You would think numbers would be easy, but they really aren't. First of all, there are so many ways to count things in Japanese! It isn't as easy as 1, 2, 3 or ichi, ni, san. There are different counters - meaning if you want to indicate 2 people, you say futatsu (foo-tat-su), but if you want to talk about 2 oranges, you say ni ko (knee ko). The list goes on and on. In my studies, we've covered at least 10 different counters. Ten different ways to say the number 1! It can get so annoying as a second language speaker. Some people are more patient or understanding about it than others when you mess them up.
The other thing that makes me stop and second guess myself is counting numbers in quantities greater than 10,000. This can come to the forefront when discussing large quantities of money. While one would expect to say "eighty thousand yen" when talking about ¥80,000, you actually say "eight ten thousand yen" or "hachi man yen". There is a BIG difference between "hachi man yen"/¥80,000 (eight ten thousand yen) and "hachi ju man yen"/¥800,000 (eighty ten thousand yen).
While talking about the price of airplane tickets to Seattle, I got myself and my friend so confused. I kept saying I prefer to pay "hachi ju man yen"/¥800,000 (eighty ten thousand yen, approximately $7,250) instead of "hachi man yen"/¥80,000 (eight ten thousand yen, approximately $725). My friend practically choked when I told her this, which was understandable since I had added an extra zero to the price! We finally pulled out calculators on our phones to double check and correct my error. I felt like a dunce, even though my friend was completely understanding and kind about the miscommunication. (It was extra confusing because I was lamenting on home expensive tickets are right now, much more than I like to pay!)
It may seem like something simple from afar, but sometimes basic communication can be exhausting.
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