1The number eight (8); indicating eight units or the eighth in a series. The two main readings are the Sino-Japanese はち and the native-Japanese や, the latter appearing in compounds like 八つ (やっつ, 'eight things'), 八重 (やえ, 'eight-fold / double'), and 八百屋 (やおや, 'greengrocer'). 八日 has the irregular reading ようか. The kanji 八 widens toward the bottom and is therefore called 末広がり, making it a culturally auspicious number. The variant 捌 is used in legal documents to prevent forgery.
明日の朝八時に駅で待ち合わせしよう。
Let's meet at the station at eight tomorrow morning.
ケーキを八つに切り分けて配った。
I cut the cake into eight pieces and handed them out.
八月八日に町のお祭りが行われる。
The town festival is held on August 8th.
庭の八重桜が今満開だ。
The double-flowered cherry tree (yaezakura) in the garden is in full bloom.
「八」は末広がりの形なので、結婚式の引き出物などで縁起のいい数とされる。
The character 八 widens at the bottom, so 'eight' is considered an auspicious number for things like wedding gifts.
領収書には「金捌万円」と書かれていた。
The receipt was written 金捌万円 (eighty thousand yen) using the legal form of 'eight'.