Japanese counter word
Encyclopedia
In Japanese
, counter word
s or counters (josūshi 助数詞) are used along with numbers
to count things, actions, and events.
In Japanese, as in Chinese
and Korean
, numerals cannot quantify noun
s by themselves (except, in certain cases, for the numbers from one to ten; see below). For example, to express the idea "two dogs" in Japanese one must say ni hiki no inu (二匹の犬, literally "two small-animal dog"). Here inu 犬 means "dog", ni 二 is the number 2, and hiki 匹 is the counter for small animals. These counters are not independent words and always appear with a number (or question word) before them. If the number is unknown, a question word is used, most often 何 nan or nani, as in 何名様 nan-mei-sama "how many guests", or sometimes 幾 iku as in 幾晩 iku-ban "how many nights?".
Counters are similar in function to the word "pieces" in "two pieces of paper" and "cup" in "two cups of coffee". They differ, however, in that they cannot take non-numerical modifiers. So where "two pieces of paper" translates fairly directly as "paper two-flat-pieces", the phrase "two white pieces of paper" requires the addition of another noun to accept the modifier: "paper white sheet[s] two-flat-pieces."
Just as in English, different counters can be used to convey different types of quantity. In English, one can say one loaf of bread or one slice of bread. In Japanese, the equivalents would be パン一斤 pan ikkin ("bread one-loaf") and パン一枚 pan ichimai ("bread one-flat-piece").
Grammatically, counter words can appear either before or after the noun they count; they generally occur after the noun (following particles
), and if used before the noun, they emphasize the quantity; this is a common mistake in English learners of Japanese. For example, to say "[I] drank two bottles of beer", one can say either ビールを二本飲んだ, which is more normal, or 二本のビールを飲んだ, which conveys "[I] drank two bottles of beer", and would only be appropriate when emphasizing the number, as in response to a question ("How many beers did you drink?").
s. This grammatical feature can result in situations where one is unable to express the number of a particular object in a syntactically correct way because one does not know, or cannot remember, the appropriate counting word. With quantities from one to ten, this problem can often be sidestepped by using the traditional numbers
(see below), which can quantify many nouns without help. For example, "four apples" is ringo yonko (りんご四個) where ko (個) is the counter, but can also be expressed, using the traditional numeral four, as ringo yottsu (りんご四つ). These traditional numerals cannot be used to count all nouns, however; some, including nouns for people and animals, require a proper counter.
Some of the more common counters may substitute for less common ones. For example, 匹 hiki (see below) is often used for all animals, regardless of size. However, many speakers will prefer to use the traditionally correct counter, 頭 tō, when speaking of larger animals such as horses. This yields a range of possible counters, with differing degrees of usage and acceptability – for example, when ordering kushikatsu
(fried skewers), one may order them as 二串 futa-kushi (two skewers), 二本 ni-hon (two sticks), or 二つ futa-tsu (two items), in decreasing order of precision.
Counters may be intentionally misused for humorous, sarcastic, or insulting effects. For example, one might say 男一匹なのに (Otoko ippiki nano ni; "I am only one man..."). Using hiki (匹), the counter for small animals, humorously suggests that the person is overpowered by massive obstacles.
* Japanese Buddhist monks were not allowed to eat any meat other than birds, but liked rabbit meat so much they came up with the contrived "explanation" that rabbits are actually birds, and that their ears are unusable wings. The rationale was that while moving, rabbits only touched the ground with two feet at a time. Nowadays, hiki is the usual counter for rabbits.
These changes are followed fairly consistently but exceptions and variations between speakers do exist. Where variations are common, more than one alternative is listed.
Jū is replaced by either ju- or ji- (じゅっ/じっ) followed by a doubled consonant before the voiceless consonants as shown in the table. Ji- is the older form, but it has been replaced by ju- in the speech of recent generations.
Some counters, notably nichi 日 and nin 人, use the traditional numerals for some numbers as shown in the table below. Other uses of traditional numbers are usually restricted to certain phrases, such as hitotsuki 一月 and futatsuki 二月 (one and two months respectively), hitokoto 一言 (a single word) and hitotabi 一度 (once).
Sometimes common numbers that have a derived meaning are written using different kanji. For example, hitori (alone) is written 独り, and futatabi (once more, another time) is normally written 再び instead of 二度. The counter for months kagetsu (derived from kanji 箇月) is commonly written ヶ月.
Nana and shichi are alternatives for 7, yon and shi are alternatives for 4, and kyū and ku are alternatives for 9. Having said that, nana, yon and kyū are more commonly used. Some counters, however, notably nin 人 (people), gatsu 月 (month of the year), ka/nichi 日 (day of the month, days), ji 時 (time of day) and jikan 時間 (hours) take certain alternatives only. These are shown in the table below.
