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Counters Covered in this Lesson
1. –(mo)ji （文）字
2. -kurasu クラス
3. -shina/-hin 品
4. -keta 桁
5. -kire 切れ
6. -tama 玉
7. -fusa 房
8. -kabu 株
9. -fukuro/-tai 袋
10. -hako 箱
11. -mune/-tō 棟
12. -kumi 組み
13. -sara 皿
14. -taba/-soku 束
15. -tōri 通り
Lesson Note: Just as in prior lessons on counters, reading charts will have readings listed from most to least used. The most used variant will be in bold.
Native Numbers + Counters
-moji 文字 & -ji 字
If you are instructed to write a report within 300 characters, you will likely use a word processor and see how many characters—with or without spaces—are in what you’ve written. This would include punctuation marks and any other non-letter symbols. If you were instead instructed to write a report within 300 letters, you would interpret this to mean not including non-letter symbols. Therefore, that extra comma won’t make you go over like it would in a Twitter post.
In Japanese, this same distinction is made by having two separate counters for “characters” and “letters.” They also conveniently correspond to the actual words for these things. To count characters, you use -ji 字. To count letters Kanji 漢字 and Kana かな, you use -moji 文字. Of these two counters, only -moji 文字 uses more native numbers by using them for 1, 2, 4, and 7.
-ji 字
| 1 | いちじ | 2 | にじ | 3 | さんじ | 4 | よんじ |
| 5 | ごじ | 6 | ろくじ | 7 | ななじ | 8 | はちじ |
| 9 | きゅうじ | 10 | じゅうじ | 100 | ひゃくじ | ? | なんじ |
-moji 文字
| 1 | ひともじ | 2 | ふたもじ | 3 | さんもじ | 4 | よんもじ |
| 5 | ごもじ | 6 | ろくもじ | 7 | ななもじ | 8 | はちもじ |
| 9 | きゅうもじ | 10 | じゅうもじ | 100 | ひゃくもじ | ? | なんもじ |
1. 字数制限を１万字に拡大しました。
Jisū seigen wo ichimanji ni kakudai shimashita.
I/we expanded the character limit to 10,000 characters.
2. その内容を英語の100字で纏めてください。
Sono naiyō wo eigo no hyakuji de matomete kudasai.
Please summarize the content in 100 English characters.
3. 英語では、曜日や月を3文字で省略して書くことがあります。
Eigo de wa, yōbi ya tsuki wo sammoji wo shōryaku shite kaku koto ga arimasu.
In English, you often abbreviate the days of the week and the months to three letters when writing.
4. 1分で読める300文字
Ippun de yomeru sambyakumoji
300 letters that can be read in a minute
The counter -kurasu クラス is used to count school classes. Oddly enough, it usually utilizes the native words for 1 and 2, which is unlike the other counters we’ve encountered thus far. However, as is the case with many counters with which these native numbers are possible, they’re not imperative with クラス.
| 1 | ひとくらす いちくらす | 2 | ふたくらす にくらす | 3 | さんくらす | 4 | よんくらす |
| 5 | ごくらす | 6 | ろっくらす ろくくらす | 7 | ななくらす | 8 | はちくらす |
| 9 | きゅうくらす | 10 | じゅっくらす じっくらす | ? | なんくらす |
5. 皆さんのお子さんが通う小学校は何クラスありますか。
Mina-san no o-ko-san ga kayou shōgakkō wa nankurasu arimasu ka?
How many classes do the elementary schools that everyone’s children go to have?
6. 私は私立高校ですが、15クラスあります。
Watashi wa shiritsu kōkō desu ga, jūgokurasu arimasu.
I (go to) a public school, but there are/I have fifteen classes.
Counter Note: When referring to individual home rooms, the counter -gakkyū 学級 may be used instead. There are no sound changes with this counter.
