Context: I do karate and am confused with the counting system
why is it that sometimes you say 4 as ‘shi’ and sometimes as ‘yon’. Like when you are just counting 1-10 you say ‘ichi ni san shi’ but when you do pinan 4 you say ‘pinan kata sono yon’. Whats the difference?
And I also hear people say sometimes that when counting above ten you say 4 as yon, eg 14 > juu-yon. Is that the case?
2 comments
I’m guessing your dojo has you studying a little japanese?if my memory serves me right. It’s more of a preference because 4 is an unlucky number which means death. So is 7, which is Nana. Which is why if you go to japan. You’ll never see 4 of anything. As seen in the stand sex pistol. They skipped the number 4. I’m sure some other people can chime in on that and help you.
Short answer is, there are usually several readings to a Japanese word, and some of these readings are considered unlucky. There are also rules on which reading to use in which context.
When you count 1 to 10, you use the “ichi-ni-san” set of readings, unless you come across 4 (shi) or 7 (shichi) that sound like “death” and may (but don’t have to) be substituted for “yon” and “nana”, respectively. When counting past 10, you just use “yon” and “nana” usually.
You may also notice that 9 can sound either “kyu” or “ku”. “Ku” is also unlucky, since it sounds like “suffering”.
And when you’re using numerals for pretty much anything other than counting 1 to 10, you usually use a whole other set of readings for them anyway, this is where “yon” and “nana” come from.
I’d say, Japanese numerals are less than straightforward overall. There are also variations in reading if you’re talking about days of the month, or months, or your age, and that’s not even touching on the subject of counter words…