万

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 一万円札を出しました。▶ —
   I handed over a 10,000-yen bill.
2. 万一の場合に備えてください。▶ —
   Prepare for any eventuality.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Man (万) = 10,000. The pivotal big-unit in the Sinosphere — English skips to ten thousand / hundred thousand without a single word for the 10,000 unit, while Japanese, Chinese, and Korean think in 万 units. Forms: ichi-man (10k), juu-man (100k), hyaku-man (1m), sen-man (10m), oku (億, 100m). Japan's largest banknote is 10,000 yen. Cluster: mannenhitsu (万年筆, fountain pen — "pen for ten-thousand years"), man'ichi (万一, "one in ten thousand" = just in case), banzai (万歳, hurrah — imperial / national cheer, mirrored in Korean man-se), bannou (万能, all-purpose), manbiki (万引き, shoplifting). Japan uses the abbreviated 万; Korea and traditional China use the full 萬. Big numbers: oku (億) = 100 million (10k × 10k). Sinosphere 10k-unit thinking creates conversion friction when reading English market data in million / billion.

Quick check

1. Meaning of "mannenhitsu" (万年筆)?

   • "Pen for ten-thousand years" metaphor = refillable fountain pen
   • Literally lasts 10,000 years
   • Antique pen kept for millennia
   • Pen for writing 10,000-year history