Japanese Counters: 1–10 Charts, Readings and Examples
How to read 3本, 4人 or 8匹: 1–10 charts for つ, 人, 本, 枚, 匹 and 冊, the sound-change patterns, 22 counters with sentences and practice.
In Japanese you don't put a number straight in front of a noun. You attach a counter to the number — a short word that says what kind of thing you are counting: 本 for long, thin things, 枚 for flat ones, 匹 for small animals. The number and the counter then fuse into a single word, and that is where the sound changes happen. 三 on its own is さん, but three pencils are 3本（さんぼん）; 六 is ろく, but six pencils are 6本（ろっぽん）.
The counted thing usually comes first, followed by the number with its counter and then the verb: ペンを3本（さんぼん）買いました — I bought three pens.
Japanese counters 1–10: readings
| number | つthings (general) | 人people | 本long, thin things | 枚flat, thin things | 匹small animals | 冊bound volumes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ひとつ | ひとり | いっぽん | いちまい | いっぴき | いっさつ |
| 2 | ふたつ | ふたり | にほん | にまい | にひき | にさつ |
| 3 | みっつ | さんにん | さんぼん | さんまい | さんびき | さんさつ |
| 4 | よっつ | よにん | よんほん | よんまい | よんひき | よんさつ |
| 5 | いつつ | ごにん | ごほん | ごまい | ごひき | ごさつ |
| 6 | むっつ | ろくにん | ろっぽん | ろくまい | ろっぴき | ろくさつ |
| 7 | ななつ | ななにんしちにん | ななほんしちほん | ななまい | ななひき | ななさつ |
| 8 | やっつ | はちにん | はっぽん | はちまい | はっぴき | はっさつ |
| 9 | ここのつ | きゅうにんくにん | きゅうほん | きゅうまい | きゅうひき | きゅうさつ |
| 10 | とお | じゅうにん | じゅっぽんじっぽん | じゅうまい | じゅっぴきじっぴき | じゅっさつじっさつ |
| how many? | いくつ | なんにん | なんぼん | なんまい | なんびき | なんさつ |
Where a cell shows two readings, the first is the standard one and the second is also in use: 7人（ななにん・しちにん）, 10本（じゅっぽん・じっぽん）. The native series つ stops at ten; from eleven on, things are counted with the plain numbers.
The patterns behind the changes
Most of the irregular readings come from 1, 6, 8 and 10. Before a counter starting with k or h, all four shrink into a small っ: 1個（いっこ）, 6個（ろっこ）, 8本（はっぽん）, 10匹（じゅっぴき）. Before s, only 1, 8 and 10 do: 1冊（いっさつ）, 8冊（はっさつ）, while 6冊（ろくさつ） stays whole. With 8 the full はち is sometimes heard as well: 8軒（はっけん・はちけん）.
Counters starting with h usually change their own first sound as well. After a small っ, h becomes p: 1本（いっぽん）, 6匹（ろっぴき）. After 3 it usually becomes b: 3本（さんぼん）, 3匹（さんびき）, and 4 usually leaves it alone: 4本（よんほん）. A few counters go their own way: 分 (minutes) gives さんぷん for 3 and よんぷん for 4, so learn those one by one. After 3, a few counters starting with k voice too: 3軒（さんげん）, and 階 (floors) gives さんがい. Counters starting with m, like 枚, never change: 1枚（いちまい）, 6枚（ろくまい）.
人 is irregular at the start: 1人（ひとり）, 2人（ふたり）, and from three on the regular にん: 3人（さんにん）. Note 4人（よにん）, not よんにん.
Which counter do I use?
つ works for most objects when you don't know the specific counter, but not for people or animals. Long, thin things such as pens, bottles and umbrellas take 本. Flat things such as paper, tickets and shirts take 枚. Small animals take 匹, books and magazines take 冊, and people take 人. Every counter on this page is explained in more detail below, with two example sentences each.
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 にん · people
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 こ · small solid objects
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 えん · yen
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 ばん · number (in an order)
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 ほん · long, thin things
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 まい · flat, thin things
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 さつ · bound volumes
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 ひき · small animals
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 とう · large animals
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 わ · birds
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 だい · machines and vehicles
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 はい · cupfuls and glassfuls
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 ちゃく · garments
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 そく · pairs of footwear
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 けん · houses and shops
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 めい · people (formal)
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 きょく · pieces of music
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 にんまえ · portions of food
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 さら · helpings on a plate
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 わり · tenths, ten percent
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 ちょうめ · chōme, a block in an address
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.
Practice: read it aloud
Say each one out loud, then open the answer.
3本
さんぼん
6本
ろっぽん
8匹
はっぴき
4人
よにん
1人
ひとり
6冊
ろくさつ
9つ
ここのつ
1枚
いちまい
Where this comes from
The entries on this page come from the free part of the Kazoekata app, the Japanese forms in the charts and answers are computed by its engine, and the explanations and sentences passed the same content review as the app.
App Store →Free: levels 1 and 2 in full, 22 counters. The other levels with one purchase.
- KazoekataCounting, kanji and drills
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- Keigo – Japanese politeness in practice – Honorific and humble forms and the frames you lay over most words – what to say and why that one.
- Japanese mimetics – the sounds in manga and anime – Words that imitate sound and state – what they mean and what 濁点 does to them.
- Japanese N5 grammar – every point on the level – Seven groups of N5 grammar, from the sentence skeleton to tone – each point with its meaning, formation and examples.