Японские счетные суффиксы: как считать существительные, действия и события.

Japanese measure words used with numbers to count things, actions, and events
In Japanese, counter words or counters (助数詞, ) are measure words used with numbers to count things, actions, and events. Counters are added directly after numbers. There are numerous counters, and different counters are used depending on the kind or shape of nouns that are being described. For example, to express the idea "two dogs" in Japanese one could say 二匹の犬 (literally "two small animal count POSSESSIVE dog"), or 犬二匹 (literally "dog two small animal count"), but just pasting 二 and 犬 together in either order is ungrammatical. Here 二 is the number "two", 匹 is the counter for small animals, の is the possessive particle (a reversed "of", similar to the " 's" in "John's dog"), and 犬 is the word "dog". Counters are not independent words; they must appear with a numeric prefix. The number can be imprecise: 何 or, less commonly, 幾 , can both be used to mean "some/several/many", and, in questions, "what/how many/how much". For example, "some guests" can be translated as 何名様 (lit. "some people count honored ones"), and "how many guests?" as 何名様？ (lit. "what people count honored ones QUESTION"). Some nouns prefer 幾 , as in 幾晩？ "how many nights?" and 幾日も行っていた "I was gone for many days." Counters are similar in function to the word "pieces" in "two pieces of paper" or "cups" in "two cups of coffee". However, they cannot take non numerical modifiers. So while "two pieces of paper" translates fairly directly as 紙二枚 (lit. "paper two flat count"), "two green pieces of paper" must be rendered as 緑の紙二枚 , akin to "two pieces of green paper". Just as in English, different counters can be used to convey different types of quantity. In English, one can say "one loaf of bread" or "one slice of bread". In Japanese, the equivalents would be パン一斤 (lit. "bread one loaf") and パン一枚 (lit. "bread one flat count"). There are numerous counters, and depending on the kind or shape of nouns the number is describing, different counters are used. Here, #P is placed above NP to explain Japanese's lack of plural morphology, and to make clear the # head is the stem of such morphology.

This is a selective list of some of the more commonly used counting words. Pronunciation Japanese Use People and Things ぶ 部 Copies of a magazine or newspaper, or other packets of papers だい 台 Cars, bicycles, machines, mechanical devices, household appliances はい , ぱい , ばい 杯 Cups and glasses of drink, spoonsful; cuttlefish, octopuses, crabs, squid, abalone, boats (slang) ひき , ぴき , びき 匹 Small animals, insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, oni (demons/ogres) ほん , ぽん , ぼん 本 frequently used word Long, thin objects: rivers, roads, train tracks, ties, pencils, bottles, guitars; also, metaphorically, telephone calls, train or bus routes, movies (see also: ), points or bounds in sports events. Although 本 also means "book", the counter for books is かい , がい 階 Number of floors, stories こ 個, 箇, 个, or ヶ frequently used word Implies that the item is small and/or round. 個 is also used for military units. まい 枚 frequently used word Thin, flat objects: sheets of paper, photographs, plates, articles of clothing (see also: ) めい 名 People (polite) (名 means "name") めん 面 Broad, flat objects: mirrors, boards for board games (chess, igo, shogi), stages of computer games, walls of a room, tennis courts にん 人 People (but see table of exceptions below) り り or 人 People, used in the words 一人 (ひとり) and 二人 (ふたり) さつ 冊 Books つ [[wikt:つ#Etymology 4 frequently used word General purpose counter, used as part of the indigenous Japanese numbers 一つ ("one thing"), 二つ ("two things"), 三つ ("three things"), etc. わ 話 Stories, episodes of TV series, etc. Time, Calendar, etc. びょう 秒 Seconds ふん , ぷん 分 Minutes がつ , also つき 月 Months of the year. Month long periods when read (see also: ) はく , ぱく 泊 Nights of a stay じ 時 Hours of the day じかん 時間 Hour long periods か 日 Day of the month かげつ ヶ月, 箇月 Month long periods (see also: ). 箇 is normally abbreviated using a small katakana ヶ in modern Japanese. Alternatively 個, hiragana か, small katakana ヵ and full size katakana カ & ケ can also be seen, although only か is similarly frequent. ねん 年 Years, school years (grades); not years of age にち 日 Days of the month (but see table of exceptions below) さい 歳 (or 才) Years of age (才 is used informally as a ryakuji) しゅう 週 Weeks Extent, Frequency, etc. ばい 倍 Multiples, fold as in "twofold" ばん 番 Position, turn, sports matches ど , also たび 度 frequently used word Occurrences, number of times, degrees of temperature or angle (see also: ). じょう 畳 Tatami mats. The kanji 畳 is also read and is the same one used for the mats. The room size of a washitsu in Japan is given as a number of mats, for example 4½ かい 回frequently used word Occurrences, number of times (see also: )

