Editing Japanese numerals (section)

==Hand counting==
{{see also|Finger-counting#Asia}}

Japanese uses separate systems for counting for oneself and for displaying numbers to others, which both proceed up to ten. For counting, one begins with the palm open, then counts up to five by curling up (folding down) the fingers, starting from the thumb – thus one has just the thumb down (and others extended), while four has only the little finger extended, and five has a fist. One then counts up to ten by proceeding in the reverse order, extending the fingers, starting at the little finger – thus six is the same as four, seven the same as three, and so forth, with ten ending with the palm open. While this introduces ambiguity, it is not used to present to others, so this is generally not a problem. When displaying for others, one starts with the hand closed, and extends fingers, starting with the index, going to the little finger, then ending with the thumb, as in the United States. For numbers above five, one uses an open hand (indicating five) and places the appropriate number of fingers from the other hand against the palm (palms facing each other) – so six has the index finger against the palm, and so forth.<ref>[http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa112198.htm Counting on one's fingers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120143955/http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa112198.htm |date=2013-01-20 }}, About.com, Japanese Language, Namiko Abe</ref> To display ten, one presents both hands open and palm outwards.