-hin/-shina 品（ひん・しな）
The counter -hin/-shina 品counts “dishes of food.” For the most part, either set of readings are permissible. However, in the restaurant business, the -shina しな readings are preferred. This is largely because ippin 一品 (1 dish/item) is homophonous with ippin 逸品 (rarity/excellent article). In set phrases, however, there is no flexibility as to which set of readings is used.
・-hin ひん
| 1 | いっぴん | 2 | にひん | 3 | さんぴん さんひん | 4 | よんひん |
| 5 | ごひん | 6 | ろっぴん | 7 | ななひん | 8 | はっぴん はちひん |
| 9 | きゅうひん | 10 | じゅっぴん じっぴん | 100 | ひゃっぴん | ? | なんぴん |
・-shina しな
| 1 | ひとしな | 2 | ふたしな | 3 | みしな | 4 | よしな よんしな |
| 5 | ごしな いつしな | 6 | ろくしな むしな | 7 | ななしな | 8 | はっしな はちしな やしな |
| 9 | きゅうしな ここのしな | 10 | じゅっしな じっしな としな | 100 | ひゃくしな | ? | なんしな |
Reading Note: -shina 品 is one of a handful of counters where many speakers remain acutely aware of the traditional readings for 1-10. These speakers tend to use native numbers for the entirety of the 1-10 series. However, they are in the minority. For most speakers, native numbers are not used after 4 with exception to 7.
7. これとこれを二品下さい。
Kore to kore wo futashina kudasai.
Please give me these two.
8. お豆腐料理を10品作りました。
O-tōfu ryōri wo juppin/jusshina tsukurimashita.
I made 10 tofu dishes.
9. 一品料理を注文しました。
Ippin ryōri wo chūmon shimashita.
I ordered à la carte.
-keta 桁
The counter -keta 桁 counts numerical digits.
| 1 | ひとけた | 2 | ふたけた | 3 | みけた さんけた | 4 | よけた よんけた |
| 5 | ごけた | 6 | ろっけた | 7 | ななけた | 8 | はっけた はちけた |
| 9 | きゅうけた | 10 | じゅっけた じっけた | 100 | ひゃっけた | ? | なんけた |
10. 下3桁は456です。
Shita miketa wa shii gō roku desu.
The last three digits are 456.
Pronunciation Note: When reading out numbers, 4 and 5 are typically pronounced with long vowels as seen in Ex. 10.
11. 値段を一桁（見）間違えました。
Nedan wo hitoketa (mi)machigaemashita.
I mistook the price by one digit.
12. 二桁万円の時計の良さを実感しました。
Futaketaman’en no tokei no yosa wo jikkan shimashita.
I really felt the merit of a watch in the six-figure range.
Word Note: Because man 万 means “ten thousand,” futaketaman 二桁万 refers to any value between 100,000 and 999,999.
-kire 切れ
The counter -kire 切れ counts slices.
| 1 | ひときれ | 2 | ふたきれ | 3 | みきれ さんきれ | 4 | よんきれ よきれ |
| 5 | ごきれ | 6 | ろっきれ | 7 | ななきれ | 8 | はちきれ はっきれ |
| 9 | きゅうきれ | 10 | じゅっきれ じっきれ | 100 | ひゃっきれ | ? | なんきれ |
13. サンドイッチにチーズを2切れ挟みます。
Sandoitchi ni chiizu wo futakire hasamimasu.
(I’ll) put two slices of cheese in the sandwich.
14. 長男にケーキを1切れ切り分けてあげました。
Chōnan ni kēki wo hitokire kiriwakete agemashita.
I cut my oldest son a piece of cake.
15. 鮭を10切れの切り身にして、パック入りにしました。
Sake wo jukkire no kirimi ni shite, pakku-iri ni shimashita.
I cut the salmon into ten slices and packed them.
-tama 玉
The counter -tama 玉 is used to count spherical food items such as tomatoes (tomato トマト), heads of lettuce (retasu レタス), melons (メロン), watermelons (suika スイカ), garlic (nin’niku ニンニク), cabbage (kyabetsu キャベツ), onions (tamanegi 玉葱), portions of noodles such as udon (udon うどん), etc.
