Meaning
千 means thousand — the number 1,000. You'll encounter it constantly in everyday Japanese: prices at the convenience store, distances on road signs, year numbers in history. The ¥1,000 bill, a crowd at a festival, the year 1000 AD — this kanji is hard to avoid.
With just 3 strokes, 千 is among the simplest number kanji. Japanese children learn it in school Grade 1. Visually, it resembles 十 (ten) with a horizontal stroke added on top, as if ten has been given a hat to mark its larger status.
千 originated in ancient Chinese writing. Early oracle bone inscriptions showed a figure with a mark indicating a large, hard-to-count quantity. Through bronze inscriptions and seal script, it settled into the clean three-stroke form used today.
In Japanese culture, the number 1,000 carries symbolic weight beyond simple counting. 千羽鶴 (senbazuru) — one thousand folded origami cranes — represents hope, longevity, and good fortune. Completing all one thousand is said to grant a wish. So 千 isn't just a number; it's tied to perseverance and intention.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
セン (sen) is the on'yomi, derived from ancient Chinese pronunciation. It's the reading you'll use most — in compound words, when stating prices, and whenever 千 pairs with another kanji.
Key examples using セン:
- 千 (sen) — one thousand
- 千円 (sen-en) — one thousand yen
- 千年 (sennen) — one thousand years; a millennium
- 三千 (sanzen) — three thousand (せん shifts to ぜん after さん)
- 数千 (suusen) — several thousand
Pronunciation shifts when certain numbers precede 千. 三千 is さんぜん (not さんせん), and 八千 is はっせん. These changes follow the pattern called rendaku — sequential voicing — and become automatic with exposure.
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
The kun'yomi reading is ち (chi), the native Japanese word for thousand. Less common in everyday speech than セン, it appears mainly in place names, personal names, and older vocabulary.
- 千代 (chiyo) — a thousand generations; eternity; a common female name
- 千鳥 (chidori) — plover (a wading bird); also the name of a zigzag pattern
- 千葉 (Chiba) — the prefecture just east of Tokyo; literally "thousand leaves"
Words using ち tend to carry a classical or poetic flavor — poetry, place names, traditional expressions. When you spot ち in a compound, there's usually something old or lyrical about it.
Common Words & Compounds
千 pairs naturally with other number and time kanji. Here are the most useful compounds:
Numbers and Counting
- 千 (sen) — one thousand
- 二千 (nisen) — two thousand
- 三千 (sanzen) — three thousand
- 五千 (gosen) — five thousand
- 八千 (hassen) — eight thousand
- 数千 (suusen) — several thousand
Time and History
- 千年 (sennen) — one thousand years; millennium
- 千代 (chiyo) — a thousand generations; eternity
- 千秋 (senshuu) — a thousand autumns; a very long time
Culture and Nature
- 千羽鶴 (senbazuru) — one thousand origami cranes
- 千鳥 (chidori) — plover bird; also a zigzag pattern
- 千葉 (Chiba) — Chiba prefecture
Money and Everyday Life
- 千円 (sen-en) — one thousand yen
- 千円札 (sen-en satsu) — one thousand yen bill
- 一千万 (issen man) — ten million (one-thousand ten-thousands)
Example Sentences
このりんごは千円です。
Kono ringo wa sen-en desu.
This apple is one thousand yen.
千円札を一枚ください。
Sen-en satsu wo ichimai kudasai.
Please give me one thousand-yen bill.
千羽鶴を折るのは大変です。
Senbazuru wo oru no wa taihen desu.
Folding one thousand origami cranes is no small effort.
このまちには数千人が住んでいます。
Kono machi ni wa suusen-nin ga sunde imasu.
Several thousand people live in this town.
千年前、この場所はどんなでしたか。
Sennen mae, kono basho wa donna deshita ka.
What was this place like a thousand years ago?
三千円しか持っていません。
Sanzen-en shika motte imasen.
I only have three thousand yen on me.
千葉から東京まで電車で行けます。
Chiba kara Tōkyō made densha de ikemasu.
You can get from Chiba to Tokyo by train.
このホテルは一泊八千円です。
Kono hoteru wa ippaku hassen-en desu.
This hotel costs eight thousand yen per night.
千のことばより一つの行動が大切です。
Sen no kotoba yori hitotsu no kōdō ga taisetsu desu.
One action is worth more than a thousand words.
Related Kanji
- 百 — Hundred (Kanji N5)
- 三 — Three (Kanji N5)
- 十 — Ten (Kanji N5)
- 二 — Two (Kanji N5)
- 九 — Nine (Kanji N5)
- 七 — Seven (Kanji N5)
Memory Tip
Picture 十 (ten) with a stroke across the top — a hat. That hat elevates ten into something far larger. Ten wears a hat, and becomes a thousand.
For the reading: SEN sounds like the start of "census" — a word literally about counting large numbers of people. Counting thousands? That's a census. That's 千.
Vietnamese learners: the Hán-Việt reading THIÊN connects directly to thiên niên kỷ (millennium) and thiên thu (a very long time). Same character, shared heritage.