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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "three" in Japanese?
三
san
In Japanese, "three" is 三 (san).
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Pronunciation
三 is written using kanji. Romanised as san, it sounds roughly like "sah-n" to an English ear.
Writing and usage
San (三) is simply three horizontal strokes stacked together, the same logic used for ichi (一, one) and ni (二, two). Counting objects also requires a counter word, such as san-nin for three people or san-ko for three small objects.
Example sentence
クラスに生徒が三人います。
Kurasu ni seito ga san-nin imasu.
There are three students in the class.
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How to remember 三
There is no trick needed here: 三 is one stroke for each unit being counted, so the shape of the kanji already matches the number it represents.
Related words
- fifty-three 五十三 gojūsan
- seventy-two 七十二 nanajūni
- ninety-three 九十三 kyūjūsan
- eighty-six 八十六 hachijūroku
- full いっぱい ippai
- seventy-nine 七十九 nanajūkyū
- seventy-eight 七十八 nanajūhachi
- twenty 二十 nijū
- sixty-nine 六十九 rokujūkyū
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 三
How do you pronounce 三?
三 is romanised as san. Say it roughly like "sah-n" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.
Is 三 formal or casual?
三 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 三 written in Japanese?
三 is written using kanji. San (三) is simply three horizontal strokes stacked together, the same logic used for ichi (一, one) and ni (二, two).
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
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"Three" in other languages
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