{"id":10094,"date":"2021-01-04T18:47:19","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T18:47:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=10094"},"modified":"2024-09-16T15:07:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T15:07:02","slug":"four-and-seven-in-japanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/four-and-seven-in-japanese\/","title":{"rendered":"4 &#038; 7 in Japanese \u2014 And the Numerous Ways to Say Them"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:150%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}<\/style><p>How do you choose between <i>yon<\/i> and <i>shi<\/i> for 4, or <i>nana<\/i> and shichi for 7 in Japanese. Why are there two different ways to say these numbers? Is there any significance?<\/p>\n<p>Even people who aren&rsquo;t fans of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/meaning-deku-japanese\/\">Japanese culture<\/a><\/strong> might have heard about the fact that in Japan the number 4 is bad <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/good-luck-in-japanese\/\">luck<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>They might even know it has something to do with death. But there&rsquo;s more to it than that.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, there&rsquo;s a handful of Japanese number superstitions.<\/p>\n<p>We&rsquo;re going to talk about a bunch of different numbers, both the ones associated with bad luck, but also the ones for good luck.<\/p>\n<p>With so many homophones in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/awesome-japanese\/\">Japanese language<\/a><\/strong>, they&rsquo;ve gotten awfully creative, and we&rsquo;re going to take a peek at a bunch of it.<\/p>\n<p>But let&rsquo;s start simple&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>4 in Japanese<\/h2>\n<p><strong><i>Yon<\/i> is the typical reading of 4 in Japanese, except when counting months. When in doubt, use <i>yon<\/i>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>7 in Japanese<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong><i>Nana<\/i> is the most common reading of 7, however shichi is often acceptable, for example when naming months.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Why do Japanese numbers have different pronunciations?<\/h2>\n<p>We&rsquo;ll start with a general question and then narrow down to 4 and 7.<\/p>\n<p>Let me first assure you that this ain&rsquo;t so odd that&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/subarashi-meaning\/\">Japanese<\/a> <\/strong>have different ways of reading its numbers. This is fairly common across languages. In fact, English has a very similar feature.<\/p>\n<p>For example, to denote &ldquo;1&rdquo; in English, we can say either <i>one<\/i> or <i>first<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>This distinction refers to cardinal and ordinal numbers, respectively. Japanese has a very similar system, changing pronunciation to relate to the way we&rsquo;re counting.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn&rsquo;t tell us much about &ldquo;why,&rdquo; though, does it? The simple reason is that some numbers are derived from the native Japanese pronunciation, known as <i>kunyomi<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>The other numbers&rsquo; pronunciations are drawn from the imported, ancient <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/chinese-or-japanese\/\">Chinese<\/a><\/strong> readings of kanji, known as onyomi.<\/p>\n<p>In the old days, Japanese only had, one, maybe two, ways of saying each number.<\/p>\n<p>But when Chinese arrived in Japan in the mid-first millennium, the ancient Japanese began to adopt different words into their language.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, since Chinese at that time (similar to today) was not one unified language, but rather a cluster of subtly (and not-so-subtly) different dialects of one language.<\/p>\n<p>Because of this, sometimes there are multiple different <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/japanese-alphabets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>onyomi<\/i><\/a><\/strong> for a single word.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>How do you choose the correct pronunciation?<\/h2>\n<p>For most of the Japanese language, there are some fairly useful guidelines on how and when to use kunyomi versus onyomi. However, those rules get tossed out for numbers a lot of the time.