Japanese counters – how to count people, things and animals
What you use to count people, thin objects, books and animals – with readings, notes on the exceptions and example sentences.
つ
things (general)
Anything with no counter of its own, and plenty of things that have one. The safest thing to say when you are not sure.
This is the native Japanese series, and it runs out at ten. From eleven you switch to the Chinese-derived numbers with no counter at all.
Examples
- りんごを3つください。Three apples, please.
- いすが8つあります。There are eight chairs.
人
peopleにん
People, in any situation.
One and two are separate words built on the native series, and four takes よ — never よん.
Examples
- 家族は4人です。There are four of us in the family.
- 教室に2人います。There are two people in the classroom.
個
small solid objectsこ
Small compact things: eggs, apples, stones, boxes, pieces of something.
The first counter where one, six, eight and ten cut short before it.
Examples
- たまごを6個かいました。I bought six eggs.
- 石が1個おちていました。There was one stone lying there.
円
yenえん
Japanese currency.
Nothing changes except four, which is よ.
Examples
- この本は1500円です。This book is 1,500 yen.
- おつりは40円です。Your change is forty yen.
番
number (in an order)ばん
Position in a sequence: seat numbers, platform numbers, your turn.
ばん itself never changes, at any number — only the seven is said both ways, ななばん and しちばん. That is worth noticing on purpose: not every counter changes, and expecting a change everywhere is its own mistake.
Examples
- わたしの席は23番です。My seat is number 23.
- 3番ホームで待っています。I am waiting on platform number 3.
本
long, thin thingsほん
Pens, bottles, umbrellas, trees, roads — anything long and narrow. Also train services, phone calls and shots on goal.
ほん turns into ぼん after three, and into ぽん after one, six, eight and ten.
Examples
- ビールを3本ください。Three beers, please.
- かさを2本わすれました。I left two umbrellas behind.
枚
flat, thin thingsまい
Sheets of paper, plates, shirts, tickets, stamps, slices of bread.
Nothing changes at any number — まい starts with m, and m never cuts short.
Examples
- きっぷを2枚かいました。I bought two tickets.
- 紙が6枚たりません。We are six sheets of paper short.
冊
bound volumesさつ
Books, magazines, notebooks — anything bound along one edge.
Six does not cut short here: ろくさつ, not ろっさつ. Compare 六本 ろっぽん.
Examples
- 本を6冊かりました。I borrowed six books.
- ノートが8冊あります。There are eight notebooks.
匹
small animalsひき
Cats, dogs, fish, insects — animals you could pick up.
The same shape as 本: ひき becomes びき after three and ぴき after one, six, eight and ten.
Examples
- ねこが3匹ねています。Three cats are sleeping.
- きんぎょを8匹かっています。I keep eight goldfish.
頭
large animalsとう
Cows, horses, elephants, bears — animals bigger than you.
Six leaves this one alone as well: ろくとう.
Examples
- 牧場に牛が10頭います。There are ten cows on the farm.
- 馬を1頭かっています。They keep one horse.
羽
birdsわ
Birds, and rabbits.
This counter began with an h sound and is halfway through losing it, so three, six, eight and ten are genuinely said both ways. Both are shown; neither is drilled.
Examples
- にわとりが2羽います。There are two chickens.
- すずめが5羽とまっています。Five sparrows are perched there.
台
machines and vehiclesだい
Cars, bicycles, computers, washing machines, cameras.
だい already starts with a voiced sound, so there is nothing left to change.
Examples
- 車が3台とまっています。Three cars are parked there.
- パソコンを1台かいました。I bought one computer.
杯
cupfuls and glassfulsはい
What is in the cup, not the cup itself: coffee, water, beer, bowls of rice.
Same family as 本 and 匹. Eight really is said both ways: はっぱい and はちはい. Six is ろっぱい, like ろっぽん and ろっぴき — ろくはい is marginal, so it is accepted rather than taught.
Examples
- コーヒーを1杯のみました。I drank a cup of coffee.
- 水を2杯ください。Two glasses of water, please.
着
garmentsちゃく
Suits, coats, dresses, kimono — whole outfits rather than single pieces.
ちゃく starts with the ch sound, which cuts short after one, eight and ten but not six.
Examples
- スーツを1着かいました。I bought one suit.
