English big numbers are expressed in multiple of thousands. Japanese express big numbers in multiple of ten-thousands.
This can create a lot of confusion. Here’s a quick reference table.
| Japanese | English | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 一 | Ichi | 1 | |
| 十 | Ju | 10 | |
| 百 | Hyaku | 100 | |
| 千 | Sen | 1 | Thousand |
| 1万 | Man | 10 | Thousand |
| 10万 | Man | 100 | Thousand |
| 100万 | Man | 1 | Million |
| 1000万 | Man | 10 | Million |
| 1億 | Oku | 100 | Million |
| 10億 | Oku | 1 | Billion |
| 100億 | Oku | 10 | Billion |
| 1000億 | Oku | 100 | Billion |
| 1兆 | Cho | 1 | Trillion |
| 10兆 | Cho | 10 | Trillion |
| 100兆 | Cho | 100 | Trillion |
| 1000兆 | Cho | 1 | Quadrillion |
| 1京 | Kei | 10 | Quadrillion |
| 10京 | Kei | 100 | Quadrillion |
| 100京 | Kei | 1 | Quintillion |