<\/p>\n<p>Not only are there a lot of different pronunciations for the same concepts, there&rsquo;s also a lot of superstition grafted on top of it, making it taboo to use certain pronunciations in certain situations. This complicates matters quite a bit.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What are the different pronunciations?<\/h2>\n<p>Let&rsquo;s get the lay of the land, okay?<\/p>\n<p><code>[table id=27 \/]<\/code><\/p>\n<h2>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese.png\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23484\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese.png\" alt=\"4 in Japanese and 7 in Japanese\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese.png 1000w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-640x960.png 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-720x1080.png 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-800x1200.png 800w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-150x225.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese.png\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23484 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%201000%201500'%3E%3Crect%20width='1000'%20height='1500'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"4 in Japanese and 7 in Japanese\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) calc(100vw - 20px), 720px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese.png\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese.png\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese.png 1000w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-640x960.png 640w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-720x1080.png 720w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-800x1200.png 800w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/4-in-Japanese-and-7-in-Japanese-150x225.png 150w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><\/a><\/h2>\n<h2>So, how do I count in Japanese??<\/h2>\n<p>Those of you familiar with the basics of counting in Japanese may be surprised to notice that when counting regularly, you switch between onyomi and kunyomi as you go.<\/p>\n<p>The pattern is <i>on, on, on, kun, on, on, kun, on, on, on<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>All this is even more confusing when you think about the general rules for onyomi and kunyomi. What&rsquo;s up with that?<\/p>\n<p>And why is it just those two, 4 and 7?<\/p>\n<p>Well, let&rsquo;s take 7 first.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>7 in Japanese &mdash; Difference between shichi and nana<\/h2>\n<p>When read on its own, seven is usually pronounced <i>nana<\/i>. The reason behind this is likely to avoid confusion. <i>Shichi<\/i> sounds too similar to (one of the pronunciations of) four.<\/p>\n<p>By the way, seven is considered an auspicious number in Japanese, mostly due to its relationship to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/shura-meaning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Buddhism<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>There&rsquo;s celebrations for the seventh day after a baby is born, and mourning seven days after a death.<\/p>\n<p>There are the Seven Gods of Luck and the July 7th celebration known as Tanabata (seventh evening festival).<\/p>\n<p>Let&rsquo;s take a look at some words with 7 in them to get a feel for how it gets used.<\/p>\n<p>17<br>\nju-nana<br>\nseventeen<\/p>\n<p>7&#26376;<br>\nshichi-gatsu<br>\nJuly<\/p>\n<p>7&#12388;<br>\nnana-tsu<br>\nseven<\/p>\n<p>&#19971;&#26178;<br>\nshichi-ji<br>\n7 o&rsquo;clock<\/p>\n<p>7&#24111;&#12450;&#12523;&#12510;&#12472;&#12525;<\/p>\n<p>7&#26085;<br>\nnano-ka<br>\nseven days; seventh day<\/p>\n<p>&#23646;&#19971;<br>\nzoku-shichi<br>\ndominant seventh (chord)<\/p>\n<p>&#19971;&#20116;&#19977;<br>\nshichi-go-san<br>\nfestival for 7, 5, and 3 year olds<\/p>\n<p>&#19971;&#22805;<br>\ntana-bata<br>\nTanabata (festival&mdash;the etymology on this one is weird. It used to be called <i>shichi-seki<\/i>, but that changed over time).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>4 in Japanese &mdash; Difference between yon and shi<\/h2>\n<p>This one has a pretty clear point of reasoning behind the discrepancy in usage between the kunyomi and onyomi. It turns out that the onyomi is <i>shi<\/i> and that is also how you pronounce the word for &ldquo;death.&rdquo; So, yeah, pretty unlucky.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, this one is considered so unlucky that it functions similar to the number 13 in Western cultures.