While kai 回 (occurrences) and sen 銭 (0.01 yen, now rarely used) follow the euphonic changes listed above, homophones kai 階 (storeys/floors) and sen 千 (1000) are slightly different as shown below, although these differences are not followed by all speakers. Thus 三階 ("third floor") can be read either sankai or sangai, while 三回 ("three times") can only be read sankai.
* But when counting number of days rather than days of the month, ichinichi is used. Ippi is also heard.
** Both ikunin 幾人 and nannin 何人 are used to mean "how many people".
*** In remote rural areas (e.g. Northern Honshū
and Eastern Hokkaido
) older speakers might use yottari.
that denotes position in a sequence, me (目) is added to the end of the counter. Thus "one time" would be translated as ikkai (一回), whereas "the first time" would be translated as ikkaime (一回目).
This rule is inconsistent, however, as counters without the me suffix are often used interchangeably with cardinal and ordinal meanings. For example, sankai (三階) can mean both "three floors" and "third floor."
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, counter word
Classifier (linguistics)
A classifier, in linguistics, sometimes called a measure word, is a word or morpheme used in some languages to classify the referent of a countable noun according to its meaning. In languages that have classifiers, they are often used when the noun is being counted or specified...
s or counters (josūshi 助数詞) are used along with numbers
Japanese numerals
The system of Japanese numerals is the system of number names used in the Japanese language. The Japanese numerals in writing are entirely based on the Chinese numerals and the grouping of large numbers follow the Chinese tradition of grouping by 10,000...
to count things, actions, and events.
In Japanese, as in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
, numerals cannot quantify noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
s by themselves (except, in certain cases, for the numbers from one to ten; see below). For example, to express the idea "two dogs" in Japanese one must say ni hiki no inu (二匹の犬, literally "two small-animal dog"). Here inu 犬 means "dog", ni 二 is the number 2, and hiki 匹 is the counter for small animals. These counters are not independent words and always appear with a number (or question word) before them. If the number is unknown, a question word is used, most often 何 nan or nani, as in 何名様 nan-mei-sama "how many guests", or sometimes 幾 iku as in 幾晩 iku-ban "how many nights?".
Counters are similar in function to the word "pieces" in "two pieces of paper" and "cup" in "two cups of coffee". They differ, however, in that they cannot take non-numerical modifiers. So where "two pieces of paper" translates fairly directly as "paper two-flat-pieces", the phrase "two white pieces of paper" requires the addition of another noun to accept the modifier: "paper white sheet[s] two-flat-pieces."
Just as in English, different counters can be used to convey different types of quantity. In English, one can say one loaf of bread or one slice of bread. In Japanese, the equivalents would be パン一斤 pan ikkin ("bread one-loaf") and パン一枚 pan ichimai ("bread one-flat-piece").
Grammatically, counter words can appear either before or after the noun they count; they generally occur after the noun (following particles
Japanese particles
Japanese particles, or , are suffixes or short words in Japanese grammar that immediately follow the modified noun, verb, adjective, or sentence. Their grammatical range can indicate various meanings and functions, such as speaker affect and assertiveness....
), and if used before the noun, they emphasize the quantity; this is a common mistake in English learners of Japanese. For example, to say "[I] drank two bottles of beer", one can say either ビールを二本飲んだ, which is more normal, or 二本のビールを飲んだ, which conveys "[I] drank two bottles of beer", and would only be appropriate when emphasizing the number, as in response to a question ("How many beers did you drink?").
Substitution of counters
In Japanese, virtually all nouns must use a counter to express number. In this sense, virtually all Japanese nouns are mass nounMass noun
In linguistics, a mass noun is a noun that refers to some entity as an undifferentiated unit rather than as something with discrete subsets. Non-count nouns are best identified by their syntactic properties, and especially in contrast with count nouns. The semantics of mass nouns are highly...
s. This grammatical feature can result in situations where one is unable to express the number of a particular object in a syntactically correct way because one does not know, or cannot remember, the appropriate counting word. With quantities from one to ten, this problem can often be sidestepped by using the traditional numbers
Japanese numerals
The system of Japanese numerals is the system of number names used in the Japanese language. The Japanese numerals in writing are entirely based on the Chinese numerals and the grouping of large numbers follow the Chinese tradition of grouping by 10,000...
(see below), which can quantify many nouns without help. For example, "four apples" is ringo yonko (りんご四個) where ko (個) is the counter, but can also be expressed, using the traditional numeral four, as ringo yottsu (りんご四つ). These traditional numerals cannot be used to count all nouns, however; some, including nouns for people and animals, require a proper counter.