This list also includes some counters and usages that are rarely used or not widely known; other words can also be used as counters more sporadically. Pronunciation Japanese Use ば 場 Scene of a play ばい 倍 Multiples, fold as in "twofold" ばん 晩 Nights (see also: ) ばん 番 Position, platform for a train line, turn, sports matches び 尾 Small fish and shrimps (used in the fish trade; most people say instead) ぶ 部 Copies of a magazine or newspaper, or other packets of papers ぶん 文 Sentences びょう 秒 Seconds ちゃく 着 Suits of clothing (see also: ) ちょう 挺 Long, narrow things such as guns, sticks of ink, palanquins, rickshaws, violins ちょう 丁 Sheets, pages, leaves, tools, scissors, saws, trousers, pistols, cakes of tofu, town blocks, servings at a restaurant ちょう 町 Town blocks だい 代 Generations, historical periods, reigns だい 台 Cars, bicycles, machines, mechanical devices, household appliances だん 段 levels, ranks, steps (of stairs). だんらく 段落 Paragraphs ど , also たび 度 Occurrences, number of times, degrees of temperature or angle (see also: ). ふで 筆 Sequences of letters or drawings that you write or draw without removing your pen off the paper. Not to be confused with (筆) below. ふく , ぷく 服 Bowls of (powdered green tea); packets or doses of powdered medicine; puffs (of, e. g., a cigarette); rests or breaks ふく , ぷく 幅 Hanging scrolls ふん , ぷん 分 Minutes ふり 振 Swords がっきゅう 学級 Classes (in pre university education) がつ , also つき 月 Months of the year. Month long periods when read (see also: ) ご 語 Words ごう 合 small container (e. g. rice cup, sake cup) ごん , also こと 言 Words ぐ 具 Suits of armour, sets of furniture ぎょう 行 Lines of text はく 泊 Nights of a stay はい , ぱい , ばい 杯 Cups and glasses of drink, spoonfuls, cuttlefish, octopuses, crabs, squid, abalone, boats (slang) はい 敗 Losses (sports bouts) はこ 箱 Boxes はり 張 Umbrellas, parasols, tents はしら 柱 gods, memorial tablets はつ , ぱつ 発 Gunshots, bullets, aerial fireworks; orgasms, sex acts ひき , ぴき 匹 Small animals, insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, oni (ogres) ひん , ぴん 品 Parts of a meal, courses (see also: ) ひつ , ぴつ 筆pieces of land and number of people ほ , ぽ 歩 Number of (foot)steps ほん , ぽん , ぼん 本 Long, thin objects: rivers, roads, train tracks, ties, pencils, bottles, guitars; also, metaphorically, telephone calls (see also: ), train or bus routes, movies, home runs, points or bounds in sports events. Although 本 also means "book", the counter for books is ひょう , ぴょう 票 Votes ひょうし , びょうし 拍子 Musical beats じ 字 Letters, kanji, kana じ 児 Children. As in "father of two (children)", etc. じ 時 Hours of the day じかん 時間 Hour long periods じょう 畳 Tatami mats. The kanji 畳 is also read and is the same one used for the mats. The room size of a washitsu in Japan is given as a number of mats, for example 4½ じょう 錠 Pills/capsules じょう 条 Articles of law, thin objects, rays or streams of light, streaks of smoke or lightning か 日 Day of the month か 架 Frames か 課 Lessons かぶ 株 Stocks; nursery trees かげつ ヶ月, 箇月 Month long periods (see also: ). 箇 is normally abbreviated using a small katakana ヶ in modern Japanese. Alternatively 個, hiragana か, small katakana ヵ and full size katakana カ & ケ can also be seen, although only か is similarly frequent. かい 回 Occurrences, number of times (see also: ) かい , がい 階 Number of floors, storeys かこく ヶ国, 箇国 Countries かこくご ヶ国語, 箇国語 (National) languages かく 画 Strokes in kanji かん 貫 Pieces of nigiri zushi かん 艦 Warships けいとう 系統 Bus routes けん 件 Abstract matters and cases けん , げん 軒 Houses き 機 Aircraft, machines き 基 Graves, wreaths, CPUs, reactors, elevators, dams きん 斤 Loaves of bread きれ 切れ Slices (of bread, cake, sashimi etc.) こ 個, 箇, 个, or ヶ General measure word, used when there is no specific counter. 個 is also used for military units. こ 戸 Houses (戸 means "door") こう 校 Schools こう 稿 Drafts of a manuscript こう 行 Banks こま 齣, コマ Frames, panels. 齣 is virtually unused nowadays. こん 献 shots (of drink) く 区 Sections, city districts く 句 Haiku, senryū くち 口 (Bank) accounts, donations (口 means "opening" or "entrance") くみ 組 Groups, a pair of people (twins, a husband and a wife, dancers, etc.) くらす クラス School classes きゃく 脚 Desks, chairs, long stemmed glasses きゃく 客 Pairs of cup and saucer きょく 曲 Pieces of music きょく 局 Board game matches (chess, igo, shogi, mahjong); radio stations, television stations まい 枚 Thin, flat objects, sheets of paper, photographs, plates, articles of clothing (see also: ) まき or かん 巻 Rolls, scrolls, kan for volumes of book まく 幕 Theatrical acts めい 名 People (polite) (名 means "name") めん 面 Mirrors, boards for board games (chess, igo, shogi), stages of computer games, walls of a room, tennis courts もん 門 Cannons もん 問 Questions ねん 年 Years, school years (grades); not years of age にち 日 Days of the month (but see table of exceptions below) にん 人 People (but see table of exceptions below) にんまえ 人前 Food portions (without exceptions, unlike above) おり 折 Boxes made of folded paper (compare to above, which refers to boxes in general) ぺーじ ページ, 頁 Pages れい 例 Cases, examples れい 礼 Bows during worship at a shrine れん 連 finger rings or necklace loops り り or 人 People, used in the words 一人 (ひとり) and 二人 (ふたり). りん 輪 Wheels, flowers りょう 両 Railway cars さい 才 or 歳 Years of age さお 棹 Chests of drawers, flags さつ 冊 Books せき 席 Seats, rakugo shows, (drinking) parties せき 隻 Ships, half of a pair (e. g., half of a folding screen), item carried in a bundle (fish, birds, arrows etc.) しな 品 Parts of a meal, courses (see also: ) しゃ 社 used for businesses, i. e. 会社 しき 式 Sets of things, such as documents or furniture しょう 勝 Wins (sports bouts) しゅ 首 Tanka しゅう 週 Weeks しゅるい or しゅ 種類 or 種 Kinds, species そく 足 Pairs of footwear, pairs of socks, stockings, tabi そう 双 Pairs たば 束 bundles (of banknotes), bunches (of flowers, vegetables), sheaves たい 体 Images, statues, person's remains, dolls, androids, humanoid robots たわら 俵 Bags of rice てき 滴 Drops of liquid てん 点 Points, dots, pieces of a set とう 頭 Large animals, cattle, elephants, whales, dolphins, butterflies (頭 means "head") とき 時 Time periods, a sixth of either day or night (in the traditional, obsolete way of telling time). See also: とおり 通り Combinations, puzzle solutions つ つ Used as part of the indigenous Japanese numbers 一つ, 二つ, 三つ etc. つう 通 Letters つぼ 坪 Commonly used unit of area equal to 3.3 square metres. つぶ 粒 Almonds, grain つうわ 通話 Telephone calls (see also: ) わ , ば , ぱ 羽 Birds, rabbits. 羽 means "feather" or "wing." わ 把 Bundles わ 話 Stories, episodes of TV series, etc. や 夜 Nights (see also: ) ぜん 膳 Pairs of chopsticks; bowls of rice

