Learn Japanese: Is the number 4 in Japanese "shi" or "yon"?

[danpluso]

AHH!! Two words for the same thing!! AHHHH!!!! You keep saying don't worry about it.. But I do.. oh do I ever.. lol

[Naerbu]

shikoku shikoku! shikoku shikoku!

[ShiraYuki619]

the way you read is amusing ^_^

[jellybeanguitarist]

In kendo we say ''shi''

:)

[TwilightGunz]

Thanks for clarifying that, and if I ever see you walking about filming during trips to Japan, I'll be sure to stop and say hello. Out of curiousity, were you heading anywhere in particular, or just walking around aimlessly? 8-)

[pary16]

LOL you wrote 1300 and you said 1200 xD you should fix that

[bakadazcha]

Very informative video, but I got motion sickness half way though :(

[GloryGraydon]

Your camera is so beautiful.

Watching every video relaxes me soo much just looking at the scenery around you as you walk.

[11wildmi]

Its funny i only say shi when i am going for the number 4, but i say yon when i go to juuyon, 14 or higher

[RelVleDy]

I heard from the "Let's Learn Japanese" series Japanese say "shi" if reciting a numbers in a series, since shi rolls off the tongue better. However, if announcing 4 alone as is, they say yon.

HOWEVER, I watched an episode of Gaki no Tsukai, an Osaka comedy group, and the cast, when counting down to the show's finale, said "yon" instead, contradicting what "Let's Learn Japanese" said! Plus, they counted down as a group, and all of them said "yon" w/o confusion!

So yea, now I have no clue :P.

[GenkiJapanNet]

@RelVleDy Yeah, that's why we have to forget any "rules" and just listen to lots & lots of Japanese and eventually things will just start to "sound" correct, just like " a apple" sounds wrong to your ears now!

[CatzFamiglia]

Ty for the video.Wanted to ask about Kanji meanings.Like for Shi and Yon mean for but for the Ichi kanji.Does Ichi/itsu/Hito/Hitotsu all mean 1 and if they're used for another kanji does that mean that word would mean one+it's additional meanings?If so how do you not get confused using the words when talking?

[HardCoreChick100]

Hahaha, the airplane was VERY random x) I'm glad you don'g get sidetracked like that ALL the time :D

[HardCoreChick100]

You help me so much!! Teaching myself Japnese is MUCH easier thanks to your site and videos. It gives me a place to start! x)

[Doggybluntman]

You've got a real inspirational positive vibe/attitude...NIPPON!!!

[Sepiolith]

That's cool, I was wondering about the whole "shi" and "yon" thing too xD

[joelmb1000]

That's 1300 not 1200.

[princessjennyy143]

1200 & 1300... wrong caption hehe ~ but thanks for some clarification :D

[GenkiJapanNet]

@princessjennyy143 Oops! Blimey I've never seen so many comments, I think I might just keep it as it is!

[yamomotoable]

O.o the number read 1300, but i heard 1200...

Q.Q omg im going crazy :(

[RainbowPandaa]

tht was 1300 xD

[zeerta]

Thanks for the geat video! Love that you allways so cheerful! Keep it up!

By the way on 0:52 - 1:00 number 1300 displaying on the video, but you saying one thousand two hundred or twelve hundred.

[Muffinmanone]

I agree with Richard. Don't worry at all. Even if you say the wrong one Japanese people will still understand you. They might give you a strange look or giggle but they'll get the message.

[StrangerCoug]

You say 1200 in the video but put 1300 in the annotation.

[jr2nd]

your number 0:52 was 1300 not 1200 lol allways wondered which one myself >.< thanks!

