Translation guide
The English word "number" covers several distinct concepts. This guide breaks them down into practical meanings and shows how to express each naturally in Japanese.
What's your phone number?
Referring to a count or amount of something.
General word for 'number' as a count or quantity. Used in everyday speech.
The number of participants increased.
The number of stars is countless.
Refers to numerical figures or digits, often used when talking about statistics or written numbers.
Formal term for quantity or volume, used in business or technical contexts.
A numeral used to identify something, like a phone number or room number.
A single issue of a publication.
Suffix meaning 'issue number'. Attached to numbers.
A song or dance in a show.
General word for a musical piece or song.
The grammatical category of number (singular vs. plural).
Used in linguistic contexts. Note the reading differs from the 'quantity' meaning.
While 数 means 'number' as a quantity, it cannot be used for identification numbers like phone numbers. Use 番号 for those.
phone number
数 refers to a conceptual count or amount, while 数字 refers to the written numerals themselves. For example, 'the number 7' as a digit is 数字, but 'a large number of people' uses 数.
The number of students is increasing.
What does this number mean?
注文数量を確認してください。
Please confirm the order quantity.
Used for identification numbers: phone numbers, room numbers, ticket numbers, etc.
Please tell me your phone number.
The room number is 302.
Loanword from English, often used in compound words like 'car number' or 'license number'.
Please note down the car's license number.
最新号を買いました。
I bought the latest issue.
The March issue of this magazine is interesting.
次の曲は新曲です。
The next number is a new song.
Refers to a program or act in a show, often used for TV/radio programs or stage performances.
This number (program) is popular.
日本語には文法上の数はありません。
Japanese does not have grammatical number.
the number '7'
a large number of people
I forgot my PIN number.