万 — meaning in English: A million

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Guess the translation for million

暴行

bōkō

労働

rōdō

建設

kensetsu

万

Man

アプリケーション

apurikēshon

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neutral common

Usage

Native speakers use the word 万 (man) when discussing large quantities of money, such as salaries or prices, and in contexts involving statistics or population counts. For example, you might hear it in a news program talking about the population of Tokyo, which is over 1,000万 (10 million).

Synonyms & nuances

A close synonym for 万 (man) is 百万 (hyakuman), which means 'one hundred million.' While 百万 is used in contexts requiring even larger numbers, 万 is more commonly used in everyday conversation for expressing a million due to its succinctness and familiarity.

Culture

The character 万 (man) has an intriguing history, originally representing the concept of 'ten thousand' in ancient texts. Over time, it evolved in modern usage to denote 'one million,' reflecting Japan's unique counting system that often groups numbers in increments of ten thousand, which is different from the Western system. Interestingly, this character is also used in various contexts, such as 万華鏡 (makigai kyō), meaning 'kaleidoscope,' which reflects its versatility in the language.

FAQ

Q.What does 万 mean in Japanese?

万 (man) means 'a million' in Japanese. It is used primarily in counting and discussing quantities, especially in economic contexts.

Q.How do you write a million in kanji?

In kanji, a million is written as 万 (man), which is also used in terms like 一万 (ichiman) for 'ten thousand' or 十万 (juuman) for 'one hundred thousand.'

Q.Are there any mistakes learners commonly make with 万?

One common mistake is to confuse 万 (man) with other large numbers. Learners should remember that 万 specifically refers to a million, while other terms like 百万 (hyakuman) refer to one hundred million.

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