.
二十二番目のバスが来ました。
nijūni-banme no basu ga kimashita.
The twenty-second bus has arrived.

Misaki and Hiroto are checking the inventory of a small shop.

美咲 Misaki

この箱には何個入っていますか？
Kono hako ni wa nanko haitte imasu ka?
How many pieces are in this box?
大翔 Hiroto

二十二個ですよ。
Nijūni-ko desu yo.
There are twenty-two pieces.
美咲 Misaki

二十二個なら十分ですね。
Nijūni-ko nara jūbun desu ne.
If it's twenty-two, that's plenty.
大翔 Hiroto

はい、大丈夫です。
Hai, daijōbu desu.
Yes, it's fine.

Sources

⭐Share⭐ to appreciate human effort 🙏