Ichiban in Japanese: people use it to mean ‘number one’ or ‘first’

What does “ichiban” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “ichiban” often to mean ‘number one’ in Japanese. Probably, many Japanese learners know this word as it is often used in Japanese shops, movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “ichiban” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definitions and meanings of “ichiban”
• What does “ichiban” literally mean in Japanese?
  • Example #1: how to say “number one” in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “ichiban”
• Summary

Definitions and meanings of “ichiban”

Let me start with the definitions and meanings of “ichiban”.

• ichiban – 一番 (いちばん) : a noun meaning ‘number one’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb to mean ‘first’, ‘best’, or ‘most’ in Japanese.

Japanese native speakers use this as a noun to refer to the first one or the best one in a group. In addition, they also use this as an adverb to add the meaning of ‘first’, ‘best’, or ‘most’ to the words used together.

The definitions and meanings are not that difficult, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

What does “ichiban” literally mean in Japanese?

The kanji expression of “ichiban” consists of the following two kanji characters:

• 一 : a kanji character widely used as a numeral to mean ‘one’ in Japanese.
• 番 : a kanji character used to mean ‘number’, ‘order’, ‘rank’, or such in Japanese.

These two kanji characters tell us that “ichiban” literally means ‘one number’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but this literal interpretation is very close to the actual meanings, I think.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “ichiban” through the detailed kanji check above.

So far, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “ichiban” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “number one” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “boku” to make the subject in the sentence.
• sekai – 世界 (せかい) : a noun meaning ‘world’ in Japanese.
• de – で : a case particle used to say where someone does something. In the example, this is used after “sekai” to indicate the group in which the speaker is the number one.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “ichiban” to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of “ichiban”. In this example, it works as a noun to mean ‘the number one’ in Japanese. When we want to mean ‘the number one’ in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.

Example #2: another usage of “ichiban”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kare” to make the subject in the sentence.
• utsukushii – 美しい (うつくしい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘beautiful’ in Japanese.
• hito – 人 (ひと) : a noun meaning ‘person’, ‘man’, or such in Japanese.

This is another typical usage of “ichiban”. In this example, it works as an adverb to add the meaning of ‘most’ to the following i-adjective, “utsukushii”. This type of “ichiban” normally works in front of a word to add the meaning of ‘first’, ‘best’, or ‘most’ to it.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “ichiban” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• ichiban – 一番 (いちばん) : a noun meaning ‘number one’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb to mean ‘first’, ‘best’, or ‘most’ in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘one number’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but this literal interpretation is very close to the actual meanings, I think.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.