<\/p>\n<p>Just like in the US you might see the 13th floor missing in some buildings, you&rsquo;ll sometimes see the 4th floor missing in Japanese buildings.<\/p>\n<p>If you give a gift in a set, never do it in packs of four. Stick with 3 or 5, to be safe (2, being written &#20108;, can imply separation or division&mdash;not a good thing).<\/p>\n<p>This issue with 4 leads to a whole host of interesting issues when paired with other numbers.<\/p>\n<p>24 can imply &#20108;&#27515;, or <i>nishi<\/i> meaning two deaths. This one&rsquo;s to be avoided as well in baseball, as it refers to having two outs.<\/p>\n<p>42 sounds like &#27515;&#12395;, or <i>shini<\/i> which is an even more direct reference to death and dying.<\/p>\n<p>43 sounds like &#27515;&#29987;, or <i>shizan<\/i>, meaning stillbirth. You won&rsquo;t find this number in the maternity ward at hospitals.<\/p>\n<p>License plates have at least two numbers you&rsquo;ll never see on a car.<\/p>\n<p>The first is 42-19, which could be read <i>shini-iku<\/i> (&#27515;&#12395;&#34892;&#12367;), meaning &ldquo;to go die.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Then there&rsquo;s 42-56, which could sound like <i>shini-goro<\/i> (&#27515;&#12395;&#38915;), or &ldquo;time to die.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Finally, there&rsquo;s 49, which wounds like <i>shiku<\/i> (&#25975;&#12367;), meaning &ldquo;to run over.&rdquo; Definitely don&rsquo;t want that one on your car.<\/p>\n<p>Let&rsquo;s look at a few words for some context.<\/p>\n<p>4&#26376;<br>\nshi-gatsu<br>\nApril<\/p>\n<p>&#28845;&#32032;&#65297;&#65300;<br>\ntanso-jushi<br>\ncarbon-14<\/p>\n<p>4&#12388;<br>\nyottsu<br>\n4<\/p>\n<p>&#21313;&#22235;<br>\njushi<br>\n14<\/p>\n<p>Oh, and here&rsquo;s a weird side note! When counting forward in Japanese, you&rsquo;ll usually say, &ldquo;ichi, ni, san, yon, go&hellip;&rdquo; but if you count backwards people will often say, &ldquo;go, shi, san, ni, ichi,&rdquo; because it&rsquo;s apparently easier to say that way.<\/p>\n<h2>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<h2>9 in Japanese<\/h2>\n<p>There&rsquo;s another very bad vibes number, and that&rsquo;s 9.<\/p>\n<p>9 can be read as <i>ku<\/i> (&#33510;), which means &ldquo;suffering and hardship.&rdquo; So, once again, you&rsquo;ll see this number avoided a lot, especially in this pronunciation.<\/p>\n<p>If you pair this up with 4, you get 94, or <i>kushi<\/i>. You know what else is called kushi? A hair comb. So don&rsquo;t gift anyone that!<\/p>\n<h2>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<h2>Kansai Kwirks<\/h2>\n<p>The Kansai region (Osaka, Kyoto, and the surrounding cities) is well known for its unique Kansai-ben, aka Kansai dialect.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the rest of Japan, many people in Kansai will opt for the unconventional pronunciations of 4 and 7.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, many of the roads are numbered in Kyoto and should be pronounced with the onyomi only.<\/p>\n<p>However, many people who are not local to the area will pronounce it wrong. It&rsquo;s such an issue that the city buses actually use the &ldquo;wrong&rdquo; pronunciation to let people know their stop!<\/p>\n<h2>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n<h2>8 in Japanese<\/h2>\n<p>One last one for you! 8 is a pretty auspicious number in Japanese, known for prosperity and growth. Why&rsquo;s that? Well, just <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/how-many-kanji-to-be-fluent\/\">look at the kanji<\/a><\/strong>: &#20843;. See how it spreads out from top to bottom? This implies growth and prosperity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you choose between yon and shi for 4, or nana and shichi for 7 in Japanese. Why are there two different ways to say these numbers? Is there any significance? Even people who aren&rsquo;t fans of Japanese culture might have heard about the fact that in Japan the number 4 is bad luck. &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23482,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,1155],"tags":[279,278],"class_list":["post-10094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese","category-japanese-vocabulary","tag-4-in-japanese","tag-7-in-japanese"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10094"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10094\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40221,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10094\/revisions\/40221"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}