![]() This is the counter for people, except if there is just one person, or if there are two people. Things like clouds, empty containers, typhoons, planets and bacteria are also counted using 個. Note: most times you shorten “ichi” to “i” when it comes before a counter, so it’s “i-ko” not “ichi ko” here. It is generally used to count small objects, such as pieces of fruit e.g. Ko (個, こ)Īfter the universal counters, 個 is probably the next most useful basic Japanese counter word. If you have been studying the language, you probably will have learnt some of these already without even realising it. While you can get by just fine using the universal counters, knowing how to use other counters is an important part of learning Japanese. ![]() One million is 100 万, so in Japanese “one million” becomes “hyaku-man”. Similarly, 150 is pronounced “hyaku-go-jū” and not “ichi-hyaku-go-jū”.įor the even larger numbers like 100,000 and 1,000,000, you need to think of it in terms of how many 万, or “man”, there are. For example, 1500 is not “ichi-sen-go-hyaku”. Important to note is that for numbers 10 to 1000, you don’t say “ichi” if the number begins with 1. “35” is three 10s plus 5, so it’s “sanjū-go” and so on.Īs you continue going up, you keep following this pattern except for numbers like 100 (百, hyaku), 1000 (千, せん) and 10,000 (一万, ichiman), which all have their own words.įor example, the number 5750 is made up of five 1000s plus seven 100s plus five 10s, which makes it “go-sen-nana-hyaku-go-jū” “25” is two 10s plus 5, so it’s “nijū-go” “11” is one 10 plus 1, so it becomes “jū-ichi” Here are some of our tips!Ĭounting up to 100 is very simple once you understand how to compound the numbers: count the 10s and then add the next number. Of course, you can count much larger numbers in Japanese as well. The Sino-Japanese reading of numbers always requires a counter and since it is used for reading numbers beyond 10, the Sino-Japanese reading is used more often.Therefore, this makes them universal counters which you can use to count most things, except for people, money and time. You only use the native Japanese readings for numbers up to 10 and they do not require a counter word.Take a look at our chart with Japanese numbers 1 to 10, with both native Japanese, or wago 和語, and Sino-Japanese, or kango 漢語, readings. Basic numbers and countingīasic numbers and counting in Japanese is fairly straightforward. Read on to learn more about the counting system in Japanese and basic Japanese counters. But, you’ll be glad to know that you can easily get by in day-to-day life without knowing all of them. A counter is a word that describes a thing that you are counting, for example people, time, animals, and so on.Īs a beginner Japanese language student, it might seem incredibly overwhelming to learn that there are so many counters, each with their own specific application. Each language has its own way of counting things and in Japanese, there are literally hundreds of different counters.
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