Why Japanese banknotes and contracts use 壱 弐 参

壱, 弐 and 参 are the formal kanji for one, two and three, used in Japan on contracts, legal papers and banknotes. They exist because the everyday numbers are too easy to change: add one stroke to 一, one, and it becomes 二, two, and one more makes 三, three. These formal numbers are called 大字 (daiji), and you can find two of them in a Japanese wallet: the 10,000-yen note says 壱万円, and the 2,000-yen note says 弐千円.

What the kanji say

壱 (ichi) is one. It’s the Japanese simplified form of 壹, an old Chinese character for “single” or “undivided”.

弐 (ni) is two, and if you look inside it, you’ll find 二. Its old form, 貳, had a shell, 貝, once used as money, with an old way of writing 二 to give the sound.

参 (san) is three. In everyday Japanese it means to go, visit or take part: 参加 (sanka) is taking part, and 参る (mairu) is a humble way to say “go” or “come”. Its old form, 參, began as a picture of three shining stars: a Chinese constellation named for the three stars of Orion’s belt. Some dictionaries also see 三, three, in it, giving both its sound and its meaning.

円 (en) is the yen, and it also means a circle, as in 円形 (enkei), a round shape.

Where they really come from

The idea comes from China, where a full set of formal numbers, from 壹 for one up to 玖 for nine, is still used for money. Japan once used more of them too, but the law today names only four: 壱, 弐, 参 and 拾 (juu), ten. The numbers from four to nine are written in the ordinary way.

The banknotes follow the same rule. Of the notes in use, only the 10,000-yen and 2,000-yen notes have daiji. The 1,000-yen note just says 千円, and the 5,000-yen note 五千円, because 千 and 五 have no formal form in use. The new 10,000-yen note, issued in 2024, still says 壱万円.

The video is right about contracts and cheques, with one note: these rules apply where numbers are written in kanji. Many modern documents are written across the page with Arabic numerals instead.

As for 円, its old form 圓 means round. When Spanish and Mexican silver coins reached China, people there called them “silver rounds”, and the word came to Japan with the coins. The yen became Japan’s official currency in 1871, and the simpler 円 replaced 圓 after the Second World War. In Japanese it’s pronounced en. The English spelling comes from an older pronunciation, from a time when 円 sounded more like “yen”, and early Western dictionaries of Japanese kept it.

How to use it

• 一万円札で払ってもいいですか。

  Ichiman-en satsu de haratte mo ii desu ka.

  Can I pay with a 10,000-yen note?

• 二千円札はあまり見かけません。

  Nisen-en satsu wa amari mikakemasen.

  You don't often see 2,000-yen notes.

• 会議に参加します。

  Kaigi ni sanka shimasu.

  I'll take part in the meeting.

• 円安で日本旅行が安くなった。

  En'yasu de Nihon ryokou ga yasuku natta.

  The weak yen made my trip to Japan cheaper.

• They’re read like the ordinary numbers. 壱 is ichi, 弐 is ni, 参 is san and 拾 is juu, so 壱万円 is still ichiman en.
• Two of them have an everyday job too. 参 appears in 参加 (sanka) and 参考 (sankou), reference, and 拾 is the kanji in 拾う (hirou), to pick up.
• Gift money uses them. When people give cash at a wedding or a funeral, they often write the amount on the envelope in daiji, such as 金参萬円 for 30,000 yen, with 金 (kin), money, in front and the old form 萬 for 万.
• Say en, not yen. Prices are 百円 (hyaku en) and 千円 (sen en). “Yen” is only the English spelling.

Words with the same kanji

Remember it

One stroke turns 一 into 二, and another turns it into 三. That’s much harder to do to 壱, 弐 and 参, though 弐 keeps a 二 hidden inside, as if to remind you what it means.

The kanji in this lesson

Tap Draw it to watch the stroke order. Numbers show where each stroke starts.

Draw it

Draw it

Draw it

Draw it

Sources

• Wikipedia: Japanese numerals (formal numbers)
• Wikipedia (Japanese): 一万円紙幣
• Wikipedia: Japanese yen (etymology)
• Wikipedia: Chinese numerals (financial numerals)
• Dong Chinese: 參
• MUFG Bank: writing a wedding gift envelope (Japanese)

Written by the Chirami team with the help of AI, then checked against JMdict and KANJIDIC2. How we write lessons. Spotted a mistake? Email support@brightsmilesolutions.org.