Kana Sprints
Lesson 12 of 12
Kana Sprint 12 — how much is it
about 6 minutes
After this lesson you can
- Read prices in hundreds and thousands of yen out loud.
- Ask what something costs and understand the shape of the answer.
Words this lesson teaches
- いくら
- how much
- えん
- yen
- ひゃく
- hundred
- せん
- thousand
- ぜんぶで
- altogether, in total
- おかね
- money
What it explains
A price is a number with えん stuck on the end
Japanese prices are read left to right in exactly the order they are written: 450 is よんひゃくごじゅう, then えん. There are no decimals to worry about, because the yen has no smaller unit in daily use. The only real work is the handful of sound changes in the hundreds and thousands, and the fact that you will hear them at speed.
You will be told the price twice
At most tills the amount is said out loud and shown on a small display turned towards you, so a price you miss by ear is on the screen a second later. Cash goes into the tray rather than into a hand. Neither of these is a test of your Japanese, and both give you a second chance at the number.