Components

Point of interest: pronouncing a decimal point

POI
pronouncing a decimal point
168 words
For more on this topic, see the 坪 essay in the Joy o' Kanji essay collection.
When you encounter a number with a decimal point, the decimal point is read てん, which means 'point' and is taken from:
0
noun, noun (suffix)
1. spot; mark
2. point; dot
(click the word to view an additional 4 meanings, useful expressions, examples and links)
So, for example, 7.7 is read ななてんなな (literally 'seven point seven', as in English).
However, a peculiarity to be aware of is that when a one-syllable word for a number precedes a decimal point, the yomi is prolonged. So, for example, the Japanese pronounce 2.2 as にい てん に (not に てん に as you would expect).
にいてんに
2.2
つぼ
まほう
魔法
title of book, album etc.
The Magic of 2.2 Tsubo
(For more on the book this is the title of, see Joy o' Kanji essay on 坪.)
In fact, the readings of other numbers in a decimal value can also change - for example:
2.2にいてんに (only the に before the decimal point is extended)
2.22にいてんにいにい (all three に readings are extended)
5.5ごおてんご
5.55ごおてんごおごお
However, when the number preceding the decimal point is two or more syllables, all numbers are read as expected (with the usual contractions - for example, いち + てん becomes いってん etc):
1.11いってんいちいち
7.77ななてんなななな
8.88はってんはちはち

Kanji used in this point of interest

つぼ a tsubo (area covering two tatami)   
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マ    witch   
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ホウ   ハッ   ホッ    method   
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