Some of the more common counters may substitute for less common ones. For example, 匹 hiki (see below) is often used for all animals, regardless of size. However, many speakers will prefer to use the traditionally correct counter, 頭 tō, when speaking of larger animals such as horses. This yields a range of possible counters, with differing degrees of usage and acceptability – for example, when ordering kushikatsu
Kushikatsu
is a Japanese-style of deep-fried kebab. In Japanese, refers to the skewers used while katsu means a deep-fried cutlet of meat.Kushikatsu can be made with chicken, pork, seafood, and seasonal vegetables. These are skewered on bamboo kushi; dipped in egg, flour, and panko; and deep-fried in...
(fried skewers), one may order them as 二串 futa-kushi (two skewers), 二本 ni-hon (two sticks), or 二つ futa-tsu (two items), in decreasing order of precision.
Counters may be intentionally misused for humorous, sarcastic, or insulting effects. For example, one might say 男一匹なのに (Otoko ippiki nano ni; "I am only one man..."). Using hiki (匹), the counter for small animals, humorously suggests that the person is overpowered by massive obstacles.
Table of the traditional numerals
| Numeral | Japanese | Pronunciation (romaji) | Pronunciation (hiragana Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora... ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一つ | hitotsu | ひとつ |
| 2 | 二つ | futatsu | ふたつ |
| 3 | 三つ | mittsu | みっつ |
| 4 | 四つ | yottsu | よっつ |
| 5 | 五つ | itsutsu | いつつ |
| 6 | 六つ | muttsu | むっつ |
| 7 | 七つ | nanatsu | ななつ |
| 8 | 八つ | yattsu | やっつ |
| 9 | 九つ | kokonotsu | ここのつ |
| 10 | 十 | tō | とお |
| 20 | 二十 | hatachi | はたち |
Common counters by category
This is a selective list of some of the more commonly used counting words. See below for the a more extensive list.| Pronunciation | Japanese | Use |
|---|---|---|
| People and Things | ||
| ぶ、bu | 部 | Copies of a magazine or newspaper, or other packets of papers |
| だい、dai | 台 | Cars, bicycles, machines, mechanical devices, household appliance Home appliance Home appliances are electrical/mechanical machines which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning. Home appliances can be classified into:*Major appliances, or White goods*Small appliances, or Brown goods... s |
| はい、hai, ぱい、pai, ばい、bai | 杯 | Cups and glasses of drink, spoonfuls, cuttlefish Cuttlefish Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs.... , octopus Octopus The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms... es, crab Crab True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax... s, squid Squid Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles... , abalone Abalone Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis... , boats (slang) |
| ひき、hiki, ぴき、piki, びき、biki | 匹 | Small animals, insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, oni (demons/ogres) |
| ほん、hon, ぽん、pon, ぼん、bon | 本 | Long, thin objects: rivers, roads, train tracks, ties, pencils, bottles, guitars; also, metaphorically, telephone calls, train or bus routes, movies (see also: tsūwa), points or bounds in sports events. Although 本 also means "book", the counter for books is satsu. |
| かい、kai, がい、gai | 階 | Number of floors, stories |
| こ、ko | 個, 箇, 个, or ヶ | General measure word, used when there is no specific counter. 個 is also used for military units. |
| まい、mai | 枚 | Thin, flat objects: sheets of paper, photographs, plates, articles of clothing (see also: chaku) |
| めい、mei | 名 | People People People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:* as the plural of person or a group of people People is a plurality of human beings or other beings possessing enough qualities constituting personhood. It has two usages:*... (polite) (名 means "name") |
| めん、men | 面 | Mirrors, boards for board games (chess, Igo, Shogi), stages of computer games, walls of a room, tennis courts |
| にん、nin | 人 | People (but see table of exceptions below) |
| り、ri | り or 人 | People, used in the words 一人 (ひとり) and 二人 (ふたり) |
| さい、sai | 歳 (or 才) | Years of age (才 is used informally as a shorthand Ryakuji Ryakuji are colloquial simplifications of Kanji.- Status :Ryakuji are not covered in the Kanji Kentei, nor are they officially recognized... ) |
| さつ、satsu | 冊 | Books |
| つ、tsu | つ | General-purpose counter, used as part of the indigenous Japanese numbers 一つ ("one thing"), 二つ ("two things"), 三つ ("three things"), etc. |
| わ、wa | 話 | Stories, episodes of TV series, etc. |
| Time, Calendar, etc. | ||
| びょう、byō | 秒 | Seconds |
| ふん、fun, ぷん、pun | 分 | Minutes |
