← All Japanese counters
番

Counter · Money

番 ban

Counts numbers in a sequence

For position in a sequence: 一番 (いちばん) is number one, 三番線 (さんばんせん) is platform three.

Counting from one to ten

Highlighted forms change their sound, so learn them by heart.

NumberReadingRomaji
1 いちばん ichiban
2 にばん niban
3 さんばん sanban
4 よんばん yonban
5 ごばん goban
6 ろくばん rokuban
7 ななばん nanaban
8 はちばん hachiban
9 きゅうばん kyūban
10 じゅうばん jūban
How many? なんばん nanban

Completely regular. いちばん also means “the most” or “the best”.

More counters

Practise counters with a native teacher

Counters click fastest in real conversation: ordering food, buying tickets, telling the time.

Book a £1 trial →