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 (10,000), 億 (100,000,000), 兆 (1,000,000,000,000).
世界の人口は80億人を超えた。
The world population has exceeded 8 billion.
その会社の売上は年間10億円を超える。
That company's annual sales exceed one billion yen.
何億年も前に恐竜は地球に生きていた。
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 = 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:
- 万 = 10,000
- 億 = 100,000,000 (= 10,000万)
- 兆 = 1,000,000,000,000 (= 10,000億)
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 1億円 (100 million yen)
- 数億円 (several hundred million yen)
- 何億もの〜 (hundreds of millions of ~)