Appendix #7: Counters
Counters are words that are paired with numbers and are used to count things and events. They are similar to English phrases such as “a piece of~”, “a slice of ~”, “a cup of ~”, and so on. Japanese is unique in that there are literally hundreds of different kinds of counters. What counter gets used is usually determined by the size and shape of the object being counted (when the item being counted is tangible). The pronunciation of many counters changes (according to Japanese pronunciation rules) when a number is prefixed to it. For example, hiki (匹) the counter for small animals, becomes ippiki (一匹) for one animal, nihiki (二匹) for two animals, and sanbiki (３匹) for three animals. This kind of change of pronunciation often happens when the preceding numbers are 1, 3, 6 and 8.
Here you'll find charts of the different counters that appeared in the lessons.
度 / do / degree (temperature)
# of times (occurance) / Gengo #5
枚 / mai / thin, flat items / Gengo #8
名 / mei / people (polite) / Gengo #8
つ / tsu / general objects / Gengo #9
個 / ko / small, round objects / Gengo #9
階 / kai / floors of a building / Gengo #11
人 / nin / people / Gengo #11
本 / hon / long, slender objects
匹 / hiki / small animals
杯 / hai / cupfuls
冊 / satsu / books
歳or 才 / sai / years of age
When a number is followed by a counter, many times there will be a change in the sound.
There are several sound change patterns, and in this appendix we will introduce some of the typcial patterns.
Pattern 1 :[number]＋counter
● Do (度) is used to count degrees
● Mai (枚) is used for flat, thin objects such as sheets of paper
● Mei (名) is a polite counter used for people
These three counters do not undergo any sound changes.
～度（do） / ～枚（mai） / ～名(mei)（degree） / flat object / people
1 / 一度
ichi-do / 一枚
ichi-mai / 一名
ichi-mei
2 / ニ度
ni-do / 二枚
ni-mai / 二名
ni-mei
3 / 三度
san-do / 三枚
san-mai / 三名
san-mei
4 / 四度
yon-do / 四枚
yon-mai / 四名
yon-mei
5 / 五度
go-do / 五枚
go-mai / 五名
go-mei
6 / 六度
roku-do / 六枚
roku-mai / 六名
roku-mei
7 / 七度
nana-do / 七枚
nana-mai / 七名
nana-mei
8 / 八度
hachi-do / 八枚
hachi-mai / 八名
hachi-mei
9 / 九度
kyū-do
ku-do / 九枚
kyū-mai / 九名
kyū-mei
10 / 十度
jū-do / 十枚
jū-mai / 十名
jū-mei
? / 何度
nan-do / 何枚
nan-mai / 何名
nan-mei
■ General Counter
This set is used as general counters that can be used when there is no specific counter or you don't know the counter. Only up to 10.
They do not follow any kind of pattern and must be memorized.
二つ / futatsu / two items
三つ / mittsu / three items
四つ / yottsu / four items
五つ / itsutsu / five items
六つ / muttsu / six items
七つ / nanatsu / seven items
八つ / yattsu / eight items
九つ / kokonotsu / nine items
十 / too / ten items
いくつ / ikutsu / how many items...?
Pattern 2: The following 3 counters follow this pattern
● Ko (個) is used for small/round objects
● Kai(階) is used for counting floors of buildings
small object / floors
1 / 一個
i-kko / 一階
i-kkai
2 / 二個
ni-ko / 二階
ni-kai
3 / 三個
san-ko / 三階
san-kai
4 / 四個
yon-ko / 四階
yon-kai
5 / 五個
go-ko / 五階
go-kai
6 / 六個
rokko / 六階
ro-kkai
7 / 七個
nana-ko / 七階
nana-kai
8 / 八個
ha-kko
hachi-ko / 八階
ha-kkai
hachi-kai
9 / 九個
kyū-ko / 九階
kyū-kai
10 / 十個
ju-kko / 十階
ju-kkai
? / 何個
nan-ko / 何階
nan-kai
Nin (人) is used to count people. They do not follow any kind of pattern and must be memorized.
一人 / hitori / one person二人 / futari / two people
三人 / san-nin / three people
四人 / yo-nin / four people
五人 / go-nin / five people
六人 / roku-nin / six people
七人 / nana-nin
shichi-nin / seven people
八人 / hachi-nin / eight people
九人 / kyū-nin
ku-nin / nine people
十人 / jū-nin / ten people
何人 / nan-nin / How many people...?
Other useful counters:
● Hon (本) is used to count long objects such as bottles, pencils, tubes, etc.
● Hiki (匹) is used to count small animals
● Hai (杯) is used to count cups or glasses
Please note the sound changes that take place after certain numbers. These three counters have the same pattern.
～本 / ～匹 / ～杯Long cylindrical objects / Small animals / Glassfuls, cupfuls
1 / 一本
i-ppon / 一匹
i-ppiki / 一杯
i-ppai
2 / 二本
ni-hon / 二匹
ni-hiki / 二杯
ni-hai
3 / 三本
san-bon / 三匹
san-biki / 三杯
san-bai
4 / 四本
yon-hon / 四匹
yon-hiki / 四杯
yon-hai
5 / 五本
go-hon / 五匹
go-hiki / 五杯
go-hai
6 / 六本
ro-ppon / 六匹
ro-ppiki / 六杯
ro-ppai
7 / 七本
nana-hon / 七匹
nana-hiki / 七杯
nana-hai
8 / 八本
ha-ppon / 八匹
ha-ppiki / 八杯
ha-ppai
9 / 九本
kyū-hon / 九匹
kyū-hiki / 九杯
kyū-hai
10 / 十本
ju-ppon / 十匹
ju-ppiki / 十杯
ju-ppai
? / 何本
nan-bon
nan-hon / 何匹
nan-biki
nan-hiki / 何杯
nan-bai
nan-hai
Satsu (冊) can be used to count bound objects such as books or magazines.
一冊 / i-ssatsu / one (volume)二冊 / ni-satsu / two (volumes)
三冊 / san-satsu / three (volumes)
四冊 / yon-satsu / four (volumes)
五冊 / go-satsu / five (volumes)
六冊 / roku-satsu / six (volumes)
七冊 / nana-satsu / seven (volumes)
八冊 / ha-ssatsu / eight (volumes)
九冊 / kyū-satsu / nine (volumes)
十冊 / ju-ssatsu / ten (volumes)
何冊 / nan-satsu / how many volumes...?
Sai (歳) is used to count years of age.
一歳 / i-ssai / one year old二歳 / ni-sai / two years old
三歳 / san-sai / three years old
四歳 / yon-sai / four years old
五歳 / go-sai / five years old
六歳 / roku-sai / six years old
七歳 / nana-sai / seven years old
八歳 / ha-ssai / eight years old
九歳 / kyū-sai / nine years old
十歳 / jū-ssai / ten years old
何歳or
いくつ / nan-sai or
ikutsu / How old...?