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Japanesecounterword
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

InJapanese,counterwordsorcounters(josshi)areusedalongwithnumberstocountthings,
actions,andevents.
InJapanese,asinChineseandKorean,numeralscannotquantifynounsbythemselves(except,incertain
cases,forthenumbersfromonetotenseebelow).Forexample,toexpresstheidea"twodogs"in
Japaneseonecouldsaynihikinoinu(literally"twosmallanimalcountPOSSESSIVEdog"),or
inunihiki(literally"dogtwosmallanimalcount"),butjustpastingandtogetherineither
orderiswrong.Hereniisthenumber"two",hikiisthecounterforsmallanimals,noisthe
possessiveparticle(areversed"of",similartothe"'s"in"John'sdog"),andinuistheword"dog".
Thesecountersarenotindependentwordstheymustappearwithanumericprefix.Thenumbercanbe
imprecise:nanor,lesscommonly,ikucanbeusedtomean"some/several/many",and,in
questions,"what/howmany/howmuch".Forexample,"someguests"canbetranslatedasnan
meisama(lit."somepeoplecounthonoredones"),and"howmanyguests?"as?nanmeisama
ka(lit."somepeoplecounthonoredonesQUESTION").Somenounspreferiku,asin?ikuban
ka"howmanynights?"andikunichimoitteita"Iwasgoneformanydays."
Countersaresimilarinfunctiontotheword"pieces"in"twopiecesofpaper"and"cup"in"twocupsof
coffee".However,theycannottakenonnumericalmodifiers.Sowhile"twopiecesofpaper"translates
fairlydirectlyaskaminimai(lit."papertwoflatcount"),phraseslike"twogreenpiecesof
paper"havetobereworkedonewayoranother:thenaiveattemptnimidorimaiisnotlegal
Japanesefor"twogreenpieces".OtherinterpretationsoftheEnglishphrasearepossible(suchas"the
greenesttwopiecesofpaper"),butsupposingonly"twopiecesofgreenpaper"ismeant,then
midorinokaminimaiiscorrect.
JustasinEnglish,differentcounterscanbeusedtoconveydifferenttypesofquantity.InEnglish,one
cansay"oneloafofbread"or"onesliceofbread".InJapanese,theequivalentswouldbepan
ikkin(lit."breadoneloaf")andpanichimai(lit."breadoneflatcount").
Grammatically,counterwordscanappeareitherbeforeorafterthenountheycount.Theygenerally
occurafterthenoun(followingparticles),andifusedbeforethenoun,theyemphasizethequantitythis
isacommonmistakeinEnglishlearnersofJapanese.Forexample,tosay"[I]dranktwobottlesofbeer",
theorderisbruonihonnonda(lit."beerOBJECTtwolongthincountdrank").In
contrast,nihonnobruononda(lit."twolongthincountPOSSESSIVEbeer
OBJECTdrank")wouldonlybeappropriatewhenemphasizingthenumberasinrespondingwith"[I]
dranktwobottlesofbeer"to"Howmanybeersdidyoudrink?".

Contents
1Substitutionofcounters
2Tableofthetraditionalnumerals
3Commoncountersbycategory
4Extendedlistofcounters
5Euphonicchanges
6Exceptions
7Ordinalnumbers
8Periodsoftime

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8Periodsoftime
9Seealso
10References
11Externallinks

Substitutionofcounters
InJapanese,virtuallyallnounsmustuseacountertoexpressnumber.Inthissense,virtuallyall
Japanesenounsaremassnouns.Thisgrammaticalfeaturecanresultinsituationswhereoneisunableto
expressthenumberofaparticularobjectinasyntacticallycorrectwaybecauseonedoesnotknow,or
cannotremember,theappropriatecountingword.Withquantitiesfromonetoten,thisproblemcanoften
besidesteppedbyusingthetraditionalnumbers(seebelow),whichcanquantifymanynounswithout
help.Forexample,"fourapples"isringoyonkowherekoisthecounter,butcanalsobe
expressed,usingthetraditionalnumeralfour,asringoyottsu.Thesetraditionalnumerals
cannotbeusedtocountallnouns,howeversome,includingnounsforpeopleandanimals,requirea
propercounter.
Someofthemorecommoncountersmaysubstituteforlesscommonones.Forexample,hiki(see
below)isoftenusedforallanimals,regardlessofsize.However,manyspeakerswillprefertousethe
traditionallycorrectcounter,t,whenspeakingoflargeranimalssuchashorses.Thisyieldsarange
ofpossiblecounters,withdifferingdegreesofusageandacceptabilityforexample,whenordering
kushikatsu(friedskewers),onemayorderthemasfutakushi(twoskewers),nihon(two
sticks),orfutatsu(twoitems),indecreasingorderofprecision.
Countersmaybeintentionallymisusedforhumorous,sarcastic,orinsultingeffects.Forexample,one
mightsayOtokoippikinanoni("Iamonlyoneman...").Usinghiki,thecounterfor
smallanimals,humorouslysuggeststhatthepersonisoverpoweredbymassiveobstacles.

Tableofthetraditionalnumerals
Numeral Japanese Pronunciation(romaji) Writing(hiragana)
1

hitotsu

futatsu

mittsu

yottsu

itsutsu

muttsu

nanatsu

yattsu

kokonotsu

10

20

hatachi

Commoncountersbycategory
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Thisisaselectivelistofsomeofthemorecommonlyusedcountingwords.
Pronunciation Japanese

Use
PeopleandThings

bu

Copiesofamagazineornewspaper,orotherpacketsofpapers

dai

Cars,bicycles,machines,mechanicaldevices,householdappliances

hai,

pai,bai

Cupsandglassesofdrink,spoonsfulcuttlefish,octopuses,crabs,squid,
abalone,boats(slang)

hiki,

piki,biki

Smallanimals,insects,fish,reptiles,amphibians,oni(demons/ogres)

hon,
pon,
bon

Long,thinobjects:rivers,roads,traintracks,ties,pencils,bottles,guitars
also,metaphorically,telephonecalls,trainorbusroutes,movies(seealso:
tswa),pointsorboundsinsportsevents.Althoughalsomeans"book",
thecounterforbooksissatsu.

kai,

gai

Numberoffloors,stories

ko

,,
,or

Generalmeasurementword,usedwhenthereisnospecificcounter.
Impliesthattheitemissmalland/orround.[1]isalsousedformilitary
units.

mai

Thin,flatobjects:sheetsofpaper,photographs,plates,articlesofclothing
(seealso:chaku)

mei

People(polite)(means"name")

men

Mirrors,boardsforboardgames(chess,igo,shogi),stagesofcomputer
games,wallsofaroom,tenniscourts

nin

People(butseetableofexceptionsbelow)

ri

or

People,usedinthewords()and()

satsu

Books

tsu

Generalpurposecounter,usedaspartoftheindigenousJapanesenumbers
("onething"),("twothings"),("threethings"),etc.

wa

Stories,episodesofTVseries,etc.
Time,Calendar,etc.

Seconds

fun,

pun

Minutes

gatsu,

alsotsuki

Monthsoftheyear.Monthlongperiodswhenreadtsuki(seealso:kagetsu)

haku,

paku

Nightsofastay

ji

Hoursoftheday

jikan

Hourlongperiods

ka

Dayofthemonth

Monthlongperiods(seealso:gatsu).isnormallyabbreviatedusinga
smallkatakanainmodernJapanese.Alternatively,hiragana,small

by

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kagetsu

katakanaandfullsizekatakana&canalsobeseen,althoughonly
issimilarlyfrequent.

nen

Years,schoolyears(grades)notyearsofage

nichi

Daysofthemonth(butseetableofexceptionsbelow)

sai

(or
)

Yearsofage(isusedinformallyasashorthand)

sh

Weeks
Extent,Frequency,etc.

bai

Multiples,foldasin"twofold"

ban

Position,turn,sportsmatches

do,also
tabi

Occurrences,numberoftimes,degreesoftemperatureorangle(seealso:
kai).

