Easy as 1-2-3 - in Japan! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ichi

A Japanese 'one' fact: Formula One races have been held in Japan since 1976 but then took a few years off the tour. Formula One racing returned to Japan in 1994 and has predominantly alternated between the Fuji Speedway and Suzuka. Racing returned to Japan in 2022 after a two year break due to coronavirus. Japanese drivers have not won a Formula One race dating from 1976-2022

Red Crew's jaknginger raced in with this question for our team quiz.

Answer: Ni

It is not only the Knights who say 'ni', as that is how the number two is pronounced in Japanese. There is a Japanese saying that uses the number - 'one who chases after 2 rabbits will not even catch one,' a pithy statement that tells the truth about multitasking.

Player pusdoc needed to take two aspirin while learning these Japanese words.

Answer: San

The number three in Japanese is 'san'. There are three scripts to learn the Japanese numbers. Kanji are Chinese characters and are the symbolic way of communication. Phonetically, on-yomi is the Chinese way to speak and kun-yomi is the more traditional Japanese way to speak.

Phoenix Rising's jaknginger can now successfully count to three in Japanese.

Answer: Yon

An alternative for the number four is 'Shi'. It is also the word for 'death' and therefore is considered unlucky. 'Yon' is used unless you are counting months.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew member jaknginger will stick with 'yon'. She needs all the luck.

Answer: Go

Pronounced 'Go' in Japanese, five is an important number in Japanese cuisine. Each meal will cater to each of the five tastes and involve the five main colours of Buddhist tradition: black, red, green, yellow and white. Meals also involve foods cooked in five different ways: raw, simmered, fried, grilled and pickled.

Leith90 was pickled pink to write about her favourite number.

Answer: Roku

In Japanese, the number 6 is pronounced 'roku' The Japanese Suntory distillery produces a craft gin called 'Roku', which is sold in a beautiful six sided bottle, each facet displaying one of the six botanicals it is infused with, which give the gin its distinctive flavour.

Red crew's smpdit may have imbibed more than six glasses of this very fine gin.

Answer: Nana

Pronounced 'shichi' or 'nana', seven is a lucky number in Japan as well as many other cultures. In Japanese folklore, the Shichi-fuki-jin are the Seven Gods of Luck and are often depicted sailing on a treasure ship. In the Buddhist religion, a baby's birth is celebrated on the seventh day. After someone dies, the mourning takes place on the seventh day, as this is when they believe the soul crosses over. Nanakusa are the seven herbs of spring and are eaten to remove evil and illness from the body.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew member leith90 felt fortunate to be able to write about lucky seven.

Answer: Hachi

The number eight is considered lucky in Japan. When writing the number eight kanji, it has two sides closer at the top than at the bottom but without touching. The Japanese consider it a symbol of prosperity because of the shape widening toward the future.

PR's jaknginger is on the lookout for the lucky eights!

Answer: Kyu

Pronounced 'kyu', in Japanese the number 9 is considered to be unlucky as it is a homophone of the word 'ku' which means 'suffering'.

Phoenix Rising's smpdit thinks Pluto was unlucky to be downgraded.

Answer: Juu

The word for ten is pronounced 'juu'. After the first ten numbers, the pattern becomes fairly easy to learn - for example, eleven is juu-ichi or ten-one. Twenty is ni-juu, or two-ten.

Player pusdoc's knowledge of number words in Japanese has now increased logarithmically.