1 | ひとたま | 2 | ふたたま | 3 | さんたま・みたま | 4 | よんたま・よたま |
5 | ごたま | 6 | ろくたま | 7 | ななたま | 8 | はちたま |
9 | きゅうたま | 10 | じゅったまじったま | 100 | ひゃくたま | ? | なんたま |
16. 大きめのメロンを1玉買いました。
Ōkime no meron wo hitotama kaimashita.
I bought one large-sized melon.
17. あの象はスイカを2玉丸ごと食べましたよ。
Ano zō wa suika wo futatama marugoto tabemashita yo.
That elephant ate two watermelons whole.
Spelling Note: Suika is frequently spelled as 西瓜.
18. 生うどんを5玉買いました。
Nama udon wo gotama kaimashita.
I bought five things of fresh udon.
Spelling Note: Udon is only seldom spelled as 饂飩.
19. ハワイ産のパパイヤを3玉売りました。
Hawai-san no papaiya wo mitama urimashita.
I sold three papayas from Hawaii.
-fusa 房
The counter -fusa 房 counts produce that are in bunches like grapes (budō ブドウ) or bananas (banana バナナ).
| 1 | ひとふさ | 2 | ふたふさ | 3 | みふさ さんふさ | 4 | よんふさ |
| 5 | ごふさ | 6 | ろくふさ | 7 | ななふさ | 8 | はちふさ |
| 9 | きゅうふさ | 10 | じゅうふさ とふさ | 100 | ひゃくふさ | ? | なんふさ |
20. 店に、1房に8本付いたバナナを1房100円で20房仕入れました。
Mise ni, hitofusa ni happon tsuita banana wo hitofusa hyakuen de nijūfusa shiiremashita.
For the store, I procured 20 bunches of bananas for 100 yen per bunch with 8 bananas in each bunch.
21. 器にミカンを2房入れました。
Utsuwa ni mikan wo futafusa iremashita.
I put two bunches of mandarin oranges into the bowl.
Spelling Note: Mikan is occasionally spelled as 蜜柑.
22. 青いブドウを3房冷蔵庫に入れました。
Aoi budō wo mifusa reizōko ni iremashita.
I put three bunches of green grapes into the refrigerator.
Spelling Note: Budō is only seldom spelled as 葡萄.
-kabu 株
The counter -kabu 株 can count heads of produce such as cabbage (kyabetsu キャベツ), Chinese cabbage (hakusai 白菜), broccoli (burokkorii ブロッコリー), cauliflower (karifurawā カリフラワー), or bok choy (chingensai チンゲン菜), spinach (hōrensō ほうれん草), Japanese mustard spinach (komatsuna 小松菜), etc. connected at the stem, or stocks as in the stock exchange (kabushiki shijō 株式市場).
1 | ひとかぶ | 2 | ふたかぶ | 3 | みかぶ | 4 | よんかぶ |
5 | ごかぶ | 6 | ろっかぶ | 7 | ななかぶ | 8 | はちかぶ |
9 | きゅうかぶ | 10 | じゅっかぶ | 100 | ひゃっかぶ | ? | なんかぶ |
23. 1株8万円の株を6株買いました。
Hitokabu hachiman’en no kabu wo rokkabu kaimashita.
I bought six stocks for 80,000 yen a piece.
24. 自家製の坦々麺にチンゲン菜を2株入れて食べました。
Jikasei no tantanmen ni chingensai wo futakabu irete tabemashita.
I added two things of bok choy into the homemade dandan noodles I ate.
25. ほうれん草を3株収穫しました。
Hōrensō wo mikabu shūkaku shimashita.
I harvested three bundles of spinach.
-fukuro/-tai 袋
The counter -fukuro/-tai 袋 counts bagfuls. The former reading is more colloquial, but the latter reading is used as the proper unit in industrial/business settings. This counter is frequently used with words like tea (ocha お茶), cement (semento セメント), wheat flower (komugiko 小麦粉), etc.
・ -fukuro ふくろ
| 1 | ひとふくろ | 2 | ふたふくろ | 3 | みふくろ | 4 | よふくろ |
| 5 | ごふくろ いつふくろ | 6 | ろくふくろ ろっぷくろ | 7 | ななふくろ | 8 | はちふくろ はっぷくろ |
| 9 | きゅうふくろ | 10 | じゅっぷくろ じっぷくろ とふくろ | 100 | ひゃっぷくろ ひゃくふくろ | ? | なんふくろ |
・-tai たい
| 1 | いったい | 2 | にたい | 3 | さんたい | 4 | よんたい |
| 5 | ごたい | 6 | ろくたい ろったい | 7 | ななたい | 8 | はちたい はったい |
| 9 | きゅうたい | 10 | じゅったい じったい | 100 | ひゃくたい ひゃったい | ? | なんたい |
26. 炒め玉葱を一袋入れました。
Itame-tamanegi wo hitofukuro iremashita.
I put in a bagful of sautéed onions.
27. ポテチを一袋食べました。
Potechi wo hitofukuro tabemashita.
I ate a bag of potato chips.
28. 土のうを100袋くらい貯めています。
Donō wo hyakutai/hyakufukuro kurai tamete imasu.
We have about 100 sandbags stored.
Spelling Note: Donō is seldom spelled as 土嚢.
-hako 箱
The counter -hako 箱 counts boxes. It itself is the noun for box. Its readings are in flux, but focus on the ones that are most common. This counter is one of a handful of native counters with which native speakers are more likely to be acutely aware of the traditional readings for it. The native series is possible for 1-10, but it is rare for a speaker to follow the entire series.
| 1 | ひとはこ いっぱこ | 2 | ふたはこ にはこ | 3 | さんぱこ さんはこ みはこ さんばこ | 4 | よんはこ よんぱこ よはこ |
| 5 | ごはこ いつはこ | 6 | ろっぱこ ろくはこ むはこ | 7 | ななはこ | 8 | はっぱこ はちはこ やはこ |
| 9 | きゅうはこ ここのはこ | 10 | じゅっぱこ じゅうはこ | 100 | ひゃっぱこ ひゃくはこ | ? | せんぱこ せんはこ |
| 1万 | いちまんはこ いちまんぱこ |
29. 好きな本を一箱に詰め込みました。
Suki na hon wo ippako/hitohako ni tsumekomimashita.
I crammed the books I liked into one box.
30. 彼は一日にタバコを｛2箱・2パック｝吸っている。
Kare wa ichinichi ni tabako wo [futahako/nipakku] sutte iru.
He smokes/two packs of cigarettes a day.
Counter Notes: The counter -pakku パック counts packs. For the number 1, it can be used with the forms “ichi いち,” “ip いっ,” “hito ひと,” and “wan ワン.” For 2, it can be used with “ni に,” “futa ふた,” and “tsū ツ―.” For other numbers, it behaves just like the counter -pēji ページ. Also, the counter phrase ichinichi 一日 uses the counter -nichi 日 which counts days. This counter will be looked at later in IMABI.
31. 引っ越しで段ボール箱を10箱くらい発送しました。
Hikkoshi de dambōrubako wo juppako kurai hassō shimashita.
I shipped about ten cardboard boxes in moving.
-mune/-tō 棟
The counter -mune/-tō 棟 counts buildings. Historically, only the former reading existed. Nowadays, many people use the latter reading when counting very large structures like high-rises and use the former for any smaller sized building. This, though, is not set in stone. In the news, only -mune むね is used. This practice is commonly seen in all kinds of formal situations. In the spoken language, -mune むね is still largely the reading of choice. However, a decent minority still use -tō とう instead, especially when referring to large buildings.
