Happyaku yonjyuu san en! That’s, “843 yen!” in Japanese. About $9.00 USD depending on the exchange rate. Could you figure that out quickly?
Big numbers in foreign languages are always tough to quickly process at first. Since the yen works with such large denominations that often exceed 1,000, when you shop in Japan you will often encounter such large numbers. Doesn’t it feel good when you can pull out the right change without glancing at the display on the register?
This application is designed to help you build your listening comprehension skills for those big numbers in Japanese. After a quick introduction of 1-10, the audio for the rest of the numbers in the application are read with “yen” at the end so you get used to hearing these large numbers in their most common context... money.
After using this app for a while you should be able to more quickly identify big numbers when native Japanese speakers say them. Maybe next time you’re at a convenience store you’ll be able to pull out the exact change without peeking at the display on the register! Ganbare!
You can use “Japanese 101: Numbers” in two modes, the Study Mode and the Quiz Mode.
When using the Study Mode the front of the Study Card shows a number. The card also auto-plays audio of a native Japanese speaker reading the number. Touch the card to flip it over and see the number in Japanese Kanji, the romaji, and the English translation.
This application currently covers the numbers 1-100, and than a random selection of numbers from 100 to 9,999,999.
We have taken special care to chose a selection of numbers that will give your brain a sufficient workout. In total there are more than 400 items included in this version.
The Quiz Mode will test your listening comprehension skills and train your ear for Japanese numbers. After you chose the sections to quiz yourself on the app will randomly read a number in Japanese. You cannot see the number being read at this point, but if you miss it you can press a button to hear it again.
You’ll then attempt to touch the correct number from among 2 or 4 options, depending on the difficulty setting. After taking the quiz you can review the questions that you missed. Due to the completely auditory nature of this quiz, this is a sure fire way to improve your listening comprehension.
There is also a more difficult fill-in-the-blank quiz option where you listen to the number and then are challenged to type in the number that you heard.
Enjoy!