Counters and quantities
Japanese does not count “three dogs” but “dogs, three animals”: the number carries a counter that depends on the shape of the thing. 本 for long thin things (bottles, umbrellas, trains), 枚 for flat ones (sheets, shirts, tickets), 匹 for small animals, 人 for people, 台 for machines, 冊 for books. The general count いち, に, さん lives alongside the old ひとつ, ふたつ, みっつ, which works for almost any object up to ten and gets you out of trouble. Sounds shift when they join and you have to hear them: 一本 いっぽん, 三本 さんぼん, 六本 ろっぽん, 一人 ひとり, 二人 ふたり. The counter follows the particle, it does not precede it: りんごを三つ買いました.
Where this sits
- Comes after
- Particles: は, が, を, に, で
Exercises from this rung
Generated by the app, from easiest to hardest
切符を三___買いました。
- 枚
- 匹
- 本
- 冊
Why 枚 counts flat things: sheets, tickets, shirts, plates, cards. If you can stack it without bulk, it is 枚.
easier家族は四___です。
- 匹
- 個
- 台
- 人
Why 人 counts people, and the first two are irregular: 一人 ひとり and 二人 ふたり; from three on it is regular, 三人 さんにん. Those two must be memorised separately.
in between犬を二___飼っています。
- 匹
- 人
- 頭
- 羽
Why 匹 counts small animals; 頭 large ones (cows, horses, elephants) and 羽 birds and rabbits. The border between 匹 and 頭 is roughly whether the animal fits in your arms.
harder