Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Counters
If I had to pick one thing that is always causing me problems then it would be knowing which counter to use for a given item. This post will be an ongoing attempt to list which counters are used for which item. I'll add it as a sticky post and populate it as time goes on.
It is possible to use both naturalised Japanese numbers (一つ、二つ、三つ etc.) or the imported Chinese numbering system.
The Japanese numbering system is nice and easy; the syntax being:
[noun][particle][number][verb]
The particle used is dictated by the verbal component. Note, however, the use of naturalised numbers is limited to counting up to 10 items. After that you will need to use the imported system. Also, from talking to Japanese friends, even for counting less than 10 of something it is usual to use the imported system.
Using the imported numbering system is more complex in that you need to specify a counter along with the quantity, although the syntax is pretty straight-forward:
[noun][particle][number][item counter][verb]
Again, the particle is dictated by the verbal component, whilst the item counter is dependent on the item (see below).
It is possible to use both naturalised Japanese numbers (一つ、二つ、三つ etc.) or the imported Chinese numbering system.
The Japanese numbering system is nice and easy; the syntax being:
[noun][particle][number][verb]
The particle used is dictated by the verbal component. Note, however, the use of naturalised numbers is limited to counting up to 10 items. After that you will need to use the imported system. Also, from talking to Japanese friends, even for counting less than 10 of something it is usual to use the imported system.
Using the imported numbering system is more complex in that you need to specify a counter along with the quantity, although the syntax is pretty straight-forward:
[noun][particle][number][item counter][verb]
Again, the particle is dictated by the verbal component, whilst the item counter is dependent on the item (see below).
| 漢字 | カナ | Item |
| 頭 | とう | animal, large |
| 匹 | ひき | animals, small |
| 袋 | ふくろ | bags of things (crisps, sweets, etc) |
| 床 | しょう | beds |
| 羽 | わ | birds |
| 冊 | さつ | books |
| 本 | ほん | bottles |
| 箱 | はこ | boxes, boxfuls |
| 束 | たば | bunches of something |
| 台 | だい | cars |
| 脚 | きゃく | chairs |
| 課 | か | chapters of a book |
| 字 | じ | characters (letters) |
| 枚 | まい | clothing (articles of) |
| ヶ国 | かこく | countries |
| 品 | しな | courses (of a meal) |
| 杯 | はい | cups (containing a liquid) |
| 脚 | きゃく | desks |
| 通 | つう | documents |
| 通 | つう | emails |
| 話 | わ | episodes of TV series |
| 本 | ほん | films (movies) |
| 匹 | ひき | fish |
| 階 | かい | floors (of a building) |
| 輪 | りん | flowers, individual (also see bunches counter) |
| 杯 | はい | glasses (containing a liquid) |
| 丁 | ちょう | guns |
| 台 | だい | household appliances |
| 匹 | ひき | insects |
| 字 | じ | kana |
| 字 | じ | kanji |
| 丁 | ちょう | leaves |
| 課 | か | lessons |
| 通 | つう | letters (as in something you write to someone) |
| 丁 | ちょう | levers |
| 台 | だい | machines |
| 冊 | さつ | magazines |
| 台 | だい | mechanical devices |
| 泊 | はく | nights of a stay (somewhere) |
| 回 | かい | occurances (number of times) |
| 枚 | まい | paper (sheets of) |
| 人 | にん | people |
| 名 | めい | people (more formal than 人) |
| 枚 | まい | photographs |
| 問 | もん | questions |
| 丁 | ちょう | servings in a restaurant |
| 段 | だん | steps (in a staircase) |
| 話 | わ | stories |
| 本 | ほん | telephone calls |
| 枚 | まい | thin, flat objects |
| 枚 | まい | tickets |
| 丁 | ちょう | tools |
| 本 | ほん | trees |
| 輪 | りん | wheels |
Comments:
<< Home
Ah... so 束 can be used to count bunches of things (like flowers), and 輪 is used to count individual flowers? Will update the list!
Post a Comment
<< Home
Subscribe to the RSS Feed