Using Japanese Words to Remember Numbers

Interesting article last week from Mark Schreiber in the Japan Times. In ‘Learn the coded language all Japanese know‘, Schreiber begins by discussing a form of ‘Japanese Pig Latin’ which he learned from some Japanese children, but the latter half of his article is the ‘meat and potatoes’… He describes how numbers can be read in a variety of ways in Japanese, which allows them to be used to create words and phrases, making it easier to remember the numbers. This is used a lot, especially in marketing, to help people remember telephone numbers and other important numbers. Schreiber explains:

The number “one,” for example, can be read hi (ひ), i (い), hito (ひと), ichi (いち) and even the English “wan” (ワン). Two can be pronounced fu (ふ), futa (ふた), ni (に), or tsū (ツー). Three is mi (み), mittsu (みっつ), sa (さ), or san (さん). Ten can be pronounced to (と), jū (じゅう) and even ten (てん). And so on.

In addition to conventional numerics, the list of possibilities can be further expanded by pronouncing numbers in the Chinese style used when people play majan (麻雀, mahjong). For instance, 8 and 9 can also be read pa and chu, which are close to the Mandarin pronunciation ba (8) and jiu (9).

He then describes how these numbers can be used to form words and phrases:

Goroawase finds wide use in commerce. Take the famous 109 Building (イチマルキュウ) in Shibuya, which gets its name from “Tokyu” (10-9), a reference to Tokyu Dentetsu (東急電鉄), the railway company that operates it. A nearby rival is Marui (丸井), written out as “O1O1,” with the letter O (or a zero) pronounced maru, which means a circle, followed by the first syllable of ichi (いち).

Goroawase is helpful in memorizing telephone numbers. The local dental clinic, for example, might apply to NTT for a number that ends with the last four digits 6-4-8-0,which using goroawase read as mushiba zero (虫歯ゼロ, no cavities).

Another common usage is in calendar dates. The 29th of the month, for one, is Niku no Hi or “eat meat day.” Why? Because 2 and 9 are read ni-ku (meat).

The article is a good little primer on something that you will see all over the place, especially as you become more familiar with it.