(ちょう)

ちょう
number, noun
one trillion; 1,000,000,000,000
1. one trillion; 1,000,000,000,000
The Japanese number unit equal to one trillion (10^12). The next step above (おく) in the Japanese numeral system. Commonly seen in national budgets and large-scale economic figures.
(くに)予算(よさん)は100兆円(ちょうえん)()えた。
The national budget exceeded 100 trillion yen.
日本(にほん)(くに)借金(しゃっきん)は1000兆円以上(ちょうえんいじょう)ある。
Japan's national debt is over 1,000 trillion yen.
IT産業(さんぎょう)市場(しじょう)規模(きぼ)数十兆円(すうじゅっちょうえん)(たっ)すると()られている。
The IT industry market is expected to reach tens of trillions of yen.

USAGE:
Appears mainly in economic, financial, and scientific contexts where extremely large numbers are discussed. In everyday life, (ちょう) is rare because amounts this large are mainly relevant to national budgets and macroeconomics.

Number scale:

  • (まん) = 10,000
  • (おく) = 100,000,000 (= 10,000(まん))
  • (ちょう) = 1,000,000,000,000 (= 10,000(おく))

Note: 1(ちょう)(えん) ≈ approximately 7-8 billion US dollars (depending on exchange rate).

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 数兆円(すうちょうえん) (several trillion yen)
  • 何兆(なんちょう)もの〜 (trillions of ~)
  • 兆円規模(ちょうえんきぼ) (on the scale of ~ trillion yen)