Tatamimats.Thekanjiisalsoreadtatamiandisthesameoneusedfor
themats.TheroomsizeofawashitsuinJapanisgivenasanumberofmats,
forexample4j

kai

Occurrences,numberoftimes(seealso:do)

Extendedlistofcounters
Thislistalsoincludessomecountersandusagesthatarerarelyusedornotwidelyknownotherwords
canalsobeusedascountersmoresporadically.
Pronunciation Japanese

Use

ba

Sceneofaplay

bai

Multiples,foldasin"twofold"

ban

Nights(seealso:ya)

ban

Position,platformforatrainline,turn,sportsmatches

bi

Smallfishandshrimps(usedinthefishtrademostpeoplesayhikiinstead)

bu

Copiesofamagazineornewspaper,orotherpacketsofpapers

bun

Sentences

by

Seconds

byshi

Musicalbeats

chaku

Suitsofclothing(seealso:mai)

ch

Guns,sticksofink,palanquins,rickshaws,violins

ch

Tools,scissors,saws,trousers,pistols,cakesoftofu,townblocks,servings
atarestaurant

ch

Townblocks

dai

Generations,historicalperiods,reigns

dai

Cars,bicycles,machines,mechanicaldevices,householdappliances

dan

levels,ranks,steps(ofstairs).

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Paragraphs

do,also
tabi

Occurrences,numberoftimes,degreesoftemperatureorangle(seealso:
kai).

fude

Sequencesoflettersordrawingsthatyouwriteordrawwithoutremoving
yourpenoffthepaper.Nottobeconfusedwith"hitsu"()below.

danraku

fuku,

puku

Bowlsofmatcha(powderedgreentea)packetsordosesofpowdered
medicinepuffs(of,e.g.,acigarette)restsorbreaks

fuku,

puku

Hangingscrolls(kakejiku)

fun,

pun

Minutes

furi

Swords

gakky

Classes(inpreuniversityeducation)

gatsu,

alsotsuki

Monthsoftheyear.Monthlongperiodswhenreadtsuki(seealso:kagetsu)

go

Words

gon,also

koto

Words

gu

Suitsofarmour,setsoffurniture

gy

Linesoftext

haku

Nightsofastay

hai,

pai,bai

Cupsandglassesofdrink,spoonfuls,cuttlefish,octopuses,crabs,squid,
abalone,boats(slang)

hai

Losses(sportsbouts)

hako

Boxes

hari

Umbrellas,parasols,tents

hashira

gods,memorialtablets

hatsu,

patsu

Gunshots,bullets,aerialfireworksorgasms,sexacts

hiki,

piki

Smallanimals,insects,fish,reptiles,amphibians,oni(ogres)

hin,

pin

Partsofameal,courses(seealso:shina)

hitsu,

pitsu

Piecesofland

ho,po

Numberof(foot)steps

Long,thinobjects:rivers,roads,traintracks,ties,pencils,bottles,guitars
also,metaphorically,telephonecalls(seealso:tswa),trainorbusroutes,
movies,homeruns,pointsorboundsinsportsevents.Althoughalso
means"book",thecounterforbooksissatsu.

Votes

hon,
pon,
bon
hy,

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py
ji

Letters,kanji,kana

ji

Children.Asin"fatheroftwo(children)",etc.

ji

Hoursoftheday

jikan

Hourlongperiods

Tatamimats.Thekanjiisalsoreadtatamiandisthesameoneusedfor
themats.TheroomsizeofawashitsuinJapanisgivenasanumberofmats,
forexample4yojhan

Pills/capsules

Articlesoflaw,thinobjects,raysorstreamsoflight,streaksofsmokeor
lightning

ka

Dayofthemonth

ka

Frames

ka

Lessons

kabu

Stocksnurserytrees

kagetsu

Monthlongperiods(seealso:gatsu).isnormallyabbreviatedusinga
smallkatakanainmodernJapanese.Alternatively,hiragana,small
katakanaandfullsizekatakana&canalsobeseen,althoughonly
issimilarlyfrequent.

kai

Occurrences,numberoftimes(seealso:do)

kai,

gai

Numberoffloors,storeys

kakoku

Countries

kakokugo

(National)languages

kaku

Strokesinkanji

kan

Piecesofnigirizushi

kan

Warships

keitou

Busroutes

ken

Abstractmattersandcases

ken,

gen

Houses

ki

Aircraft,machines

ki

Graves,wreaths,CPUs,reactors,elevators,dams

kin

Loavesofbread

kire

Slices(ofbread,cake,sashimietc.)

ko

,,
,or

Generalmeasureword,usedwhenthereisnospecificcounter.isalso
usedformilitaryunits.

ko

Houses(means"door")

Schools

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Draftsofamanuscript

Banks

koma

Frames,panels.isvirtuallyunusednowadays.

kon

shots(ofdrink)

ku

Sections,citydistricts

ku

Haiku,senry

kuchi

(Bank)accounts,donations(means"opening"or"entrance")

kumi

Groups,apairofpeople(twins,ahusbandandawife,dancers,etc.)