| がつ、gatsu, also つき、tsuki | 月 | Months of the year. Month-long periods when read tsuki (see also: kagetsu) |
| はく、haku, ぱく、paku | 泊 | Nights of a stay |
| じ、ji | 時 | Hours of the day |
| じかん、jikan | 時間 | Hour-long periods |
| か、ka | 日 | Day of the month |
| かげつ、kagetsu | ヶ月, 箇月 | Month-long periods (see also: gatsu). 箇 is normally abbreviated using a small katakana Katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora... ヶ in modern Japanese. Alternatively 個, hiragana Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora... か, small katakana ヵ and full-size katakana カ & ケ can also be seen, although only か is similarly frequent. |
| ねん、nen | 年 | Years, school years (grades); not years of age |
| にち、nichi | 日 | Days of the month (but see table of exceptions below) |
| しゅう、shū | 週 | Weeks |
| Extent, Frequency, etc. | ||
| ばい、bai | 倍 | Multiples, -fold as in "twofold" |
| ばん、ban | 番 | Position, turn, sports matches |
| ど、do, also たび、tabi | 度 | Occurrences, number of times, degrees of temperature or angle (see also: kai). |
| じょう、jō | 畳 | Tatami Tatami A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Traditionally made of rice straw to form the core , with a covering of woven soft rush straw, tatami are made in standard sizes, with the length exactly twice the width... mats. The kanji 畳 is also read tatami and is the same one used for the mats. The room size of a washitsu Washitsu , meaning "Japanese-style room", is a Japanese term used as an antonym for the term yōshitsu , meaning "Western-style room." Another term for washitsu is nihonma , and the comparative other term for yōshitsu is yōma .... in Japan is given as a number of mats, for example 4½ jō |
| かい、kai | 回 | Occurrences, number of times (see also: do) |
Extended list of counters
This list also includes some counters and usages that are rarely used or not widely known; other words can also be used as counters more sporadically.| Pronunciation | Japanese | Use |
|---|---|---|
| ば、ba | 場 | Scene of a play |
| ばい、bai | 倍 | Multiples, -fold as in "twofold" |
| ばん、ban | 晩 | Nights (see also: ya) |
| ばん、ban | 番 | Position, turn, sports matches |
| び、bi | 尾 | Small fish and shrimp Shrimp Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important... s (used in the fish trade; most people say hiki instead) |
| ぶ、bu | 部 | Copies of a magazine or newspaper, or other packets of papers |
| ぶん、bun | 文 | Sentences |
| びょう、byō | 秒 | Seconds |
| びょうし、byōshi | 拍子 | Musical beat Beat (music) The beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove... s |
| ちゃく、chaku | 着 | Suits of clothing (see also: mai) |
| ちょう、chō | 挺 | Guns, sticks of ink Shodo "Shōdō" is the fortieth single by B'z, released on January 25, 2006. This song is one of B'z many number-one singles in Oricon charts. This song was the opening theme of Case Closed.- External links :*... , palanquins, rickshaws, violin Violin The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello.... s |
| ちょう、chō | 丁 | Tools, scissors, saws, trousers, pistol Pistol When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol... s, cakes of tofu Tofu is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu... , town block City block A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric... s |
| ちょう、chō | 町 | Town blocks |
| だい、dai | 代 | Generations, historical periods, reigns |
| だい、dai | 台 | Cars, bicycles, machines, mechanical devices, household appliance Home appliance Home appliances are electrical/mechanical machines which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning. Home appliances can be classified into:*Major appliances, or White goods*Small appliances, or Brown goods... s |
| だん、dan | 段 | levels, ranks, steps (of stairs). |
| だんらく、danraku | 段落 | Paragraphs |
| ど、do, also たび、tabi | 度 | Occurrences, number of times, degrees of temperature or angle (see also: kai). |
| ふで、fude | 筆 | Sequences of letters or drawings that you write or draw without removing your pen off the paper. Not to be confused with "hitsu"(筆) below. |
| ふく、fuku, ぷく、puku | 服 | Bowls of matcha Matcha refers to finely-milled green tea, most popular in Japan. The cultural activity called the Japanese tea ceremony centers on the preparation, serving, and drinking of matcha. In modern times, matcha has also come to be used to flavour and dye foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream... (powdered green tea); packets or doses of powdered medicine; puffs (of, e.g., a cigarette); rests or breaks |
