# Counters

https://langs123.com/en/japanese/foundations/counters/
CEFR A1–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> A counter follows a number by kind of thing: **人****にん** people, **枚****まい** flat things, **本****ほん** long things. Number and counter stand after the noun and its particle: りんごを**三****みっ****つ**ください。

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pattern | noun and particle, then number and counter, then the verb | りんごを**三****みっ****つ**買かいます。 | I buy three apples. |
| ひとつ〜とお | up to ten, for things without a counter of their own | **ひとつ** / **みっつ** / **とお** | one / three / ten |
| 人にん | **一人****ひとり**, **二人****ふたり**; from 3, number + **人****にん** | **一人****ひとり** / **二人****ふたり** / **四人****よにん** | one person / two people / four people |
| Choosing the counter | **枚****まい** flat, **本****ほん** long, **個****こ** small, **冊****さつ** bound | 紙かみ**三****さん****枚****まい** / ビール**二****に****本****ほん** | three sheets of paper / two bottles of beer |
| Sound changes | after 1, 3, 6, 8 and 10 many counters change: **っ**, **ぼ**, **ぽ** | い**っぽ**ん / さん**ぼ**ん / ろ**っぽ**ん | 1 / 3 / 6 |
| Asking how many | **いくつ** for **ひとつ**…; **何****なん** + counter for the rest | **いくつ** / **何人****なんにん** | how many things / how many people |
| More counters | **台****だい** machines, **匹****ひき** small animals, **杯****はい** cups | 二に**台****だい** / 二に**匹****ひき** / 二に**杯****はい** | two machines / two small animals / two cups |
| Before the noun | before the noun, the count takes **の** | **三****さん****人****にん****の**学生がくせい | three students |
| Trap | one and two people are **一人****ひとり** and **二人****ふたり** | 学生がくせいが**二人****ふたり**います。 | There are two students. |
| Trap | a number before a verb always brings its counter | ペンが二に**本****ほん**あります。 | There are two pens. |

## Overview

- A counter stands right after a number and names the kind of thing counted. 三さん**人****にん** / 三さん**枚****まい** / 三さん**本****ほん** (three people / three sheets of paper / three pens)
- The noun and its particle come first, then the number with its counter, then the verb. りんごを**三****みっ****つ**買かいます。 (I buy three apples.)
- The numbers themselves: see Numbers.

## Counting things: ひとつ to とお

| Number | Word |
| --- | --- |
| 1 | ひとつ |
| 2 | ふたつ |
| 3 | みっつ |
| 4 | よっつ |
| 5 | いつつ |
| 6 | むっつ |
| 7 | ななつ |
| 8 | やっつ |
| 9 | ここのつ |
| 10 | とお |

- **ひとつ** to **とお** count anything without a counter of its own, up to ten. ケーキを**ふたつ**ください。 (Two cakes, please.)
- **とお** has no **つ**; from 11, the plain number takes a counter such as **個****こ**. りんごが**十****じゅう****一****いっ****個****こ**あります。 (There are eleven apples.)

## People: ひとり, ふたり, さんにん

| Number | Word |
| --- | --- |
| 1 | 一人ひとり |
| 2 | 二人ふたり |
| 3 | 三さん人にん |
| 4 | 四人よにん |
| 5 | 五ご人にん |
| 6 | 六ろく人にん |
| 7 | 七なな人にん |
| 8 | 八はち人にん |
| 9 | 九きゅう人にん |
| 10 | 十じゅう人にん |

- 1 and 2 are special: **一人****ひとり**, **二人****ふたり**; from 3, the number takes **人****にん**. **一人****ひとり** / **二人****ふたり** / 三さん**人****にん** (one person / two people / three people)
- 4 is **四人****よにん**; 7 is **七****なな****人****にん** or **七****しち****人****にん**. 家族かぞくは**四人****よにん**です。 (There are four people in my family.)
- **人****にん** counts people; after a country name the same character is read **じん**: **日本人****にほんじん**.

## Common counters

| Counter | What it counts | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 枚まい | flat, thin things: paper, tickets, plates, shirts | 紙かみを**三****さん****枚****まい**ください。 | Three sheets of paper, please. |
| 本ほん | long, thin things: pens, bottles, trees, umbrellas | ビールを**二****に****本****ほん**ください。 | Two bottles of beer, please. |
| 個こ | small compact things: apples, eggs, sweets, items in general | たまごを**六****ろっ****個****こ**買かいます。 | I buy six eggs. |
| 冊さつ | bound things: books, notebooks, magazines | 本ほんを**二****に****冊****さつ**読よみます。 | I read two books. |
| 歳さい | age in years | 私わたしは**十****じゅう****八****はっ****歳****さい**です。 | I am 18 years old. |
| 回かい | times, occasions: visits, tries | 週しゅうに**二****に****回****かい**プールへ行いきます。 | I go to the pool twice a week. |
| 台だい | machines and vehicles: cars, computers, bicycles | パソコンが**三****さん****台****だい**あります。 | There are three computers. |
| 匹ひき | small animals: cats, dogs, fish, insects | ねこが**二****に****匹****ひき**います。 | There are two cats. |
| 杯はい | drinks and rice in a cup, glass or bowl | コーヒーを**一****いっ****杯****ぱい**ください。 | One cup of coffee, please. |

