Japanese Numbers · Day 2 of 20
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Eleven to ninety-nine
The building-block logic that makes 88 easy
From eleven to ninety-nine, Japanese is more regular than English. There is no word for eleven, twelve or twenty. There is only ten, and what you put in front of it and behind it. Once you see the pattern you can produce every number in this range without learning a single new word.
Above ten, add behind
Ten, then the digit. Nothing else changes:
English hides this logic behind irregular words: eleven, twelve, thirteen. Japanese does not hide it at all, so this range is genuinely easier than it is in your own language. If you can count to ten you can already count to nineteen.
Multiples of ten, add in front
The digit, then ten:
Both halves at once gives you every number to ninety-nine. 88 is はちじゅうはち, literally eight-ten-eight, and you did not have to learn a word for eighty. Note that 40, 70 and 90 use よん, なな and きゅう here, which is the day one rule holding.
The two mistakes people make
Both come from translating English word order:
The first pair is worth drilling until it is automatic, because in a shop the difference between twelve and twenty is real money. A useful trick while you are learning: say the number in English in Japanese order first. Twenty is two-ten, twelve is ten-two. Then the Japanese falls out on its own.
Carry over, from earlier days
Check yourself
8 questions. Nothing is saved unless you finish.