| ふく、fuku, ぷく、puku | 幅 | Hanging scroll Scroll A scroll is a roll of parchment, papyrus, or paper, which has been drawn or written upon.Scroll may also refer to:*Scroll , the decoratively curved end of the pegbox of string instruments such as violins... s (kakejiku Kakemono A , more commonly referred to as a , is a Japanese scroll painting or calligraphy mounted usually with silk fabric edges on a flexible backing, so that it can be rolled for storage.... ) |
| ふん、fun, ぷん、pun | 分 | Minutes |
| ふり、furi | 振 | Swords |
| がっきゅう、gakkyū | 学級 | Class Class (education) A class in education has a variety of related meanings.It can be the group of students which attends a specific course or lesson at a university, school or other educational institution, see Form .... es (in pre-university education) |
| がつ、gatsu, also つき、tsuki | 月 | Months of the year. Month-long periods when read tsuki (see also: kagetsu) |
| ご、go | 語 | Words |
| ごん、gon, also こと、koto | 言 | Words |
| ぐ、gu | 具 | Suits of armour Armour Armour or armor is protective covering used to prevent damage from being inflicted to an object, individual or a vehicle through use of direct contact weapons or projectiles, usually during combat, or from damage caused by a potentially dangerous environment or action... , sets of furniture |
| ぎょう、gyō | 行 | Lines of text |
| はく、haku | 泊 | Nights of a stay |
| はい、hai, ぱい、pai, ばい、bai | 杯 | Cups and glasses of drink, spoonfuls, cuttlefish Cuttlefish Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs.... , octopus Octopus The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms... es, crab Crab True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax... s, squid Squid Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles... , abalone Abalone Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis... , boats (slang) |
| はい、hai | 敗 | Losses (sports bouts) |
| はこ、hako | 箱 | Boxes |
| はり、hari | 張 | Umbrellas, parasols, tents |
| はしら、hashira | 柱 | Gods, memorial tablets |
| はつ、hatsu, ぱつ、patsu | 発 | Gunshots, bullets, aerial fireworks; orgasms, sex acts |
| ひき、hiki, ぴき、piki | 匹 | Small animals, insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, oni (ogres) |
| ひん、hin, ぴん、pin | 品 | Parts of a meal, courses (see also: shina) |
| ひつ、hitsu, ぴつ、pitsu | 筆 | Pieces of land |
| ほ、ho, ぽ、po | 歩 | Number of (foot)steps |
| ほん、hon, ぽん、pon, ぼん、bon | 本 | Long, thin objects: rivers, roads, train Train A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate... tracks, tie Necktie A necktie is a long piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck or shoulders, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat. Variants include the ascot tie, bow tie, bolo tie, and the clip-on tie. The modern necktie, ascot, and bow tie are descended from the cravat. Neck... s, pencil Pencil A pencil is a writing implement or art medium usually constructed of a narrow, solid pigment core inside a protective casing. The case prevents the core from breaking, and also from marking the user’s hand during use.... s, bottle Bottle A bottle is a rigid container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth". By contrast, a jar has a relatively large mouth or opening. Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft... s, guitar Guitar The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... s; also, metaphorically, telephone calls (see also: tsūwa), train or bus Bus A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are... routes, movies, home runs, points or bounds in sports events. Although 本 also means "book", the counter for books is satsu. |
| ひょう、hyō, ぴょう、pyō | 票 | Votes |
| じ、ji | 字 | Letters, kanji Kanji Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet... , kana Kana Kana are the syllabic Japanese scripts, as opposed to the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji and the Roman alphabet known as rōmaji... |
| じ、ji | 児 | Children. As in 'father of two (children)', etc. |
| じ、ji | 時 | Hours of the day |
| じかん、jikan | 時間 | Hour-long periods |
| じょう、jō | 畳 | Tatami Tatami A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Traditionally made of rice straw to form the core , with a covering of woven soft rush straw, tatami are made in standard sizes, with the length exactly twice the width... mats. The kanji 畳 is also read tatami and is the same one used for the mats. The room size of a washitsu Washitsu , meaning "Japanese-style room", is a Japanese term used as an antonym for the term yōshitsu , meaning "Western-style room." Another term for washitsu is nihonma , and the comparative other term for yōshitsu is yōma .... in Japan is given as a number of mats, for example 4½ yo jō han |
| じょう、jō | 錠 | Pills/capsules |
| じょう、jō | 条 | Articles of law, thin objects, rays or streams of light, streaks of smoke or lightning |