kurasu

Schoolclasses

kyaku

Desks,chairs,longstemmedglasses

kyaku

Pairsofcupandsaucer

kyoku

Piecesofmusic

kyoku

Boardgamematches(chess,igo,shogi,mahjong)radiostations,television
stations

mai

Thin,flatobjects,sheetsofpaper,photographs,plates,articlesofclothing
(seealso:chaku)

makior
kan

Rolls,scrolls,kanforvolumesofbook

maku

Theatricalacts

mei

People(polite)(means"name")

men

Mirrors,boardsforboardgames(chess,igo,shogi),stagesofcomputer
games,wallsofaroom,tenniscourts

mon

Cannons

mon

Questions

nen

Years,schoolyears(grades)notyearsofage

nichi

Daysofthemonth(butseetableofexceptionsbelow)

nin

People(butseetableofexceptionsbelow)

ninmae

Foodportions(withoutexceptions,unlikeninabove)

ori

Boxesmadeoffoldedpaper(comparetohakoabove,whichreferstoboxes
ingeneral)

pji

Pages

rei

Cases,Examples

rei

Bowsduringworshipatashrine

ri

or

People,usedinthewords()and().

rin

Wheels,Flowers

ry

Railwaycars

sai

or

Yearsofage

sao

Chestsofdrawers,flags

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satsu

Books

seki

Seats,Rakugoshows,(drinking)parties

seki

Ships,halfofapair(e.g.,halfofafoldingscreen),itemcarriedinabundle
(fish,birds,arrowsetc.)

shina

Partsofameal,courses(seealso:hin)

sha

usedforbusinesses,i.e.

shiki

Setsofthings,suchasdocumentsorfurniture

sh

Wins(sportsbouts)

shu

Tanka

sh

Weeks

shuruior
shu

or

Kinds,species

soku

Pairsoffootwear,pairsofsocks,stockings,tabi

taba

bundles(ofbanknotes),bunches(offlowers,vegetables),sheaves

tai

Images,statues,person'sremains,dolls

tawara

Bagsofrice

teki

Dropsofliquid

ten

Points,dots,piecesofaset

Largeanimals,cattle,elephants,whales,dolphins,butterflies(means
"head")

toki

Timeperiods,asixthofeitherdayornight(inthetraditional,obsoleteway
oftellingtime).Seealso:jikan

tri

Combinations,puzzlesolutions

tsu

UsedaspartoftheindigenousJapanesenumbers,,etc.

ts

Letters

tsubo

Commonlyusedunitofareaequalto3.3squaremetres.

tsubu

Almonds,grain

tswa

Telephonecalls(seealso:hon)

wa,ba,
pa

Birds,rabbitsmeans"feather"or"wing."

wa

Bundles

wa

Stories,episodesofTVseries,etc.

ya

Nights(seealso:ban)

zen

Pairsofchopsticksbowlsofrice

Euphonicchanges

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Systematicchangesoccurwhenparticularnumbersprecedecountersthatbeginwithcertainphonemes.
Forexample,ichi+kaiikkai,roku+hikiroppiki.Thedetailsarelistedin
thetablebelow.
Thesechangesarefollowedfairlyconsistentlybutexceptionsandvariationsbetweenspeakersdoexist.
Wherevariationsarecommon,morethanonealternativeislisted.
Jisreplacedbyeitherjuorji(/)followedbyadoubledconsonantbeforethevoiceless
consonantsasshowninthetable.Jiistheolderform,butithasbeenreplacedbyjuinthespeechof
recentgenerations.
Numeral

k( s/sh(
etc.) etc.)

t/ch( h(
etc.)
)

1ichi

ikk
iss itt ipp

3san

4yon

f()

p(
etc.)