## Sound changes

- **個****こ** and **回****かい** take a small **っ** after 1, 6, 8 and 10.
- **冊****さつ** and **歳****さい** take a small **っ** after 1, 8 and 10 only.

| Number | 個こ | 回かい | 冊さつ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | い**っ**こ | い**っ**かい | い**っ**さつ |
| 2 | にこ | にかい | にさつ |
| 3 | さんこ | さんかい | さんさつ |
| 4 | よんこ | よんかい | よんさつ |
| 6 | ろ**っ**こ | ろ**っ**かい | ろくさつ |
| 8 | は**っ**こ | は**っ**かい | は**っ**さつ |
| 10 | じゅ**っ**こ | じゅ**っ**かい | じゅ**っ**さつ |
| 何なん | なんこ | なんかい | なんさつ |

- **本****ほん** becomes **ぼん** after 3, and **ぽん** with a small **っ** after 1, 6, 8 and 10.
- **枚****まい** never changes its sound.

| Number | 本ほん | 枚まい | 歳さい |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | い**っぽ**ん | いちまい | い**っ**さい |
| 2 | にほん | にまい | にさい |
| 3 | さん**ぼ**ん | さんまい | さんさい |
| 4 | よんほん | よんまい | よんさい |
| 6 | ろ**っぽ**ん | ろくまい | ろくさい |
| 8 | は**っぽ**ん | はちまい | は**っ**さい |
| 10 | じゅ**っぽ**ん | じゅうまい | じゅ**っ**さい |
| 何なん | なん**ぼ**ん | なんまい | なんさい |

- **匹****ひき** and **杯****はい** change like **本****ほん**; **台****だい** never changes.

| Number | 匹ひき | 杯はい | 台だい |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | い**っぴ**き | い**っぱ**い | いちだい |
| 2 | にひき | にはい | にだい |
| 3 | さん**び**き | さん**ば**い | さんだい |
| 4 | よんひき | よんはい | よんだい |
| 6 | ろ**っぴ**き | ろ**っぱ**い | ろくだい |
| 8 | は**っぴ**き | は**っぱ**い | はちだい |
| 10 | じゅ**っぴ**き | じゅ**っぱ**い | じゅうだい |
| 何なん | なん**び**き | なん**ば**い | なんだい |

## Asking how many

| Use | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **いくつ** asks how many things; the answer is **ひとつ**, **ふたつ**… | りんごは**いくつ**ありますか。 — **五****いつ****つ**あります。 | How many apples are there? — There are five. |
| **何****なん** plus the counter asks how many of that kind | 学生がくせいは**何人****なんにん**いますか。 — **十****じゅう****二****に****人****にん**います。 | How many students are there? — There are twelve. |
| After **何****なん**, a counter changes as it does after 3 | ペンは**何本****なんぼん**ありますか。 — **三****さん****本****ぼん**あります。 | How many pens are there? — There are three. |
| Asking age: **何歳****なんさい**, or politely **おいくつ** | **おいくつ**ですか。 — **二十歳****はたち**です。 | How old are you? — I am twenty. |

- Twenty years old has a word of its own: **二十歳****はたち**.

## Word order

| Point | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The number with its counter stands between the particle and the verb | りんごを**二****ふた****つ**食たべます。 | I eat two apples. |
| With **あります** and **います**, the thing takes **が** | 学生がくせいが**三****さん****人****にん**います。 | There are three students. |
| Before the noun, the count takes **の** | **三****さん****人****にん****の**学生がくせいが来きます。 | Three students are coming. |

- For the particles and the verb at the end, see Particles を, に, で, へ and Word Order.

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 学生がくせいが一いち人にんいます。 | 学生がくせいが**一人****ひとり**います。 | one and two people are **一人****ひとり** and **二人****ふたり** |
| 家族かぞくは四よん人にんです。 | 家族かぞくは**四人****よにん**です。 | four people is **四人****よにん**, without **ん** |
| ペンが三さん本ほんあります。 | ペンが三さん**本****ぼん**あります。 | after 3, **本****ほん** becomes **ぼん** |
| ペンが六ろく本ほんあります。 | ペンが六ろっ**本****ぽん**あります。 | after 6, **本****ほん** becomes **ぽん**, with a small **っ** before it |
| ペンが二あります。 | ペンが二に**本****ほん**あります。 | Japanese needs a counter after the number; “two pens” alone is not enough |
| 本ほんを二に個こ買かいます。 | 本ほんを二に**冊****さつ**買かいます。 | **個****こ** does not fit everything: books take **冊****さつ** |
| ペンは何なに本ほんありますか。 | ペンは**何****なん**本ぼんありますか。 | **何****なん** is read **なん** before a counter, not **なに** |
| ねこが二に人にんいます。 | ねこが二に**匹****ひき**います。 | **人****にん** counts people only: small animals take **匹****ひき** |