I've learned something today. Numbers. (Yeah, it's in the title.)
I have an old Japanese student who makes me feel I'm in a Japanese culture course every time we have a class. He's just so eager to teach me the sacred truths about Japan. Last night, he introduced me to the wonderful world of Japanese numbers.
Fact 1: Japanese has two ways of counting numbers- one from China and the native Japanese.
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| Japanese Numbers credit: http://blogeekensias.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/480/ |
When I was still sane to study Japanese, I asked the teacher why the Japanese use different 'counters.' Counters are words you use to count. The one I know is ichi, ni, san, shi/yon, go, roku, nana, hachi, kyu, ju. That's 1 to 10 for you in Japanese. Then they also have hitotsu, futatso, mittsu, yottsu, itsutsu, muttsu, nanatsu, yattsu, kokonotsu, to. That's 1 to 10 again for you. There're more but I forgot them. The teacher said something but my mind was already blank at that time. Maybe she was explaining that there was a Japanese version and there was a Sino-Japanese (the one from China) set. Anyhow, the first set was the Chinese and the second was, of course, the Japanese. At least now, it makes sense to me why so many words to use for counting. It just makes sense but I still don't know how to use them properly. Truly a threat to sanity, this Japanese.
(For more information on how to count in Japanese, see How to Count Anything in Japanese)
Fact 2: Odd numbers are lucky.
Chinese thought that odd numbers are lucky. Probably this is the origin of the terms lucky 7 or lucky 9. Here's a better explanation from Travel China Guide.com
"For odd numbers, no. 3 indicates multiples. In Buddhist culture, it represents Buddha, Dharma and Bonze, so people toll the bell three times to worship Buddha and pray for the removal of calamities with 3 sticks of incense. Whilst no.7 implies holiness and mystery in Buddhism, it is lucky as well. So, there are seven-storied Stupas everywhere. No. 9 in Chinese culture means longevity and eternality. Thus, there were 9,999 rooms within the Forbidden City in Beijing. It is also a tradition between lovers to send 99, or 999 roses, which carry the best wishes for 'everlasting love'."
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| Shichi-go-san or 7-5-3 celebration credit: http://www.sakura-hostel.co.jp/blog/ |
For some reason the Japanese adapted this belief which is somehow related to Fact 3.
Fact 3: Most Japanese celebrations are based on Fact 2.
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| Girls' Day or Dolls' Day in Japan credit: http://swamiindology.blogspot.jp/ |
New Year is of course on 1/1. Dolls' Day or Girls' Day is on 3/3. Boys' Day is on 5/5. Tanabata is 7/7. There's no celebration on 9/9 because for some reason 9 is unlucky in Japan. Anyway, I didn't realize this pattern until my student told me. Super observations skills, my student has. As I've mentioned this is based on the belief that odd numbers are lucky. Hence, 2 odd numbers are considered extra lucky.
(More on numbers on Lucky and Unlucky Number in Japan).
These facts may not really be super useful. I mean, I wouldn't really ask my students "What counting system do you like? Japanese or Chinese?" Nonetheless, I just find them interesting. You gotta learn something new everyday!
