List of Japanese counting words

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Japanese counting words or counting unit words ( Japanese 助 数詞 josūshi ) are appended to numerical data in order to support reading and listening comprehension , analogous to a number of other suffixes in Japanese .

A defined counting unit word is assigned to different types of objects and abstract terms. An equivalent in German is about Blatt in “50 Blatt Papier”. The assignment of terms and unit words is often based on the shape and size of an object, but less often used assignments also pose problems for native Japanese speakers. Depending on the unit word, certain numbers are pronounced irregularly.

List of Japanese counter words

The following, alphabetically ordered list also contains less frequently used counting unit words, but does not claim to be exhaustive.

Some counting words are counted with Japanese numbers in Kun reading . These are hito- in the notes.

pronunciation Kanji use Remarks
ame 雨 rain shower hitoame
ba 場 Acts of a play
bai 倍 Multiples
ban 晩 nights
ban 番 Numbers, Sumo Fights, Games (Sports)
banme 番 目 Ordinal numbers
bansen 番 線 Tracks
ben 弁 Petals
bi 尾 small fish (at the fish trade; colloquial 匹 hiki )
am 瓶 Bottles (1.8 l), flower vases hitobin
am 便 Flights, trips
boku 木 Tree trunks
bu 部 Copies of a magazine or newspaper
bun 文 sentences
byō 秒 Seconds
chaku 着 ,著 Clothing sets (see also may )
chitsu 帙 Books bound in the traditional Japanese way ( 和 書 washo)
chō 挺 elongated objects: cannons , ink stones , sedan chairs , rickshaws
chō 丁 Tools, scissors, saws, pistols ; Tofu dishes, pasta dishes, about six slices of bread sa chôme
chō 貼 powdered medicine
chō 張 Bows, stringed instruments, curtains, screens, nets
chôme 丁目 District sections
there 打 Hit (baseball)
dai 代 Generations , eras , reigns
dai 台 Cars , machines , mechanical devices
dai 題 Questions, problems
Dan 段 Levels, table columns
danraku 段落 heels
do 度 Events, frequency ; Degree (angle, Celsius) sa kai
do 堂 Buddhist temples
fu 封 Letters
fuku 服 Bowls of Matcha (green powdered tea), packs or cans of powdered medicine
fuku 幅 Wall Scrolls ( Kakejiku )
fun 分 Minutes
furi 振 Swords
fusa 房 Vines (wine), shrubs (bananas) hitofusa
gakki 学期 semester
gatsu 月 Months of the year (see also kagetsu )
gene 弦 Strings
go 語 Words , languages
gon , also koto 言 Words hitokoto
gōsha 号 車 Car number on trains
gu 具 Armor ; Furniture ensemble
gyō 行 Lines of text
hachi 鉢 Flower pots, bonsai hitohachi
hako 箱 Boxes, boxes
haku 泊 Overnight stays
shark 杯 Cups, glasses, spoons, cuttlefish , octopus , shrimp
shark 敗 Defeats in sumo
han 版 Editions of a book
hari 張 Umbrellas , parasols
hashira 柱 Gods, plaques
hatsu 発 Shots
heya 部屋 Spaces
hiki , piki 匹 small animals, insects, smaller fish
hin / shina , pin 品 Sales items; Side dishes, courses sa shina
ho , po 歩 steps
hon 本 elongated, thin, cylindrical objects such as: nails, pens, bottles; also: phone calls, movies (see also tsūwa )

As a noun, 本 means “book” and is counted with satsu .

