億(おく)

おく
number, noun
one hundred million; 100,000,000
number
See also: 兆(ちょう) (one trillion), 万(まん) (ten thousand)
1. one hundred million; 100,000,000
The Japanese number unit equal to one hundred million (10^8). Part of the Japanese numeral system where large numbers are grouped by ten-thousands: 万(まん) (10,000), 億(おく) (100,000,000), 兆(ちょう) (1,000,000,000,000).
The world population has exceeded 8 billion.
That company's annual sales exceed one billion yen.
Hundreds of millions of years ago, dinosaurs lived on Earth.

Usage

Japanese groups large numbers by ten-thousands, not by thousands as in English. This means 1億(おく) = 10,000 × 10,000 = 100,000,000. When converting between Japanese and English number expressions, this shift is a common source of confusion.

Number scale

Common collocations

  • 1億円(おくえん) (100 million yen)
  • 数億円(すうおくえん) (several hundred million yen)
  • 何億(なんおく)もの〜 (hundreds of millions of ~)