縄張なわばりを守まもるために、毎晩まいばん二に十じゅう人にんも見張みはりを立たてている。
We post as many as 20 lookouts every night to protect our turf.

We talkin’ ’bout Number + も (mo). This ain’t your regular, everyday textbook fluff. This is about how to talk big, how to emphasize the shock of a number.

Now, a lot of cats think this is just for stuntin’, for when a number is huge. And yeah, it’s good for that. When you add も to a number, you’re basically sayin’ “as many as” or “as much as.” It’s like when you see a rapper’s diamond chain and you’re like, “Damn, that cost a hundred grand?” and your boy goes, “Nah, fam, that cost a hundred grand and then some.” That “and then some” is the flavor も brings to the party when the number is big.

But yo, hold up. This ain’t just for flexin’. も is all about surprise, a’ight? It works both ways. You can use it when a number is way bigger than you thought, but you can also use it when the number is wack, like shockingly small. When you pair it with a negative verb, it flips the script and means “not even” or “not a single damn thing.” It’s that feeling when you expect a big payout and the boss hands you chump change. The key is the shock value, whether it’s big stacks or bread crumbs.

---

Peep the technique. It ain’t complicated, but you gotta get it right.

Number	Add も	Example
百ひゃく万まん円えん  a million yen.	百ひゃく万まん円えん も As much as a million yen	あの時計とけいは百ひゃく万まん円えんもしたぜ。 That watch cost as much as a million yen.
十じゅう人にん  10 people	十じゅう人にん も As many as 10 people	パーティーに十じゅう人にんも来きたのかよ。 As many as 10 people came to the party?
一ひ人とり  one person	一ひ人とり も〜ない Not even one person	仲間なかまは一人ひとりも裏切うらぎらなかった。 Not even one of the crew snitched.

So here’s the 411: you take your number and whatever you’re countin’—dolla bills (円), your crew (人), hours on the clock (時間), whatever—and you just slap も right on the end. When you use it with a positive verb, it adds that emotional weight, that “can you believe this?” vibe about how big the number is. But when you hook it up with a negative verb ending like 〜ない or 〜ませんでした, it means the opposite. It emphasizes a total lack, a big fat zero. 一人ひとりも来こなかった means “not a single person came.” You feel me? It’s all about the shock of the count.

---

Think of it like this: You and your crew just pulled a job, right? You pop open the briefcase, expectin’ it to be full of cash. When you open it, the money is packed so tight that bills start spillin’ out onto the floor. That overflow, that extra bit that you weren’t even expectin’, that’s the feeling of も for a big number.

Now, imagine you pull off that same job, but this time you open the briefcase and there’s like, three dollars and a half-eaten sandwich inside. The shock and disrespect you feel? That’s also も when you use it with a negative. You were expecting stacks, but you got not even enough for a bus ticket home. So, も is the surprise, whether the briefcase is overflowing or just plain empty.

---

Here’s some new lingo you’ll need to know to run these streets.

抗争 (こうそう)

English: Conflict; struggle; turf war.

“Kousou” is when two sets, two families, two crews, whatever, are at each other’s necks. This ain’t no schoolyard scuffle, nah. This is for keeps. We talkin’ turf, we talkin’ money, we talkin’ respect. It’s that street drama, that gang-on-gang action you see in the flicks. When diplomacy fails and the talkin’s done, it’s time for “kōsō.” It’s all about who runs the block, who’s the king of the hill. The streets are a battlefield, and this is the war, straight up.

---

口止め料 (くちどめりょう)

English: Hush money.

Somebody sees something they ain’t supposed to see. A deal goin’ down, a body gettin’ dropped, you feel me? Now, you can’t have them runnin’ their mouth to the cops or the opps. So you slide ’em a fat stack of cash to keep their lips locked. That paper is “kuchidomeryō.” It’s the price of silence. You pay ’em to forget what they saw, to act like nothin’ ever happened. It’s how you keep the heat off you and your operation on the low.

---

借金 (しゃっきん)

English: Debt; loan.

Let me drop some knowledge. “Shakkin” is when you owe somebody. Could be the bank, could be your homie, or worse, it could be a loan shark. You’re in the red, livin’ on borrowed time and borrowed money. Maybe you needed startup cash for your hustle, or maybe you blew it all at the tables. Whatever the reason, now you got this weight on your shoulders. And if you don’t pay it back, especially to the wrong people, you gonna have more than just bad credit. You gonna have goons at your door ready to collect, one way or another.

---

被害者 (ひがいしゃ)

English: Victim.

This is a heavy one, for real. The “higaisha” is the one who gets caught in the crossfire, the one who takes the L. They’re the mark in a con, the casualty in a shootout, the person who gets robbed or played. They’re the civilian who was in the wrong place at the wrong time or the sucka who got set up. In the game, you either a player or you get played. The “higaisha” is the one who got played. It’s a cold world out here.

---

密輸船 (みつゆせん)

English: Smuggling ship; contraband boat.

Aight, picture this. You gotta move some product, some serious weight, across the water without the feds gettin’ wise. You ain’t usin’ no cruise liner, playa. You need a “mitsuyusen.” This is that ghost ship, that low-profile boat that slides through the dark of night, loaded with whatever you don’t want customs to see. It’s the connect’s ride, the international plug’s delivery service. It’s all about movin’ that contraband under the radar, from one shore to another, to keep the supply chain flowin’ and the pockets fat.

---

Check out how we use this on the turf.

あの組くみとの抗争こうそうで、こっちは一ひ人とりも死しななかったぜ。
In the war with that other gang, not a single person on our side died.

証人しょうにんを黙だまらせるために、口止くちどめ料りょうを五ご百ひゃく万まん円えんも払はらった。
We paid as much as 5 million yen in hush money to silence the witness.

あいつは借金しゃっきんが二に億おく円えんもあるらしい。
I hear that dude has debts of as much as 200 million yen.

あの詐欺さぎ師しは被害ひがい者しゃから五ご千せん万まん円えんも騙だまし取とった。
That con artist swindled as much as 50 million yen from his victims.

密輸みつゆ船せんにはピストルが千せん丁ちょうも積つんであった。
There were as many as 1,000 pistols loaded on the smuggling ship.

警察けいさつから逃にげるために、一いち晩ばんで三さん百ひゃくキロも運転うんてんした。
I drove as much as 300 kilometers in one night to escape from the cops.

この小ちいさな金庫きんこにダイヤが五ご十じゅう個こも隠かくしてあった。
There were as many as 50 diamonds hidden in this small safe.

あのボスは子分こぶんが百ひゃく人にんもいるらしい。
I heard that boss has as many as 100 followers.

ボスは言いい訳わけを一言ひとこともしなかった。さすがだ。
The boss didn’t make even one excuse. That’s my boss.

あいつは一ひ人とりで敵てきを十じゅう人にんも倒たおしたそうだ。
I heard he took down as many as 10 enemies by himself.

---

Aight, class dismissed. Keep your head up and your grammar tight. Holla at ya boy next time. Peace out.