w()

ipp ipp

sanb

sanp

sanb

yonh

yonf

yow

yonp

yonw
yonb

yonp

6roku

8hachi

hakk hass hatt

happ

happ
happ happ

hachiw

jikk jiss

jipp jipp

10j

100
hyaku

jukk

ropp

jitt

jipp

jutt
juss
jupp

hyakk

ropp

jupp

ropp

rokuw

rokk

jupp

hyapp

hyapp
hyapp

1000sen

senb

senp

10000
man

manb

manp

nan

nanb

nanp

ropp

jipp

Exceptions
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Thetraditionalnumbersareusedbyandforyoungchildrentogivetheirages,insteadofusingtheage
counter(or)sai.
Somecounters,notablynichiandnin,usethetraditionalnumeralsforsomenumbersasshownin
thetablebelow.Otherusesoftraditionalnumbersareusuallyrestrictedtocertainphrases,suchas
hitotsukiandfutatsuki(oneandtwomonthsrespectively),hitokoto(asingleword)and
hitotabi(once).
Sometimescommonnumbersthathaveaderivedmeaningarewrittenusingdifferentkanji.For
example,hitori(alone)iswritten,andfutatabi(oncemore,anothertime)isnormallywritten
insteadof.Thecounterformonthskagetsu(derivedfromkanji)iscommonlywritten.
Nanaandshichiarealternativesfor7,yonandshiarealternativesfor4,andkyandkuarealternatives
for9.Inthosethreepairsofoptions,nana,yonandkyrespectivelyaremorecommonlyused.Some
counters,however,notablynin(people),gatsu(monthoftheyear),ka/nichi(dayofthemonth,
days),ji(timeofday)andjikan(hours)takecertainalternativesonly.Theseareshowninthe
tablebelow.
Whilekai(occurrences)andsen(0.01yen,nowrarelyused)followtheeuphonicchangeslisted
above,homophoneskai(storeys/floors)andsen(1000)areslightlydifferentasshownbelow,
althoughthesedifferencesarenotfollowedbyallspeakers.Thus("thirdfloor")canbereadeither
sankaiorsangai,while("threetimes")canonlybereadsankai.
Numeral nichi

nin

tsuitachi* hitori

futsuka

mikka

yokka

itsuka

muika

nanoka

yka

kokonoka

10

tka

14

jyokka

20

hatsuka

24

nijyokka nijyonin

nan

gatsu

ji

jikan kai hyaku sen sai

issen

futari
sangai sanbyaku sanzen
yonin*** shigatsu

yoji

yojikan
roppyaku

shichinin shichigatsu shichiji shichijikan

happyaku hassen
kugatsu
jyonin

kuji

kujikan
jyojikan
hatachi

**

nijyojikan
nangai

nanzen

*Butwhencountingnumberofdaysratherthandaysofthemonth,ichinichiisused.Ippiisalsoheard.
**Bothikuninandnanninareusedtomean"howmanypeople".
***Inremoteruralareas(e.g.NorthernHonshandEasternHokkaido)olderspeakersmightuse
yottari.[2]

Ordinalnumbers
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Ingeneral,thecounterwordsmentionedabovearecardinalnumbers,inthattheyindicatequantity.To
transformacounterwordintoanordinalnumberthatdenotespositioninasequence,meisaddedto
theendofthecounter.Thus"onetime"wouldbetranslatedasikkai,whereas"thefirsttime"
wouldbetranslatedasikkaime.
Thisruleisinconsistent,however,ascounterswithoutthemesuffixareoftenusedinterchangeablywith
cardinalandordinalmeanings.Forexample,sangaicanmeanboth"threefloors"and"thirdfloor."

Periodsoftime
Toexpressaperiodoftimeonemayaddkantothefollowingwords:by,fun,ji,nichi
(anditsirregularreadingsasidefromtsuitachi),sh,kagetsuandnen.Usagevaries
dependingontheword,though.Forexample,omittingkaninthecaseofjikanwouldbeamistake,
whereasshkanandsharebothinfrequentuse.Inaddition,kagetsukanisrarelyhearddueto
essentiallybeingsuperfluous,thekaalreadyfunctioningtoexpressthelength.

Seealso
Japaneseunits
Measurewords
Chineseclassifier

References
1. http://www.punipunijapan.com/japanesecounterko/
2. "LanguageContactandLexicalInnovation"(http://www.wsc.unierlangen.de/pdf/tsou.pdf)(PDF).Retrieved
20070214.Table1.NativeCountinginJapanese

Externallinks
About.comCounters(http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa061001a.htm)
Alistofnumeralcounterswithichi/hitosetindicated.(http://www.trussel.com/jcount.htm)
Alargelistofcounters(http://www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com/counters.htm)
Alessonaboutcounters(http://www.imabijapaneselearningcenter.com/lesson7.htm)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Japanese_counter_word&oldid=663136578"
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