Part 2 · Verbs, adjectives and the everyday basics · Lesson 15
Numbers and counting things
Numbers up to ten thousand and beyond, why every kind of object has its own counter, the counters you need first (つ, 人, 個, 枚, 本, 匹, 冊, 台, 回, 歳), and how to place them in a sentence.
The numbers
| 一 いち | 二 に | 三 さん | 四 よん / し |
| 五 ご | 六 ろく | 七 なな / しち | 八 はち |
| 九 きゅう / く | 十 じゅう | 百 ひゃく | 千 せん |
| 万 まん (10,000) | 億 おく (100,000,000) |
Numbers stack naturally: 十一 (11), 二十 (20), 二十三 (23), 百五 (105), 千二百 (1,200).
Two Japanese quirks:
- Big numbers group in fours (万, 億), not threes. 十万 is 100,000; 百万 is one million; 一億 is a hundred million.
- Zero is ゼロ or れい.
Common irregular sounds: 三百 (さんびゃく), 六百 (ろっぴゃく), 八百 (はっぴゃく); 三千 (さんぜん), 八千 (はっせん).
Counters
You cannot count objects with a bare number. You attach a counter, a small word that depends on the thing's shape or kind. English has a few ("three sheets of paper", "two pairs of shoes"); Japanese has dozens, and they are required.
| Counter | Counts | Example |
|---|---|---|
| つ | generic things, up to ten | みっつ |
| 人 (にん) | people | 三人 |
| 個 (こ) | small objects | 五個 |
| 枚 (まい) | flat things: paper, plates, shirts, tickets | 二枚 |
| 本 (ほん) | long, thin things: pens, bottles, trees | 三本 |
| 匹 (ひき) | small animals, fish, insects | 二匹 |
| 冊 (さつ) | bound things: books, magazines | 三冊 |
| 台 (だい) | machines and vehicles | 二台 |
| 回 (かい) | times, occasions | 一回 |
| 歳 (さい) | age | 二十歳 |
| 杯 (はい) | cups and glasses | 二杯 |
| 階 (かい) | floors | 三階 |
つ: the generic counter
For up to ten, you can count nearly anything with the native numbers:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ひとつ | ふたつ | みっつ | よっつ | いつつ |
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| むっつ | ななつ | やっつ | ここのつ | とお |
Beyond ten, the generic つ stops, and you use the Chinese numbers (十一個).
People
One and two are special. After that, it is regular.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ひとり | ふたり | さんにん | よにん | ごにん | ろくにん |
Sound changes
A few counters change sound depending on the number. Do not memorise a whole table; learn the high-frequency ones as you meet them.
| 本 (long) | 匹 (animals) | 杯 (cups) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | いっぽん | いっぴき | いっぱい |
| 2 | にほん | にひき | にはい |
| 3 | さんぼん | さんびき | さんばい |
| 4 | よんほん | よんひき | よんはい |
| 5 | ごほん | ごひき | ごはい |
| 6 | ろっぽん | ろっぴき | ろっぱい |
| 7 | ななほん | ななひき | ななはい |
| 8 | はっぽん | はっぴき | はっぱい |
| 9 | きゅうほん | きゅうひき | きゅうはい |
| 10 | じゅっぽん | じゅっぴき | じゅっぱい |
The pattern: 1, 6, 8 and 10 get a small っ and ぽ/ぴ/ぱ; 3 gets ぼ/び/ば; the rest keep the plain h-sound. It shows up in many h-counters.
Where the counter goes
In a sentence, the quantity usually follows the thing it counts and its particle, right before the verb:
You can also put the number first with の: 三冊の本を買った. The first pattern is more natural in speech.
Asking how many
| Question | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 何人 (なんにん) | how many people |
| 何枚 (なんまい) | how many sheets |
| 何本 (なんぼん) | how many long things |
| いくつ | how many (generic) / how old (informal) |
| いくら | how much (money) |
| 何回 (なんかい) | how many times |
| 何歳 (なんさい) / おいくつ | how old |
Money, time and age
- Money: 円 (えん): 千円, 五千円, 一万円.
- Time of day: 時 (じ) and 分 (ふん/ぷん): 三時五分.
- Age: 歳 (さい) / 才. 二十歳 is はたち (twenty years old).
Longer sentences
Numbers and counters appear together with prices, times and quantities. These are typical situations.
A restaurant booking, with times and people:
Key points
- Numbers group by 万 (10,000) and 億, not by thousands.
- Counters are mandatory: each kind of thing has its own.
- 〜つ counts generic things up to ten.
- 人, 本, 枚, 匹, 冊, 台, 回, 歳 are the first counters worth knowing.
- Counters follow the thing and its particle, just before the verb.
Drill these patterns
Short example sentences for the points in this lesson: