List of Japanese counting words
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 |
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
- trussel.com - Japanese Numeral Counters
- Mami Suzuki, Koichi: Getting Started with Japanese Counters. In: Tofugo. October 2, 2018, accessed October 29, 2018 .