- コートが8着あります。There are eight coats.
足
pairs of footwearそく
Shoes, socks, sandals — always a pair, never one shoe.
Three is said both ways and sources disagree about which is standard, so it is shown rather than asked.
Examples
- くつしたを2足かいました。I bought two pairs of socks.
- くつが10足ならんでいます。Ten pairs of shoes are lined up.
軒
houses and shopsけん
Buildings counted as premises: houses, shops, restaurants, bars.
One of the two k-counters that voice after three: さんげん. Compare 三回 さんかい.
Examples
- この通りに店が3軒あります。There are three shops on this street.
- 家を1軒たてました。They built one house.
名
people (formal)めい
People, in restaurants, on forms and in announcements. The polite counterpart of 人.
Unlike 人, this one is completely regular: いちめい, にめい, さんめい, よんめい.
Examples
- 4名ですが、席はありますか。There are four of us — do you have a table?
- 会議に20名参加しました。Twenty people took part in the meeting.
曲
pieces of musicきょく
Songs and instrumental pieces — one track, one 曲.
A k-counter that stays plain after three: さんきょく, like 三回 and unlike 三階.
Examples
- すきな歌を3曲えらびました。I picked three songs I like.
- コンサートで6曲ひきました。They played six pieces at the concert.
人前
portions of foodにんまえ
Servings in a restaurant or a recipe: two portions of gyoza, a recipe for four.
Built on 人, but one and two do not take ひとり and ふたり: the usual portions are いちにんまえ and ににんまえ. ひとりまえ is heard for one portion as well, and that same reading carries a second meaning — someone grown up and good at their job. Four keeps the よ of 四人: よにんまえ, and nine is きゅうにんまえ, never くにんまえ.
Examples
- ぎょうざを2人前ください。Two portions of gyoza, please.
- このレシピは4人前です。This recipe is for four.
皿
helpings on a plateさら
What is on the plate, not the plate itself — plates are counted with 枚. Sushi at a conveyor-belt shop, a second helping of curry.
One of the few counters that takes the old native numbers: ひとさら and ふたさら, with にさら heard as well. From three the plain numbers take over — さんさら, ろくさら, じゅっさら. みさら is in the dictionaries and is accepted, but it is not what you hear today. The eight is the one cell nobody settles: はっさら and はちさら are both in use and no source picks between them, so both are shown and neither is drilled — the same answer as at 三足 and at four cells of 羽.
Examples
- おすしを3皿食べました。I ate three plates of sushi.
- カレーを1皿おかわりしました。I had another plate of curry.
割
tenths, ten percentわり
Proportions in tenths: 一割 is ten percent, 三割 is thirty. Shop signs count discounts this way — 三割引き is thirty percent off.
Nothing changes at any number, and the series stops at ten by arithmetic: 十割 is the whole thing, so there is no eleventh tenth.
Examples
- このシャツは3割引きでした。This shirt was thirty percent off.
- 学生は全体の4割です。Students are forty percent of the total.
丁目
chōme, a block in an addressちょうめ
The numbered block inside a district: Ginza 4-chōme. Japanese addresses go from the large to the small, and this is the step below the district name.
The same shape as 着: ちょ cuts short after one, eight and ten — いっちょうめ, はっちょうめ, じゅっちょうめ — but not after six.
Examples
- 銀座4丁目にすんでいます。I live in Ginza 4-chōme.
- バスていは8丁目にあります。The bus stop is in 8-chōme.
Where this comes from
Everything above comes from the free part of the Kazoekata app and has passed its content review.
- Kazoekata: Japanese CountersCounting, kanji and drills
App Store →Free app with an in-app purchase
Learning Japanese
- Japanese particles: は, が, を, に, で, へ – The particles that carry an ordinary Japanese sentence, and the roles they stand in – with examples and translations.
- Confusing pairs in Japanese: は or が, もう or まだ – Pairs that look interchangeable and are not – each sentence comes with the situation and the reason the other form fails.
- Japanese verb forms: masu, te, ta, nai – The forms from the first two stages of conjugation – what each one does and when it is used.
- Casual Japanese – the contractions in anime and conversation – The contractions you hear every day, each next to the full form it came from.
- Keigo – Japanese politeness in practice – Situations from working life and the honorific and humble forms – what to say and why that one.