Each language has different ways of counting objects. Japanese uses counters. They are similar to English expressions such as "a cup of ~," "a sheet of ~" and so on. There are a variety of counters, often based on the shape of the object. The counters are attached directly to a number (e.g. ni-hai, san-mai). If you are not familiar with Japanese numbers, click here.
Things which are not clearly categorized or shapeless are counted by using native Japanese numbers (hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu etc.).
When using a counter, pay attention to the word order. It is different from English order. A typical order is "noun + particle + quantity --- verbs." Here are examples.
本を二冊買いました。
I bought two books.
コーヒーを二杯ください。
Please give me two cups of coffee.
Another thing I want to mention is when grouping objects, Japanese divide them into groups of five and ten unlike six and twelve in the West. For example, sets of Japanese dishes or bowls are sold in units of five. Traditionally, there was no word for dozen, though it has been used because of Western influence.
Objects
When combining a number with a counter, the pronunciation of the number or the counter might change. Click the link for each counter to learn about the phonetic change.
hon 本 --- Long, cylindrical objects: trees, pens, etc.
mai 枚 --- Flat, thin objects: paper, stamps, dishes, etc.
ko 個 --- Broad category of small and compact objects
hai 杯 --- Liquid in cups, glasses, bowls, etc.
satsu 冊 --- Bound objects: books, magazines, etc.
dai 台 --- Vehicles, machines etc.
kai 階 --- The floor of a building
ken 件 --- Houses, buildings
soku 足 --- Pairs of footwear: sock, shoes, etc.
tsuu 通 --- Letters
Duration
jikan 時間 --- Hour, as in "ni-jikan (two hours)"
fun 分 --- Minute, as in "go-fun (five minutes)"
byou 秒 --- Second, as in "sanjuu-byoo (thirty seconds)"
shuukan 週間 --- Week, as in "san-shuukan (three weeks)"
kagetsu か月 --- Month, as in "ni-kagetsu (two months)"
nenkan 年間 --- Year, as in "juu-nenkan (ten years)"
hiki 匹 --- Insects, fish, small animals: cats, dogs, etc.
tou 頭 --- Large animals: horses, bears, etc.
wa 羽 --- Birds
Frequency
kai 回 --- Times, as in "ni-kai (twice)"
do 度 --- Times, as in "ichi-do (once)"
Order
ban 番 --- Ordinal numbers, as in "ichi-ban (first place, number one)"
tou 等 --- Class, grade, as in "san-too (third place)"
People
nin 人 --- "Hitori (one person)" and "futari (two people)" are exceptions.
mei 名 --- More formal than "nin."
Others
sai 歳/才 --- Age, as in "go-sai (five years old)"
"Ippon demo Ninjin " is a fun children song for learning about counters. Pay attention to the different counters for each item.