[Lorilei89]

uhh just thought you'd like to know the number you put on the screen is "1300" not "1200"..... But you said it was "1200".. You might want to fix that. ^^

[Kyasaesan]

*points at number 1300* "You might read it as 'one thousand, two hundred' or 'twelve hundred'..." or one thousand, three hundred/thirteen hundred. xD

[dantrc724]

in my Japanese club meeting/class two weeks ago, we learned numbers. We learned both words for 4 and 7. I was taught that sometimes there's a change in phonetics with certain numbers. Sen is used for thousands, but three thousand is san zen, I imagine it's because san and sen may be harder to distinguish between each other. Other than little details, learning the numbers in Japanese is easy to learn.

[GenkiJapanNet]

@dantrc724 The "san zen" is to make it easier to say, "san sen" is a bit of a tongue twister to use every day!

[DeliriousDissolution]

1200 in the video but 1300 on the caption ;) but thanks for the video!

[OnlyGirlsLikeMe]

hahaha you're so awesome! I love japanese :D

[Serasia]

Nice :) One time I think I did say yongatsu. For time, you don't say "shi ji" (4:00)--you say "yon ji" right? Or maybe you can use both but I think it's yon ji.

The 'death' number four is based off superstition...kind of like the number 13. Some combination room numbers of four and seven are skipped in hospitals, and sometimes floor numbers with four and seven combos are skipped too (not just in Japan, either; in China and Taiwan, and even Korea). Pretty interesting, I thought.

[Fatmanspicnic]

is it me or was the number 1300 whilst you said '1200'? O_o

[LaryaChan]

lol you wrote 1300 and you said 1200:D anyway great video.it helped alot!

[millertimebmw]

It was 1300 ^_^ not 1200 :)

Love the videos!!!

[dahemAlias]

thats 1300 not 1200 lol , thanks anyways

and i have a question how much did it take you to learn at least 100 kanji ?

[GenkiJapanNet]

@dahemAlias Oooh, I've never had that question before! I'm not sure, I guess a few weeks. The first 20 or so are really easy, and the last 20 are quite tough(ish). Yeah, probably 4 to 6 weeks or something, about that.

[Alicejustbelieve]

xD you say "1200' but on the screen it says 1300. LOL

A great vid thou! I was bothering about it for a while also.

Thanks a lot!!

[DarkAnimeSoul]

but isnt 'shinde/shiru(i think)' the word/few ways for the verb death/to die..?

[racer6489]

Good info for a noob like me.  Thanks!

[usenetposts]

I wouldn't pronounce 1300 as "one thousand two hundred"!

[AkiraChanXX]

ahhh thankyou this has helped answer what i was thinking the other day :D

[Xneuz]

Annotation displays 1300 and you said 1200 >.< Good video though :D keep em coming ^_^

[Maryangel24]

haha or onethousendTHREEhundert :D

[kuraza123]

1300 is apparently read as "one thousand two hundred". Quite interesting.

[obvious11]

You are so awesome!! I wanna go to Japan so bad!!

Thanks so much for your videos and websites.

They help me with all 3 of the languages that I am studying :D

[t3hubern00b]

You put the annotation as 1300. :x

[TheEightBitSoul]

I always learn alot from these videos. Thank you. =]

[TokyoNerd]

Ironic, you have the same name as me. Another great video.

[TokyoNerd]

Ironic, you have the same name as me. Another great video.

[sonicnblaze33]

wow you live in shikoku? what part Ehime-ken?

[XXsoltyXX]

@ 0:51 in the screen its 1300 and yet you said 1200 :)) got a lil confused at that but i figured it out :))

[knowntothose]

Always enjoy learning something new about Japan and their language. Thank you for making it fun and simple. Keep the videos coming.

[Bleakfacts]

it was 1300 not 1200 :P

[TokyoZeplin]

There's two of them! WAAaaaAaaaAAAaaaAA!

XD

[Raener]

Haha, entertaining and informative. Thanks (:

[okimwahpuss]

I don't read 1300 as 1200 :) (Annotation said 1300, and you said 1200 ^_^ )

Other than that, as always, GREAT VIDEOS! <3

[okimwahpuss]

I don't read 1300 as 1200 ;)

Other than that, as always, GREAT VIDEOS!

