How do you count people? And how do you count plates in Japanese? After learning numbers in Japanese such as “ichi,” “ni,” and “san,” you might hear people counting people as “futari,” “san-nin,” or counting books as “ni-satsu,” “san-satsu.” This might be very confusing. This guide navigates you through counting in Japanese.
Table of Contents
1.Why counting in Japanese so confusing?
Counting in Japanese can be confusing because of the counters. Counters called 助数詞 (Josushi) in Japanese, are suffixes or words used to count things, and there are around 500 different types. These counters vary depending on the shape, size, and type of the object. However, it’s not necessary to remember all 500 types. Even among Japanese people, few know them all, and many make mistakes or misunderstand the counters in everyday conversation. In this guide, we’ll explain the counters that you’re likely to use in daily life.
Source: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, “文法モジュール,” April, 2024.
2. Commonly used counters related to people
Counting People
In daily conversation, one of the most common uses of counters is for counting the number of people or discussing someone’s age. When counting people, the pattern is a bit different from the standard numerical pattern. For example, to count one person, you say “hitori” (ひとり), and for two people, it’s “futari” (ふたり). After that, you use the regular counting pattern by adding “nin” (にん) after the number. However, please note that when counting four people, the pattern is irregular. The number four in Japanese is “yon” (よん), but when counting people, it is not “yon-nin.” Instead, it is “yo-nin” (よにん). For example, 14 people is “jyū-yo-nin” (じゅうよにん), and 24 people is “nijyū-yo-nin” (にじゅうよにん).
| Number of People | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
ひとり |
hitori |
|
2 |
ふたり |
futari |
|
3 |
さんにん |
san-nin |
|
4 |
よにん |
yo-nin |
|
5 |
ごにん |
go-nin |
|
6 |
ろくにん |
roku-nin |
|
7 |
ななにん |
nana-nin |
|
8 |
はちにん |
hachi-nin |
|
9 |
きゅうにん |
kyū-nin |
|
10 |
じゅうにん |
jyū-nin |
|
14 |
じゅうよにん |
jyū-yo-nin |
Counting Age of People
When counting age in Japanese, you can usually add “sai” (歳) after the number. However, for the numbers 1, 8, and 10, the pattern is irregular. Instead of saying “ichi-sai,” “hachi-sai,” and “jyū-sai,” you say “issai” (一歳) for 1 year old, “hassai” (八歳) for 8 years old, and “jūssai” (十歳) for 10 years old.
| Age | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
いっさい |
issai |
|
2 |
にさい |
ni-sai |
|
3 |
さんさい |
san-sai |
|
4 |
よんさい |
yon-sai |
|
5 |
ごさい |
go-sai |
|
6 |
ろくさい |
roku-sai |
|
7 |
ななさい |
nana-sai |
|
8 |
はっさい |
hassai |
|
9 |
きゅうさい |
kyū-sai |
|
10 |
じゅっさい |
jūssai |
3. Commonly used counters related to things
Counting Small Things
When counting small things like eggs, apples, or even ideas or cups, you can use either “tsu” (つ) or “ko” (個). However, “tsu” is used for counting up to nine. For example, to say “there are eleven apples,” you would say “jyūikko no ringo” (十一個のりんご), not “jyū-hitotsu no ringo” (十一つのりんご).
Additionally, we learned that the counter for age is “sai” (歳), as shown above. However, “tsu” can be used for the age of a child. For example, if someone asks, “How old is your daughter?” you can say “kokonotsu desu” (九つです) or “kyū-sai desu” (九歳です).
| Number | Japanese | Pronunciation | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
ひとつ |
hitotsu |
いっこ |
ikko |
|
2 |
ふたつ |
futatsu |
にこ |
niko |
|
3 |
みっつ |
mittsu |
さんこ |
sanko |
|
4 |
よっつ
|
yottsu |
よんこ |
yonko |
|
5 |
いつつ |
itsutsu |
ごこ |
goko |
|
6 |
むっつ |
muttsu |
ろっこ |
rokko |
|
7 |
ななつ |
nanatsu |
ななこ |
nanako |
|
8 |
やっつ |
yattsu |
はっこ |
hakko |
|
9 |
ここのつ |
kokonotsu |
きゅうこ |
kyūko |
|
10 |
とお |
tō |
じゅっこ |
jukko |
Counting thin and flat objects
When counting flat objects such as paper, cards, plates, and handkerchiefs, you use the counter “mai” (まい). For long objects such as pencils, spaghetti, and umbrellas, you use the counter “hon” (ほん). However, there are irregularities with “hon” for the numbers 1, 3, 6, 8, and 10. Instead of “hon,” “pon” or “bon” is used.
| Number | Japanese | Pronunciation | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
いちまい |
ichi-mai |
いっぽん |
ippon |
|
2 |
にまい |
ni-mai |
にこ |
ni-hon |
|
3 |
さんまい |
san-mai |
さんぼん |
san-bon |
|
4 |
よんまい
|
yon-mai |
よんほん |
yon-hon |
|
5 |
ごまい |
go-mai |
ごほん |
go-hon |
|
6 |
ろくまい |
roku-mai |
ろっぽん |
roppon |
|
7 |
ななまい |
nana-mai |
ななほん |
nana-hon |
|
8 |
はちまい |
hachi-mai |
はっぽん |
happon |
|
9 |
きゅうまい |
kyū-mai |
きゅうほん |
kyū-hon |
|
10 |
じゅうまい |
jū-mai |
じゅっぽん |
juppon |
Counting books and cars
When counting books, notebooks, magazines, and dictionaries, you use the counter “satsu” (冊). For example, one book is “issatsu” (一冊), two books is “nisatsu” (二冊), and so on.
When counting cars, bicycles, motorcycles, as well as electronic products such as TVs, PCs, refrigerators, and washing machines, you use “dai” (台). For example, one car is “ichi-dai” (一台), two cars is “ni-dai” (二台), and so on.
| Number | Japanese | Pronunciation | Japanese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
いっさつ |
issatsu |
いちだい |
ichi-dai |
|
2 |
にさつ |
ni-satsu |
にだい |
ni-dai |
|
3 |
さんさつ |
san-satsu |
さんだい |
san-dai |
|
4 |
よんさつ
|
yon-satsu |
よんだい |
yon-dai |
|
5 |
ごさつ |
go-satsu |
ごだい |
go-dai |
|
6 |
ろくさつ |
roku-satsu |
ろくだい |
roku-dai |
|
7 |
ななさつ |
nana-satsu |
ななだい |
nana-dai |
|
8 |
はっさつ |
hassatsu |
はちだい |
hachi-dai |
|
9 |
きゅうさつ |
kyū-satsu |
きゅうだい |
kyū-dai |
|
10 |
じゅっさつ |
jussatsu |
じゅうだい |
jūdai |