In general, the counter words mentioned above are cardinal numbers, in that they indicate quantity. To transform a counter word into an ordinal number that denotes position in a sequence, 目 is added to the end of the counter. Thus "one time" would be translated as 一回 , whereas "the first time" would be translated as 一回目
This rule is inconsistent, however, as counters without the suffix are often used interchangeably with cardinal and ordinal meanings. For example, 三階 can mean both "three floors" and "third floor."

To express a period of time one may add 間 to the following words: 秒 , 分 , 時 , 日 (and its irregular readings aside from ), 週 , ヶ月 and 年 Usage varies depending on the word, though. For example, omitting in the case of 時間 would be a mistake, whereas and are both in frequent use. In addition, is rarely heard due to essentially being superfluous, the already functioning to express the length.

The counter for rabbits is (羽), which is the same as the counter for birds species. Usually,  (匹) is used for "small to medium size animals", therefore, the counter for rabbits is an exception. There are many theories about why (羽) is used for rabbits instead of  (匹). One of the theories is that in Edo era, eating four legged animals was strictly forbidden by the government, and people were not allowed to consume rabbit meat. Then, people started to categorize rabbits as birds so that they can consume rabbit meat, and the counter was also changed from (匹) to (羽). Takemitsu says that the origin of the word rabbit, 兎 , is 羽 which describes birds feather: therefore, the counter, (羽), is used for rabbits.