Japanese word

四捨五入

Pronunciation

Romajishishagonyū

Meaning

  • nounrounding off

Example

店員は合計金額を百円単位で四捨五入します。ten in wa gō kei kin gaku o hyaku en tan i de shi sha go nyū shi ma su

The clerk rounds the total to the nearest hundred yen.

Illustration for 四捨五入 (rounding off)

More examples

測定値を小数第一位で四捨五入します。soku tei chi o shō sū dai ichi i de shi sha go nyū shi ma su

The measured value is rounded to one decimal place.

Core concept

Reduces a number to a chosen place by letting the next digit decide whether the kept part stays the same or rises by one.

Common phrases

  • 小数第一位で四捨五入shō sū dai ichi i de shi sha go nyū

    round to one decimal place

  • 百円単位で四捨五入hyaku en tan i de shi sha go nyū

    round to the nearest hundred yen

Similar words

丸めmarume: A process that changes a number to a chosen precision by applying a specified rounding rule.
切り上げkiriage: A number is raised to the next value at a chosen place whenever any discarded digit is nonzero.
切り捨てkirisute: A number is lowered by removing all digits after a chosen place.

Definition in Japanese

数を近い単位にそろえるため、指定した位の次の数字が五以上なら切り上げ、四以下なら切り捨てること。sū o chika i tan i ni so ro e ru ta me shi tei shi ta kurai no tsugi no sū ji ga go i jō na ra ki ri a ge yon i ka na ra ki ri su te ru ko to

Word origin

The term 四捨五入 (shishagonyū) combines 四 (shi, "four"), 捨 (sha, "discard"), 五 (go, "five"), and 入 (nyū, "put in"), naming the two choices in rounding.

Usage tips

  • A rounded figure in Japanese is often marked with 約 (yaku, "approximately"), as in 約百円 (yaku hyaku-en), because the displayed amount is not exact.

Word lists with this word