・-mune むね
| 1 | ひとむね | 2 | ふたむね | 3 | さんむね | 4 | よんむね |
| 5 | ごむね | 6 | ろくむね | 7 | ななむね | 8 | はちむね |
| 9 | きゅうむね | 10 | じゅうむね | 100 | ひゃくむね | ? | なんむね |
・-tō とう
| 1 | いっとう | 2 | にとう | 3 | さんとう | 4 | よんとう |
| 5 | ごとう | 6 | ろくとう | 7 | ななとう | 8 | はちとう はっとう |
| 9 | きゅうとう | 10 | じゅっとう じっとう | 100 | ひゃくとう ひゃっとう | ? | なんとう |
32. 住宅1棟が全焼しました。
Jūtaku hitomune ga zenshō shimashita.
One home burned down.
33. マンションが10棟立ち並んでいる。
Manshon ga jūmune/juttō tachinarande iru.
Ten apartment complexes are lined in a row.
34. 菊川はオフィスビル3棟を所有している。
Kikukawa wa ofisu biru sammune wo shoyū shite iru.
Kikukawa owns three office buildings.
-kumi 組み
The counter -kumi 組み counts sets of something as well as what “class” one is in in school. In Japan, homerooms will be referred to by #組. For this latter meaning, it is spelled without み. This spelling is also used when it counts “groups of people.”
| 1 | ひとくみ | 2 | ふたくみ | 3 | さんくみ みくみ | 4 | よんくみ |
| 5 | ごくみ | 6 | ろっくみ | 7 | ななくみ | 8 | はっくみ はちくみ |
| 9 | きゅうくみ | 10 | じゅっくみ じっくみ | 100 | ひゃっくみ | ? | なんくみ |
35. コーヒー茶碗一組みを購入しました。
Kōhiijawan hitokumi wo kōnyū shimashita.
I purchased a coffee cup set.
Reading Note: 茶碗 can also be read as “chawan ちゃわん.”
Spelling Note: Kōhii is only seldom spelled as 珈琲.
36. 10チームを3組に分けました。
Jutchiimu wo sankumi/mikumi ni wakemashita.
I split ten teams into three groups.
Counter Note: The counter -chiimu チーム counts “teams.” For 1, you can use “it いっ” or “hito ひと.” For 2, you can use “ni に” or “futa ふた.” For other numbers, it behaves like -tō 頭.
37. 私は3組です。
Watashi wa sankumi desu.
I’m in Class 3.
-sara 皿
The counter -sara 皿 is used to count plates of food. When plates don’t have any food on them, however, the counter -mai 枚 should be used instead. Incidentally, the word for plate is sara 皿.
| 1 | ひとさら | 2 | ふたさら | 3 | みさら さんさら | 4 | よんさら |
| 5 | ごさら | 6 | ろくさら | 7 | ななさら | 8 | はっさら はちさら |
| 9 | きゅうさら | 10 | じゅっさら じっさら | 100 | ひゃくさら | ? | なんさら |
38. 私は炙りサーモンの握り寿司を16皿食べきりました。
Watashi wa aburisāmon no nigirizushi wo jūrokusara tabekirimashita.
I completely ate 16 plates of seared salmon nigirizushi.
39. きのう、100円の回転寿司を8皿食べましたよ。
Kinō, hyakuen no kaitenzushi wo hassara tabemashita yo.
I ate eight plates of 100-yen conveyor belt sushi yesterday.
40. 回転寿司店で寿司を何皿食べることが多いですか。
Kaitenzushi-ten de sushi wo nansara taberu koto ga ōi desu ka?
How many plates of sushi do you eat the most at conveyor belt sushi restaurants?
41. お持ち帰りの方はエビ天巻を10｛皿分・貫｝注文しました。
O-mochikaeri no kata wa ebiten-maki wo [jussara-bun/jukkan] chūmon shimashita.
The person ordering takeout ordered 10 plates worth/10 pieces of shrimp tempura rolls.
Counter Note: The counter -kan 貫 counts pieces of sushi. Its sound changes are the same as -kabu 株.
