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In Japanese counter words or counters (josushi 助数詞) are used along with numbers to enumerate objects.
In Japanese, as in Chinese, numerals cannot quantify nouns 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 inu nihiki (犬二匹, literally "dog-two-small animal"). Here inu 犬 means "dog", ni 二 is the number 2, and hiki 匹 is the counter for small animals.
Counter words are similar in function to the word "sheet" in "two sheets of paper" or "loaf" in "two loaves of bread," (see mass nouns), but in Japanese all nouns require a counter.
This grammatical feature can result in situations where one is unable to express the number of a particular object in a grammatically correct way because one does not know, or cannot remember, the appropriate counting word. The problem is partially solved, for numbers from one to ten, by using the traditional numbers (see below) which can be used to quantify some nouns by themselves. For example, "four apples" is ringo o yonko (リンゴを四個) where ko (こ) is the counter, but can also be expressed using the traditional numeral four as ringo o yottsu (リンゴを四つ). These traditional numerals cannot be used to count all nouns, however; some, including people and animals, require the proper counter.
Counters can also be intentionally misused for humourous, sarcastic or insulting effect. For example, one might say 男一匹なのに ("I am only one man..."). Using the counter hiki (匹), the counter for small animals, humourously suggests a person overtowered by massive obstacles.
| Numeral | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一つ | hitotsu |
| 2 | 二つ | futatsu |
| 3 | 三つ | mittsu |
| 4 | 四つ | yottsu |
| 5 | 五つ | itsutsu |
| 6 | 六つ | muttsu |
| 7 | 七つ | nanatsu |
| 8 | 八つ | yattsu |
| 9 | 九つ | kokonotsu |
| 10 | 十 | to |
This is an incomplete list. It also includes counters which are rarely used or not widely known.
| Pronunciation | Japanese | Use |
|---|---|---|
| ba | 場 | Sections of a play |
| ban | 晩 | Nights |
| ban | 番 | Sumo matches, (Sports) matches |
| ban-sen | 番線 | Train track or platform numbers |
| bi | 尾 | Fishes (obscure; usually hiki is used instead) |
| bu | 部 | Copies of a magazine or newspaper |
| bun | 文 | Sentences |
| byo | 秒 | Seconds |
| chaku | 着, 著 | Suits of clothing |
| cho | 挺 | Guns, sticks of ink, palanquins, rickshaws |
| cho | 丁 | Tools, scissors, saws, pistols, cakes of tofu, servings of noodles, town blocks |
| cho | 町 | Town blocks |
| cho | 貼 | Measures of powdered medicine |
| cho-me | 丁目 | Wards, blocks |
| dai | 代 | Generations, periods, reigns |
| dai | 台 | Cars, machines, mechanical devices |
| danraku | 段落 | Paragraphs |
| do | 度 | Occurrences, number of times; also degrees (see also: kai) |
| fuku | 服 | Bowls of macha (powdered green tea); packets or doses of powdered medicine |
| fuku | 幅 | Hanging scrolls (kakejiku) |
| fun | 分 | Minutes |
| furi | 振 | Swords |
| gatsu | 月 | Months of the year (see also: kagetsu) |
| go | 語 | Languages |
| gon | 言 | Words |
| gu | 具 | Suits of armour, sets of furniture |
| gyo | 行 | Lines of text |
| haku | 泊 | Nights of a stay |
| hai | 杯 | Cups, glasses, spoonfuls, cuttlefish, octopuses, crabs |
| hai | 敗 | losses ( sumo bouts) |
| hari | 張 | Umbrellas, Parasols |
| hashira | 柱 | Gods, Memorial tablets |
| hatsu | 発 | Gunshots |
| heya | 部屋 | Rooms |
| hiki, piki | 匹 | Small animals, insects, fish |
| hin, pin | 品 | Parts of a meal, courses (see also: shina) |
| ho, po | 歩 | Number of (foot)steps |
| hon | 本 | Long, thin, cylindrical objects; ties, pencils, bottles, telephone calls (see also: tsuwa). Note that one of the meanings of 本 is "book," but the counter for books is satsu. |
| ji | 字 | Letters, kanji, kanaKana is a general term for two types of syllabic Japanese script: hiragana and katakana . These were developed as an alternative and adjunct to ideograph based characters of Chinese origin, or Kanji . Hiragana and katakana (grouped vertically). Syllables |
| ji | 時 | Hours |
| jikan | 時間 | Hour-long periods |
| jo | 畳 | TatamiTatami mats (originally meant "folded and piled") are a traditional Japanese flooring. Made of woven straw, and traditionally packed with straw (though nowadays sometimes with styrofoam), tatami are made in individual mats of uniform size and shape, borde mats. 畳 is also read tatami and is the same one used for the mats. Room size in Japan is often given as a number of mats, for example 4½ jo |
| ka | 課 | Chapters of a book |
| ka | 架 | Frames |
| kabu | 株 | Stocks, Nursery trees |
| kagetsu | ヶ月 | Month-long periods (see also: gatsu) |
| kakoku | ヶ国 | Countries |
| kakokugo | ヶ国語 | (National) languages |
| kaku | 画 | strokesStroke order refers to the way of writing Chinese characters. Each character is made up of a number of "strokes" (Chinese characters were originally written using a brush) which must be written in a prescribed order. A stroke is a single movement of the w in kanji |
| kai | 回 | Occurrences, number of times (see also: do) |
| kai | 階 | Number of floors, storeys |
| kan | 艦 | Warships |
| ken | 件 | Abstract matters and cases |
| ken | 軒 | Houses |
| ki | 機 | Aircraft,machines |
| ki | 基 | Grave, Wreath, CPU, Reactor |
| kire | 切れ | Slices (of bread, cake, etc) |
| ko | 個,箇,个, or ヶ | the measure word for counting things |
| ko | 戸 | Houses |
| ko | 校 | Schools |
| ku | 区 | Sections, city districts |
| ku | 句 | HaikuThis is the article on the ancient Japanese form of poetry. For the BeOS open-source recreation project, see Haiku (operating system). For the town in Hawaii, see Haiku-Pauwela, Hawaii. Haiku is one of the most important forms of traditional Japanese poet, SenryuSenryu is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer syllables in total. However, senryu tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature. Senryu do not need to include a kigo or season |
| kuchi | 口 | (Bank) accounts, Donation |
| kumi | 組 | Groups |
| kurasu | クラス | School classes |
| kyaku | 脚 | Desks, Chairs |
| kyoku | 曲 | Pieces of music |
| kyoku | 局 | Boardgame matches(Chess, Igo, Shogi, Mahjong); radio stations |
| mai | 枚 | Thin, flat objects, sheets of paper, shirts, photographs |
| maki | 巻 | Rolls, scrolls |
| maku | 幕 | theatricals' acts |
| mei | 名 | People (polite) |
| men | 面 | Mirrors, Boards for Boardgame(Chess, Igo, Shogi), Stages of computer game |
| mon | 門 | Cannons |
| mon | 問 | Questions |
| nichi | 日 | Days of the month (but see table of exceptions below) |
| nin | 人 | People (but see table of exceptions below) |
| peji | ページ、頁 | Pages |
| rin | 輪 | Wheels, Flower |
| ryo | 両 | Railway's cars |
| sai | 才、歳 | Years of age |
| sao | 棹 | Chest of drawers, Flags |
| satsu | 冊 | Books |
| seki | 席 | Seats, Rakugo show, (Drinking) party |
| shina | 品 | Parts of a meal, courses (see also: hin) |
| sho | 勝 | wins ( sumo bouts) |
| shu | 首 | Tanka |
| shurui | 種類 | Various types of thing |
| soku | 足 | Pairs of footwear or pants |
| tai | 体 | Images, person's remains |
| tawara | 俵 | Bags of rice |
| ten | 点 | Points |
| to | 頭 | Large animals, cattle, elephants. 頭 means "head" |
| tsu | 通 | Letters |
| tsuwa | 通話 | Telephone calls (see also: hon) |
| toki | 時 | Time periods, a sixth of either day or night (in the traditional, obsolete way of telling time) |
| wa | 羽 | Birds, rabbits |
| wa | 把 | Bundles |
| zen | 膳 | Pairs of chopsticks; bowls of rice |