| か、ka | 日 | Day of the month |
| か、ka | 架 | Frames |
| かぶ、ka | 課 | Lessons |
| かぶ、kabu | 株 | Stock Stock The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors... s; nursery trees |
| かげつ、kagetsu | ヶ月, 箇月 | Month-long periods (see also: gatsu). 箇 is normally abbreviated using a small katakana Katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji, and in some cases the Latin alphabet . The word katakana means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana scripts are derived from components of more complex kanji. Each kana represents one mora... ヶ in modern Japanese. Alternatively 個, hiragana Hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora... か, small katakana ヵ and full-size katakana カ & ケ can also be seen, although only か is similarly frequent. |
| かい、kai | 回 | Occurrences, number of times (see also: do) |
| かい、kai, gai | 階 | Number of floors, stories |
| かこく、kakoku | ヶ国, 箇国 | Countries |
| かこくご、kakokugo | ヶ国語, 箇国語 | (National) languages |
| かく、kaku | 画 | Strokes Stroke order Stroke order refers to the order in which the strokes of a Chinese character are written. A stroke is a movement of a writing instrument on a writing surface. Chinese characters are used in various forms in Chinese, Japanese, and in Korean... in kanji Kanji Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet... |
| かん、kan | 貫 | Pieces of nigiri-zushi Sushi is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari... |
| かん、kan | 艦 | Warships |
| けいとう、keitou | 系統 | Bus routes |
| けん、ken | 件 | Abstract matters and cases |
| けん、ken, げん、gen | 軒 | Houses |
| き、ki | 機 | Aircraft, machines |
| き、ki | 基 | Grave Grave (burial) A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries.... s, wreath Wreath A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs and/or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring. They are used typically as Christmas decorations to symbolize the coming of Christ, also known as the Advent season in Christianity. They are also used as festive headdresses... s, CPUs, reactor Reactor Reactor can mean:* Bioreactor, any device or system that supports a biologically active environment.* Chemical reactor, a device for containing and controlling a chemical reaction* Nuclear reactor, a device for containing and controlling a nuclear reaction... s, elevator Elevator An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures... s, dam Dam A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are... s |
| きれ、kire | 切れ | Slices (of bread, cake, sashimi Sashimi Sashimi is a Japanese delicacy. It consists of very fresh raw meat, most commonly fish, sliced into thin pieces.-Origin:The word sashimi means "pierced body", i.e... etc.) |
| こ、ko | 個, 箇, 个, or ヶ | General measure word, used when there is no specific counter. 個 is also used for military Military A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g... units. |
| こ、ko | 戸 | Houses (戸 means "door") |
| こう、kō | 校 | Schools |
| こう、kō | 稿 | Drafts of a manuscript |
| こう、kō | 行 | Banks |
| こま、koma | 齣, コマ | Frames, panels. 齣 is virtually unused nowadays. |
| こん、kon | 献 | shots (of drink) |
| く、ku | 区 | Sections, city district Wards of Japan A is a subdivision of one of the cities of Japan that is large enough to have been designated by government ordinance. Wards are used to subdivide each city designated by government ordinance... s |
| く、ku | 句 | Haiku Haiku ' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"... , senryū Senryu is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer total morae . Senryū tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryū are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious... |
| くち、kuchi | 口 | (Bank) accounts, donations (口 means "opening" or "entrance") |
| くみ、kumi | 組 | Groups, a pair of people (twins, a husband and a wife, dancers, etc.) |
| くらす、kurasu | クラス | School classes |
| きゃく、kyaku | 脚 | Desks, chairs, long-stemmed glasses |
| きゃく、kyaku | 客 | Pairs of cup and saucer |
| きょく、kyoku | 曲 | Pieces of music |
| きょく、kyoku | 局 | Board game Board game A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve... matches (chess Chess Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player... , Igo Go (board game) Go , is an ancient board game for two players that originated in China more than 2,000 years ago... , Shogi Shogi , also known as Japanese chess, is a two-player board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, and Chinese Xiangqi, and is the most popular of a family of chess variants native to Japan... , Mahjong Mahjong Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players... ); radio stations, television stations |