-taba 束
The counter -taba 束 counts leafy vegetables (yōsairui 葉菜類/ha(mono)yasai 葉(物)野菜/nappa 菜っ葉) that are in bundles. It may also be read as -soku そく, but this reading tends to be used to indicate quantities of a hundred for vegetables, bamboo (take 竹), rice plants (ine 稲), firewood (maki/takigi 薪), etc. This comes from bundles being treated as units of ten and -soku そく being ten of those bundles. Not all speakers know this, but this distinction is still used in several industries. Because different places can assign different numerical values to how much a 束 is, it is usually always stated how much one is.
・-taba たば
| 1 | ひとたば | 2 | ふたたば | 3 | みたば さんたば | 4 | よんたば |
| 5 | ごたば | 6 | ろくたば | 7 | ななたば | 8 | はちたば |
| 9 | きゅうたば | 10 | じゅったば じったば | 100 | ひゃくたば | ? | なんたば |
・-soku そく
| 1 | いっそく | 2 | にそく | 3 | さんぞく さんそく | 4 | よんそく |
| 5 | ごそく | 6 | ろくそく | 7 | ななそく | 8 | はっそく |
| 9 | きゅうそく | 10 | じっそく じゅっそく | 100 | ひゃくそく | ? | なんぞく なんそく |
42. このお味噌汁1杯で、ほうれん草1束分の鉄分が摂れます。
Kono o-misoshiru ippai de, hōrensō hitotaba-bun no tetsubun ga toremasu.
You can get the iron content of a bundle of spinach with one cup of this miso soup.
43. 業務用の味付け海苔を100束発注しました。
Gyōmu-yō ajitsuke nori wo hyakusoku hatchū shimashita.
I put in an order for 100 bundles of business use, seasoned nori.
44. 長ネギ2本と、水菜1束、鍋つゆ1袋、ポン酢少しで作りました。
Naganegi nihon to, mizuna hitotaba, nabetsuyu hitofukuro, ponzu sukoshi de tsukurimashita.
I made it with two Japanese leeks, one bundle of potherb mustard, a bag of hot pot soup, and a little ponzu sauce.
Counter Note: Long items like leeks are counted with -hon 本, which will looked in greater detail later in IMABI.
45. 下の写真のお浸しで春菊3束分です！
Shita no shashin no ohitashi de shungiku mitaba-bun desu!
In the ohitashi in the picture below, there is three bundles worth of edible chrysanthemum!
Culture Note: Ohitashi is boiled greens like spinach, mustard spinach, edible chrysanthemum, etc.
-tōri 通り
The counter -tōri 通り counts ways. The phrase hitotōri ひととおり is not only used to mean “one way/method,” but it also means “in general/generally/roughly.”
| 1 | ひととおり | 2 | ふたとおり にとおり | 3 | さんとおり みとおり | 4 | よんとおり |
| 5 | ごとおり | 6 | ろくとおり | 7 | ななとおり | 8 | はちとおり |
| 9 | きゅうとおり | 10 | じゅっとおり じっとおり | 100 | ひゃくとおり | ? | なんとおり |
46. 必要な道具は一通り揃っています。
Hitsuyō na dōgu wa hitotōri sorotte imasu.
There’s a full lineup of needed tools/instruments.
47. 大学受験が一通り終わりました。
Daigaku juken ga hitotōri owarimashita.
I’m generally done with taking my college exams.
48. 読みが2通りある熟語がたくさん存在します。
Yomi ga futatōri aru jukugo ga takusan sonzai shimasu.
There are many compound words that have two readings.
49. 3通りの男性の誘い方を紹介していきます。
Santōri no dansei no sasoikata wo shōkai shite ikimasu.
I am going to introduce to you three ways to lure men.
50. 組み合わせは何通りあるか教えてください。
Kumiawase wa nantōri aru ka oshiete kudasai.
Please tell me how many combinations there are.
