- How to choose between よん (yon) vs し (shi) for 四 (4) and しち . . .
When you are counting, the reading " よん " is more used, because, as you also reminded, " し " is too similar to " 死 " which means "death" Usually when a Kanji is "alone" you use the On reading, but in this case when counting, you don't do that for 4 and 7
- What is the difference between よん and し . . . - HiNative
When I think about words used in everyday life, it seems that the reading "よん" is common in words like four people, four sheets, four pieces, four times, four floors, four steps, four bottles, four cups, four machines, four legs, and four terms
- Numbers in Japanese: 4（し or よん？） and 7 (しち or なな？）
The theory goes like this: the numbers 4 (し), 7 (しち), and 8 (はち) have the potential to be confused because of their similar sound, so in order to avoid problems the 訓読み for 4 and 7 (よん and なな） is used instead
- Numbers and Counting - Tae Kims Japanese grammar guide
In general, 「よん」 and 「なな」 are preferred over 「し」 and 「しち」 in most circumstances You can simply count from 1 to 99 with just these ten numbers
- When to use よん・し for 四 : r LearnJapanese - Reddit
し is also the word for death (死), so in my experience people tend to favor よん when you have the choice This is usually only when counting generally though—things like months and or anything with a specific counter has it’s own rules that aren’t flexible with which one you can use
- What is the difference between よん and し When . . . - HiNative
し (shi) is the more formal and traditional pronunciation, while よん (yon) is more casual and commonly used in everyday speech In general, よん (yon) is used more often in informal situations, while し (shi) is used in more formal contexts, such as in writing, news broadcasts, or in formal speeches
- In this example, should the number 4 be read し or よん?
Both of the answers I linked to discuss し and よん in terms of counting Specifically, they say that when counting up し is usual, and when counting down よん is usual
- 四・4の「よん」「し」 なぜ二通りある？読み方の違い・使い分けについて。 | みどりんごぶろぐ
『四』を「し」と読むのは、数字を昇順で読み上げるとき、九九のときなど。 一方、『四」を「よん」と言うのは、四≠死という「死」との連想をさけたいときに使われます。
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