jctkd Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 i have a sheet to study for class, Ichi, ni, san, shi(yon), go, roku, shichi (nanna), hachi, ku, ju, i feel like a idiot but why does the #1 and 7 have two different ways of saying it, wich is most commen? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Menjo Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 i think alot of words and numbers have different ways of saying it, i dunno which is more common but its like every other language in that sense. "Time is what we want most, but what we use worst"William Penn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 ive never heard of these other ways but you learn something new every day i have a friend who is japanese and he doesnt use the variations The key to everything is continuity achieved by discipline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 Shi also means "die" as in death. So for obvious reasons you have to be careful about how you use it. Shishi also means "quality" or "nature." It depends on what kanji you use. Hope this helps.Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaminari Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 Yep, like Carl was saying, the different variations are used in different contexts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorin Ryuu Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 Shi and Shichi are simply the "older" ways of saying four and seven.As mentioned, "shi" means death so there is a lot of superstition surrounding it. You won't find a 4th floor on many places in Japan, for example. So there is some popular tradition in not using it. I guess martial artists are less afraid of death, eh? Martial Arts Blog:http://bujutsublogger.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unknownstyle Posted September 6, 2005 Share Posted September 6, 2005 in my school we say them like you spelled them, and when your a 4th dan your a yondan, but ive never heard them call anyone a nannadan "Live life easy and peacefully, but when it is time to fight become ferocious." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ti Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 When counting a different set is used for a couple of numbers, nothing major. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drithen Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 You can use Shi and Shichi before 10, but after that its best to use Yon and Nana (at least thats what my Japanese sister in law says) "Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others. -Colossians 3:23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24fightingchickens Posted September 7, 2005 Share Posted September 7, 2005 i have a sheet to study for class, Ichi, ni, san, shi(yon), go, roku, shichi (nanna), hachi, ku, ju, i feel like a idiot but why does the #1 and 7 have two different ways of saying it, wich is most commen? thanksBecause most of the kanji, the ideographic characters the Japanese write nouns and the bases of verbs and adjectives with, have two readings. Each of them can be read with a kun-yomi, which is the "rules reading", and an on-yomi, the "sound reading."The kunyomi is the Japanese native way to pronounce the word. The onyomi is what the Japanese think is the original Chinese pronunciation.For example, the character for big is pronounced "oh". If you put the character with another character, it is pronounced "dai." Kunyomi tend to be the stand-alone pronunciation, while onyomi tend to be the combo pronunciation, but this is not always true. You have to learn them one at a time.Where was I?Oh yes, the numbers.So each of the numbers has a similar reading.Number Onyomi Kunyomi1 ichi hito2 ni futa3 san mi4 shi yo/yon5 go itsu6 roku mutsu7 shichi nana8 hachi ya9 ku/kyu kokono10 ju tohIt is true that shi rhymes with death. However, I never heard a Japanese instructor avoid saying "shi" while counting numbers while living in Japan. I think that is a superstition and many Japanese don't care anymore than you care about living on the 13th floor or in the 13th house. 24FightingChickenshttp://www.24fightingchickens.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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