| まい、mai | 枚 | Thin, flat objects, sheets of paper, photographs, plates, articles of clothing (see also: chaku) |
| まき、maki or かん、kan | 巻 | Rolls, scrolls, kan for volumes of book |
| まく、maku | 幕 | Theatrical acts |
| めい、mei | 名 | People (polite) (名 means "name") |
| めん、men | 面 | Mirrors, boards for board games (chess, Igo, Shogi), stages of computer games, walls of a room, tennis courts, |
| もん、mon | 門 | Cannon Cannon A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,... s |
| もん、mon | 問 | Questions |
| ねん、nen | 年 | Years, school years (grades); not years of age |
| にち、nichi | 日 | Days of the month (but see table of exceptions below) |
| にん、nin | 人 | People (but see table of exceptions below) |
| にんまえ、ninmae | 人前 | Food portions (without exceptions, unlike nin above) |
| おり、ori | 折 | Boxes made of folded paper (compare to hako above, which refers to boxes in general) |
| ぺーじ、pēji | ページ, 頁 | Pages |
| れい、rei | 例 | Cases, Examples |
| れい、rei | 礼 | Bow Bowing (social) Bowing is the act of lowering the torso and head as a social gesture in direction to another person or symbol. It is most prominent in Asian cultures but it is also typical of nobility and aristocracy in many countries and distinctively in Europe. Sometimes the gesture may be limited to lowering... s during worship at a shrine |
| り、ri | り or 人 | People, used in the words 一人 (ひとり) and 二人 (ふたり). |
| りん、rin | 輪 | Wheels, Flowers |
| りょう、ryō | 両 | Railway cars |
| さい、sai | 才 or 歳 | Years of age |
| さお、sao | 棹 | Chests of drawers, flags |
| さつ、satsu | 冊 | Books |
| せき、seki | 席 | Seats, Rakugo Rakugo is a Japanese verbal entertainment. The lone sits on the stage, called the . Using only a paper fan and a small cloth as props, and without standing up from the seiza sitting position, the rakugo artist depicts a long and complicated comical story... shows, (drinking) parties |
| せき、seki | 隻 | Ships |
| しな、shina | 品 | Parts of a meal, courses (see also: hin) |
| しゃ、sha | 社 | used for businesses, i.e. 会社 |
| しき、shiki | 式 | Sets of things, such as documents or furniture |
| しょう、shō | 勝 | Wins (sports bouts) |
| しゅ、shu | 首 | Tanka Waka (poetry) Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature... |
| しゅう、shū | 週 | Weeks |
| しゅるい、shurui or しゅ、shu | 種類 or 種 | Kinds, species |
| そく、soku | 足 | Pairs of footwear, pairs of socks, stockings, tabi Tabi are traditional Japanese socks. Ankle-high and with a separation between the big toe and other toes, they are worn by both men and women with zori, geta, and other traditional thonged footwear. Tabi are also essential with traditional clothing—kimono and other wafuku as well as being worn by... |
| たば、taba | 束 | bundles (of banknotes), bunches (of flowers, vegetables), sheaves |
| たい、tai | 体 | Images, statues, person's remains, dolls |
| たわら、tawara | 俵 | Bags of rice |
| てき、teki | 滴 | Drops of liquid |
| てん、ten | 点 | Points, dots, pieces of a set |
| とう、tō | 頭 | Large animals, cattle, elephants (頭 means "head") |
| とき、toki | 時 | Time periods, a sixth of either day or night (in the traditional, obsolete way of telling time). See also: jikan |
| とり、tōri | 通り | Combinations, puzzle solutions |
| つ、tsu | つ | Used as part of the indigenous Japanese numbers 一つ, 二つ, 三つ etc. |
| つう、tsū | 通 | Letters |
| つぼ、tsubo | 坪 | Commonly used unit of area Tsubo Japanese words have the following meanings:*pressure point in the context of traditional medicine*a Japanese unit of measure*Cooking pot or a similar vessel... equal to 3.3 square metres. |
| つうわ、tsūwa | 通話 | Telephone calls (see also: hon) |
| わ、wa, ば、ba, ぱ、pa | 羽 | Birds, rabbits* (see note); 羽 means "feather" or "wing." |
| わ、wa | 把 | Bundles |
| わ、wa | 話 | Stories, episodes of TV series, etc. |
| や、ya | 夜 | Nights (see also: ban') |
| ぜん、zen | 膳 | Pairs of chopsticks Chopsticks Chopsticks are small, often tapered, sticks used in pairs of equal length as the traditional eating utensils of China and its diaspora, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Northern provinces of Laos, Thailand and Burma. Generally believed to have originated in ancient China, they can also be found in some... ; bowls of rice |
Euphonic changes
Systematic changes occur when particular numbers precede counters that begin with certain phonemes. For example, ichi 一 + k- = ikk-, roku 六 + h- = ropp-. The details are listed in the table below.These changes are followed fairly consistently but exceptions and variations between speakers do exist. Where variations are common, more than one alternative is listed.