[TheRedprincess13]

psst Richard.... the number on the video is 1300 and you said 1200 :) Thx for the great videos!

[ricksvidsinc]

japan rocks

[DrkYaminoHikari]

ummmmmmm you put 1300 instead of 1200

[EGPrime]

The # you pointed to is 13hundred or 1thousand 3hundred -_-

[catkac]

How do you count from forty up? Jyu yon or Jyu shi?

[darkroge]

your number is wrong i read it as one thousand three hundred lol

[mrrehino]

the number you posted is 1300 not 1200

[DJFriez]

I read it as one thousand THREE hundred ;)

[kyrectx2]

I read it one-thousand three-hundred

[angelwings1086]

I was wondering about that but I never posted the question. Lol.

[Carolinesakura]

except its not twelve hundred there its thirteen ))  r u forgetting english?))

[Warriors5252410]

awesome B)

[Preevyew]

That's definitely 1,300 and not 1,200, but thanks anyway! :D

[NapalmXD]

1200

[Johannady]

I like shi better because it sounds like Hokkien chinese!

si(see).. and in mandarin it's also spelled si but read kinda like~

suh! wait dunno how to spell how it is read! but maybe you already know! :p

[Johannady]

you typed 1300 not 1200... :o

[xchidini]

0:54 fail? u might read it as 1200...but its 1300 writen in video -_-

[cbsim]

0:51 Suppose to be 1200 not 1300

[MaximTheBeast]

It's Shi! I was counting to 4 by help of your song

[mmaja1]

you wrote 1300 instead of 1200 :D

[yiubun]

your onscreen number says 1300 rather than 1200.

[snakesrcute]

1300 not 1200...

[PorcelanPaula]

i like your videos, where you just randomly go somewhere and record. XD

[GenkiJapanNet]

@PorcelanPaula I figure it's better than looking at the back of a sofa! It's a shame the wedding chapel in the background wasn't all lit up - it looks just like Christmas!

[PorcelanPaula]

@GenkiJapanNet it definately is better. I just wonder, do you go somewhere you know you want to go.? xD or you just go somewhere, record and get lost after that.? :D

[GenkiJapanNet]

@PorcelanPaula I usually try and finish up somewhere that's cool-ish looking and just wonder over there. That's why I sometimes seem to be going round in circles, because I want to try and finish in a fun place!!

[andremoreira20]

Thank you for the explanation, it was something I always wondered too! :)

Hey, but when you said "1200", in the subtitle there is 1300! :p

[XReneGadEr]

It says 1300 not 1200.

[lordlink112]

Very helpful but just wanted to let you know that one of your annotations is wrong you say 1200 but the annotation says 1300 its minor but it doesnt matter much

[Hehemann007]

The number in the video is wrong, got to change to 1200 from 1300.

[kawaiichie]

i love your accent lol

[Inagawakun]

u actually put there 1300 tag when u say 1200 :D. Thanks for clearing the "4" case :)

[brandfoley]

you wrote 1300 instead of 1200

[southeparkfreak]

I read it as thirteenhundred...

[KevinADCarter]

I've often wondered about that and I'm really glad that someone finally cleared that up for me. Thank you.

p.s. You typoed in your annotation where you talked about the two ways to read 1,200: You wrote 1,300. 

[lukas0070]

the number sayd 1300 0 52

[lukas0070]

the number sayd 1300 0:52

[liacart]

Great videos, thought id let you know your annotation says "1300" but in the video you say "1200" but great video none the less

[dwagothegod]

Hey i got one question for you when you spell blue its a different spelling what i saw before... (I saw it on japanesepod)... Also you wroted 1300 not 1200 in the annonations xD Japan is amazing.

[bongjnr]

but it says 1300?

[PewpewFighter]

The annotation said.. 1300.. but you said.. 1200. Just pointing it out. :>

[oblivionseraphim]

love japan!

[markshmily]

Thanks for your hard work.

[pigwigpa]

And another great video