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USING JAPANESE COUNTERS
The counters are used to indicate the numbers in which specific things are present.
Different counters are used to indicate different objects.
Every counter has their own question word, and the Kanji ‘何’ is used to represent ‘what’.
JAPANESE COUNTER FOR PEOPLE 人
Here we go for our very first basic Japanese counter. You might need to use this one very often.
Be careful of the numbers indicating one person and two people as they use the Native Japanese reading.
| Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 一人 | ひとり | Hitori* |
| 二人 | ふたり | Futari* |
| 三人 | さんにん | San-nin |
| 四人 | よにん | Yon-nin |
| 五人 | ごにん | Go-nin |
View More Numbers
| Kanji | Hiragana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 六人 | ろくにん | Roku-nin |
| 七人 | ななにん／しちにん | Nana-nin / Shichi-nin |
| 八人 | はちにん | Hachi-nin |
| 九人 | きゅうにん | Kyuu-nin |
| 十人 | じゅうにん | Jyuu-nin |
| 何人 | なんにん | Nan-nin |
JAPANESE COUNTER FOR THIN & FLAT OBJECTS 枚
In a company, you will use this counter whilst making copies of a document or when you go to a movie and want to buy tickets.
This counter is used for things like:
- きっぷ kippu : Ticket
- かみ kami : Paper
- さら sara : Plate
- ふうとう fūtō : Envelope
- シーディ shīdi : CD
| KANJI | HIRAGANA | ROMAJI |
|---|---|---|
| 一枚 | いちまい | Ichi-mai |
| 二枚 | にまい | Ni-mai |
| 三枚 | さんまい | San-mai |
| 四枚 | よんまい | Yon-mai |
| 五枚 | ごまい | Go-mai |
View More Numbers
| kanji | hiragana | romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 六枚 | ろくまい | Roku-mai |
| 七枚 | ななまい/しちまい | Nana-mai / Shichi-mai |
| 八枚 | はちまい | Hachi-mai |
| 九枚 | きゅうまい | Kyuu-mai |
| 十枚 | じゅうまい | Jyuu-mai |
| 何枚 | なんまい | Nan-mai |
JAPANESE COUNTER FOR LONG & THIN OBJECTS 本
This is one of the most used counters in Japanese language. It is used to count cylindrical objects which are long and thin.
You can use this counter with:
- えんぴつ aenpitsu : Pencil
- き ki : Tree
- バナナ banana : Banana
| KANJI | HIRAGANA | ROMAJI |
|---|---|---|
| 一本 | いっぽん | Ip-pon |
| 二本 | にほん | Ni-hon |
| 三本 | さんぼん | San-bon |
| 四本 | よんほん | Yon-hon |
| 五本 | ごほん | Go-hon |
View More Numbers
| kanji | hiragana | romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 六本 | ろっぽん | Rop-pon |
| 七本 | ななほん | Nana-hon |
| 八本 | はっぽん | Hap-pon |
| 九本 | きゅうほん | Kyuu-hon |
| 十本 | じゅっぽん／じっぽん | Jyup-pon / Jip-pon |
| 何本 | なんぼん | Nan-bon |
JAPANESE COUNTER FOR FREQUENCY 回
This counter is used to indicate the number of times a certain action happened.
It is also used to state how many times a certain event has occurred or will occur.
| KANJI | HIRAGANA | ROMAJI |
|---|---|---|
| 一回 | いっかい | Ik-kai |
| 二回 | にかい | Ni-kai |
| 三回 | さんかい | San-kai |
| 四回 | よんかい | Yon-kai |
| 五回 | ごかい | Go-kai |
View More Numbers
| kanji | hiragana | romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 六回 | ろっかい | Rok-kai |
| 七回 | ななかい／しちかい | Nana-kai / Shichi-kai |
| 八回 | はちかい／はっかい | Hachi-kai / Hak-kai |
| 九回 | きゅうかい | Kyuu-kai |
| 十回 | じゅっかい | Jyuk-kai |
| 何回 | なんかい | Nan-kai |
GENERAL JAPANESE COUNTERS
つ is the last counter we are going to study in this article. This one is a bit different from above counters.