Jū is replaced by either ju- or ji- (じゅっ/じっ) followed by a doubled consonant before the voiceless consonants as shown in the table. Ji- is the older form, but it has been replaced by ju- in the speech of recent generations.
| Numeral | k- (か きゃ etc.) | s/sh- (さ しゃ etc.) | t/ch- (た ちゃ etc.) | h- (は ひ へ ほ ひゃ ひゅ ひょ) | f- (ふ) | p- (ぱ etc.) | w- (わ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ichi | ikk- いっか | iss- いっさ | itt- いった | ipp- いっぱ | ipp- いっぷ | ipp- いっぱ | |
| 3 san | sanb- さんば | sanp- さんぷ | sanb- さんば | ||||
| 4 yon | yonh- よんは yonp- よんば |
yonf- よんふ yonp- よんぷ |
yow- よわ yonw- よんわ yonb- よんば |
||||
| 6 roku | rokk- ろっか | ropp- ろっぱ | ropp- ろっぷ | ropp- ろっぱ | rokuw- ろくわ ropp- ろっぱ |
||
| 8 hachi | hakk- はっか | hass- はっさ | hatt- はった | happ- はっぱ | happ- はっぷ | happ- はっぱ | happ- はっぱ hachiw- はちわ |
| 10 jū | jikk- じっか jukk- じゅっか |
jiss- じっさ juss- じゅっさ |
jitt- じった jutt- じゅった |
jipp- じっぱ jupp- じゅっぱ |
jipp- じっぷ jupp- じゅっぷ |
jipp- じっぱ jupp- じゅっぱ |
jipp- じっぱ |
| 100 hyaku | hyakk- ひゃっか | hyapp- ひゃっぱ | hyapp- ひゃっぷ | hyapp- ひゃっぱ | |||
| 1000 sen | senb- せんば | senp- せんぷ | |||||
| 10000 man | manb- まんば | manp- まんぷ | |||||
| 何 nan | nanb- なんば | nanp- なんぷ |
Exceptions
The traditional numbers are used by and for young children to give their ages, instead of using the age counter sai 歳 (or 才).Some counters, notably nichi 日 and nin 人, use the traditional numerals for some numbers as shown in the table below. Other uses of traditional numbers are usually restricted to certain phrases, such as hitotsuki 一月 and futatsuki 二月 (one and two months respectively), hitokoto 一言 (a single word) and hitotabi 一度 (once).
Sometimes common numbers that have a derived meaning are written using different kanji. For example, hitori (alone) is written 独り, and futatabi (once more, another time) is normally written 再び instead of 二度. The counter for months kagetsu (derived from kanji 箇月) is commonly written ヶ月.
Nana and shichi are alternatives for 7, yon and shi are alternatives for 4, and kyū and ku are alternatives for 9. Having said that, nana, yon and kyū are more commonly used. Some counters, however, notably nin 人 (people), gatsu 月 (month of the year), ka/nichi 日 (day of the month, days), ji 時 (time of day) and jikan 時間 (hours) take certain alternatives only. These are shown in the table below.
While kai 回 (occurrences) and sen 銭 (0.01 yen, now rarely used) follow the euphonic changes listed above, homophones kai 階 (storeys/floors) and sen 千 (1000) are slightly different as shown below, although these differences are not followed by all speakers. Thus 三階 ("third floor") can be read either sankai or sangai, while 三回 ("three times") can only be read sankai.
| Numeral | nichi 日 | nin 人 | gatsu 月 | ji 時 | jikan 時間 | kai 階 | hyaku 百 | sen 千 | sai 歳 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tsuitachi* | hitori | ichigatsu | ||||||
| 2 | futsuka | futari | nigatsu | ||||||
| 3 | mikka | sannin | sangatsu | sangai | sanbyaku | sanzen | |||
| 4 | yokka | yonin*** | shigatsu | yoji | yojikan | ||||
| 5 | itsuka | ||||||||
| 6 | muika | roppyaku | |||||||
| 7 | nanoka | shichinin | shichigatsu | shichiji | shichijikan | ||||
| 8 | yōka | happyaku | hassen | ||||||
| 9 | kokonoka | kugatsu | kuji | kujikan | |||||
| 10 | tōka | ||||||||
| 14 | jūyokka | jūyonin | jūyojikan | ||||||
| 20 | hatsuka | hatachi | |||||||
| 24 | nijūyokka | nijūyonin | nijūyojikan | ||||||
| nan 何 | ** | nangai | nanzen |
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
and Eastern Hokkaido
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
) older speakers might use yottari.
Ordinal numbers
In general, the counter words mentioned above are cardinal numbers, in that they indicate quantity. To transform a counter word into an ordinal numberOrdinal number
In set theory, an ordinal number, or just ordinal, is the order type of a well-ordered set. They are usually identified with hereditarily transitive sets. Ordinals are an extension of the natural numbers different from integers and from cardinals...
that denotes position in a sequence, me (目) is added to the end of the counter. Thus "one time" would be translated as ikkai (一回), whereas "the first time" would be translated as ikkaime (一回目).
This rule is inconsistent, however, as counters without the me suffix are often used interchangeably with cardinal and ordinal meanings. For example, sankai (三階) can mean both "three floors" and "third floor."