ji 字 Letters , Kanji , Kana
ji 時 Hours at the time
jikan 時間 Hours
jō 畳 Tatami mats. The number of tatami mats in Japan indicates room sizes.
jō 錠 Doses of a medicine
ka 課 Book chapters, lessons
ka 架 frame
kabu 株 shares
kagetsu カ 月 ,箇 月 ,ゕ 月 Months (duration) (see also gatsu ). The katakana simplification カ mostly replaces the older and formal 箇 .
kakoku カ 国 ,箇 国 ,ゕ 国 countries
kaku 画 Number of strokes in Kanji
kai 回 Frequency, number of an incident (also: do )
kai 階 Floors
can 艦 Warships
can 缶 Cans
ken 件 abstract cases
ken 軒 building
ki 機 Airplanes , machines
ki 基 Graves , stone lanterns , mikoshi , CPUs , reactors
kire 切 れ Slices (bread, cakes, etc.), pieces of sushi
ko 個 ,箇 ,个 orヶ general counting unit if no other is defined; compact items such as apples, erasers etc., military units
ko 戸 Houses
kō 校 schools
kō 稿 Manuscripts
ku 句 Haiku , Senryu
kuchi 口 Bank accounts , donations
kumi 組 groups
kyaku 脚 Desks, chairs
kyoku 曲 Pieces of music
kyoku 局 Board games ( chess , go , shogi , mah-jongg ); Radio stations
May 枚 thin, flat objects such as paper and photographs, clothing, bedsheets sa chaku
maki 巻 roll
maku 幕 Scenes in drama and opera
my 名 People (polite)
men 面 Mirrors, game boards for board games, levels in computer games
mon 門 Cannons
mon 問 ask
nichi / ka 日 Days of the month
nin 人 People
pēji ペ ー ジ ,頁 pages
rin 輪 Wheels , flowers
ryō 両 Wagons
sai 才 ,歳 Age in persons; irregular: hatachi 20 years old (as special status as age of majority)
sao 棹 Chests of drawers, flags
satsu 冊 Books
seki 隻 big ships
seki 席 Seats, Rakugo -Darbietungen, drinks receptions
sento セ ン ト Cents
shina 品 (see out )
shō 勝 Wins at sumo
shō 章 Chapters, sections, paragraphs
shu 首 Tanka
shūkan 週 間 Weeks
shurui or shu 種類 or種 Varieties, types of things, living beings
soku 足 Stockings, socks, shoes
tai 体 human body
tawara 俵 Travel bags
th 点 Points (agenda, arguments, bullet points, test results)
tō 頭 large animals like cows , elephants etc.
tsu つ general counting word
tsū 通 Letters , emails
tsubu 粒 Sweets, pills, treats
tsūwa 通話 Telephone calls (see also hon )
wa 羽 Birds, rabbits
wa 把 bunch
Zen 膳 Pairs of chopsticks , rice bowls
Irregular
number general ZW Date / day People
つ tsu 日 nichi / ka 人 ri / nin
1 hitotsu tsuitachi hitori
2 futatsu futsuka futari
3 mittsu mikka sannin
4th yottsu yokka yonin ( yottari )
5 itsutsu itsuka gonin
6th muttsu muika rokunin
7th nanatsu nanoka shichinin
8th yattsu yōka hachinin
9 kokonotsu kokonoka kyunin
10 tō toka jūnin
20th - hatsuka nijunin
Question word ikutsu nannichi nannin

Euphonic changes

The phonetics of count words can change if certain numbers are placed before the count word. This is called euphonic (Greek, melodious) change, as the pronunciation becomes easier and smoother. For example, ichi 一 + k- = ikk- , roku 六 + h- = ropp- . The following list gives a detailed overview.

The phonetic change follows a clear pattern, but there are a few exceptions. These are noted in the list with a double entry.

counter k- ( か き ゃ etc.) s / sh- ( さ し ゃ etc.) t / ch- ( た ち ゃ etc.) h- ( は ひ へ ほ ひ ゃ ひ ゅ ひ ょ ) f- ( ふ ) p- ( ぱ etc.) w- ( わ )
1 ichi ikk- い っ か eat- い っ さ itt- い っ た ipp- い っ ぱ ipp- い っ ぷ ipp- い っ ぱ
3 san sanb- さ ん ば sanp- さ ん ぷ sanb- さ ん ば
4 yon yonh- よ ん は

yonp- よ ん ば

yonf- よ ん ふ

yonp- よ ん ぷ

yow- よ わ

yonw- よ ん わ yonb- よ ん ば

6 roku rokk- ろ っ か ropp- ろ っ ぱ ropp- ろ っ ぷ ropp- ろ っ ぱ rokuw- ろ く わ

ropp- ろ っ ぱ

8 hachi hakk- は っ か hate- は っ さ hatt- は っ た happ- は っ ぱ happ- は っ ぷ happ- は っ ぱ happ- は っ ぱ

hachiw- は ち わ

10 jū jikk- じ っ か

jukk- じ ゅ っ か

jiss- じ っ さ

juss- じ ゅ っ さ

jitt- じ っ た

jutt- じ ゅ っ た

jipp- じ っ ぱ

yup- じ ゅ っ ぱ

jipp- じ っ ぷ

yup- じ ゅ っ ぷ

jipp- じ っ ぱ

yup- じ ゅ っ ぱ

jipp- じ っ ぱ
100 hyaku hyakk- ひ ゃ っ か hyapp- ひ ゃ っ ぱ hyapp- ひ ゃ っ ぷ hyapp- ひ ゃ っ ぱ
1000 sen senb- せ ん ば senp- せ ん ぷ
10000 man manb- ま ん ば manp- ま ん ぷ
何 nan nanb- な ん ば nanp- な ん ぷ

See also

Web links