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Basic Lessons

At the Post Office (5)

Dialogue 

Click here for the dialogue for "At the Post Office."

Counters 

The Japanese use a variety of counters to count objects, often on the basis of their shapes. They are similar expressions to English's "sheets of" or "cups of." Click here to learn more about the counters. 

hon
本		 long, thin , narrow objects such as trees, pencils, bottles etc.
mai
枚		 thin, flat objects such as paper, bills, tickets, plates etc.
satsu
冊		 bound objects such as books, magazines, notebooks etc.
dai
台		 mechanical objects such as appliances, vehicles etc.
hai
杯		 liquid or dry measures such as glasses, cups, bowls etc.
ko
個		 small objects not in categories listed above
nin
人		 people
hiki
匹		 small animal, fish, insects etc.

The counters basically attach directly to a number, though there are some irregular changes.

hon ippon (1), sanbon (3), roppon (6), juppon (10)
hai  ippai (1), sanbai (3), roppai (6), juppai (10)
nin hitori (1), futari (2)
hiki ippiki (1), sanbiki (3), roppiki (6), juppiki (10)

A typical sentence pattern with counters is "noun + particle + a number, a counter (quantity) + verb."

Kitte o san-mai kudasai.
 切手を三枚ください。 		Please give me three stamps.
Hon o ni-satsu kaimashita. 
本を二冊買いました。		 I bought two books.

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