For this, you’ll have to recall the Native Japanese Numbers you practised in our Japanese numbers lesson. Even while learning those numbers, we use them with this counter ‘つ’.
This counter can be used for things like:
- つくえ tsukue : Table
- いす isu : Chair
- かぎ khagi : Key
Or for fruits like :
- りんご ringo : Apple
- みかん mikan : Orange
| KANJI | HIRAGANA | ROMAJI |
|---|---|---|
| 一つ | ひとつ | Hito-tsu |
| 二つ | ふたつ | Futa-tsu |
| 三つ | みっつ | Mit-tsu |
| 四つ | よっつ | Yot-tsu |
| 五つ | いつつ | Itsu-tsu |
View More Examples
| 六つ | よっつ | Yot-tsu |
| 七つ | ななつ | Nana-tsu |
| 八つ | やっつ | Yat-tsu |
| 九つ | ここのつ | Kokono-tsu |
| 十 | とお | Toou |
| 幾つ | いくつ | Ikutsu |
Once you have the basic idea, you can create these tables on your own. To practice, some more counters are:
| COUNTER | ROMAJI | USAGE |
|---|---|---|
| だい | dai | To count machinery and vehicles |
| さつ | satsu | To count books and notebooks |
| そく | soku | To count footwear |
| ひき | hiki | To count small animals |
| けん | ken | To count houses |
| わ | wa | To count birds |
| さい | sai | To count age |
Note:
For 20 years old (二十歳), the counter used is ‘はたち’ (hatachi) instead of ‘にじゅうさい’ ‘ni jyuu sai’.
We will learn to use these counters in a sentence while learning the basic sentence structure.
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MORE RESOURCES
Want to learn more? Check out these other free resources:
- Learn the most common measure words in Mandarin
- Learn the most common measure words in Korean
- Learn the most common measure words in Vietnamese
FAQs
What are Japanese counters?
Japanese counters are used to indicate the numbers in which specific things are present.
All the objects are divided into different categories, so that specific counters can be used with them.
Different Japanese counters are used to indicate different objects.
What is the Japanese counter for people?
The Japanese counter for people is 人.
一人 | ひとり Hitori*
二人 | ふたり Futari*
三人 | さんにん San-nin
四人 | よにん Yon-nin
五人 | ごにん Go-nin
*notice how one person and two people use the Native Japanese reading.
What is the Japanese counter for frequency?
The Japanese counter for frequency is 回.
This counter is used to indicate the number of times a certain action happened.
一回 | いっかい Ik-kai
二回 | にかい Ni-kai
三回 | さんかい San-kai
四回 | よんかい Yon-kai
五回 l ごかい Go-kai
What is the counter for thin and long objects?
Japanese counter for thing and long objects such as banana, tree or pencil is 本.
一本 | いっぽん Ip-pon
日本 | にほん Ni-hon
三本 | さんぼん San-bon
四本 | よんほん Yon-hon
五本 | ごほん Go-hon
Is there one general Japanese counter?
Yes, there is!
The general Japanese counter is つ.
This counter can be used for things like:
つくえ tsukue : Table
いす isu : Chair
かぎ khagi : Key
りんご ringo : Apple
Examples:
一つ | ひとつ Hito-tsu
二つ | ふたつ Futa-tsu
三つ | みっつ Mit-tsu
四つ | よっつ Yot-tsu
五つ | いつつ Itsu-tsu
Where to learn more Japanese grammar?
You can learn more about Japanese grammar in our Japanese Grammar Bank, a place we regularly update with new lessons for all levels.
The best way to learn about Japanese grammar would actually be to take classes with a native teacher, so if you were thinking about it make sure to check out our Flexi Classes for 24/7h lessons.