Numbers, 何, and a few kanji
Today: numbers 1 through 10, the question word なん / なに (what / how many), and a careful first taste of kanji. Kanji is the third script — Chinese characters, each carrying meaning. Most have several readings depending on context. We'll meet just three today: 私, 人, 日. Don't panic about kanji; you'll learn them slowly, in context, character by character.
1 to 10
いち (1), に (2), さん (3), よん / し (4), ご (5), ろく (6), なな / しち (7), はち (8), きゅう / く (9), じゅう (10). Yes, four and seven and nine each have two readings — that's not a mistake. The 'native Japanese' reading (よん, なな, きゅう) and the 'Chinese-derived' reading (し, しち, く) are used in different contexts, sometimes for superstition (し sounds like 'death', so よん is preferred when counting people).
なん vs なに — 'what'
Both written 何 in kanji, but pronounced differently: なに before most things (as in なに が すき です か = 'what do you like?'), and なん before counters or です (as in なん です か = 'what is it?', なんさい です か = 'how old are you?'). Same character, two readings — a perfect first lesson in 'kanji has multiple readings'.
Asking age and quantity
~さい = ...years old (a counter that attaches to a number). にじゅっさい = 20 years old, じゅうはっさい = 18 years old. To ask: なんさい です か。 = how old are you? Polite reply: にじゅっさい です。. With young children, the kinder version is おいくつ です か。. Counters in Japanese are attached straight to numbers — you don't say 'twenty years old' as three words, you say it as one chunk.
Your first three kanji
私 (わたし) — 'I'. The kanji form of the pronoun you've already learned. Reading: わたし here; in compounds it's し. 人 — 'person'. Reading: ひと (alone, as in 'a person') or じん (in compounds: にほんじん = Japanese person, アメリカじん = American). 日 — 'sun / day'. Readings: ひ (sun, day), にち / び in compounds: にほん (日本, 'sun-origin' = Japan), にちようび (Sunday). One character, multiple readings: that's the whole game.
Numbers + counters quick tour
Japanese has dozens of counters — small words that attach to numbers depending on what you're counting. Today, just two: ~さい for age (above), and ~人 (~にん) for people (with irregulars: ひとり = 1 person, ふたり = 2 people, then さんにん = 3, よにん = 4, etc.). Don't try to memorize all the counters now — just notice that the number changes shape depending on what's being counted.
