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Grammar detail: Basic Japanese counters
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In Japanese, a number cannot be used by itself to count things; a "counter" is required. Japanese uses counters when counting people, objects, and other things. The counter can change depending on what you are counting.
Generic counting - つ
Counter-つ is like a general-purpose counter. It is used when you are counting objects that do not have a specific counter. Because it can be used in many situations, it is useful when you don't know the correct counter for an item.
| 1 | 一つ | ひとつ |
| 2 | 二つ | ふたつ |
| 3 | 三つ | みっつ |
| 4 | 四つ | よっつ |
| 5 | 五つ | いつつ |
| 6 | 六つ | むっつ |
| 7 | 七つ | ななつ |
| 8 | 八つ | やっつ |
| 9 | 九つ | ここのつ |
For numbers above ten, the つ counter is usually not used, and other counters are used instead.
Counter for people - 人 (にん)
The kanji 人 is used when counting people, and for three or more people its reading is にん. Take care with one person and two people, as in these cases the reading of 人 changes.
| 1 | 一人 | ひとり |
| 2 | 二人 | ふたり |
| 3 | 三人 | さんにん |
| 4 | 四人 | よにん |
| 5 | 五人 | ごにん |
| 6 | 六人 | ろくにん |
| 7 | 七人 | ななにん |
| 8 | 八人 | はちにん |
| 9 | 九人 | きゅうにん |
| 10 | 十人 | じゅうにん |
Note: For many Japanese counters, the pronunciation of 1, 3, 6, 8, and 10 often changes. This does not always happen, but it is useful to pay attention to these numbers when learning counters.
Counter for long, thin, or cylindrical objects - 本 (ほん, ぼん, ぽん)
The counter 本 (ほん) is used for long, thin, or cylindrical objects like pens, bottles, umbrellas, and even rivers or train tracks. Take care with pronunciation; it changes between ほん, ぽん, and ぼん depending on the number.
| 1 | 一本 | いっぽん |
| 2 | 二本 | にほん |
| 3 | 三本 | さんぼん |
| 4 | 四本 | よんほん |
| 5 | 五本 | ごほん |
| 6 | 六本 | ろっぽん |
| 7 | 七本 | ななほん |
| 8 | 八本 | はっぽん |
| 9 | 九本 | きゅうほん |
| 10 | 十本 | じゅっぽん |
Counter for age - さい
さい（歳）is the counter for age. The only major exception is 20 years old, which is はたち. From 21 the pattern returns to the number followed by さい.
| 1 | いっさい |
| 2 | にさい |
| 3 | さんさい |
| 4 | よんさい |
| 5 | ごさい |
| 6 | ろくさい |
| 7 | ななさい |
| 8 | はっさい |
| 9 | きゅうさい |
| 10 | じゅっさい |
| 20 | はたち |
| 21 | にじゅういっさい |
Counter for various small items - こ
こ（個） is used to count individual items, especially small objects. It is often used for food and everyday things, such as fruit, eggs, packaged items, or food containers.
| 1 | いっこ |
| 2 | にこ |
| 3 | さんこ |
| 4 | よんこ |
| 5 | ごこ |
| 6 | ろっこ |
| 7 | ななこ |
| 8 | はっこ |
| 9 | きゅうこ |
| 10 | じゅっこ |
Counter for floors or storeys of a building - かい
The counter かい (階) is used to count the floors or storeys of a building.
| 1 | いっかい |
| 2 | にかい |
| 3 | さんがい |
| 4 | よんかい |
| 5 | ごかい |
| 6 | ろっかい |
| 7 | ななかい |
| 8 | はっかい |
| 9 | きゅうかい |
| 10 | じゅっかい |
Counter for cups/glasses of drinks - はい, ばい, ぱい
The counter はい (杯) is used for drinks in cups, glasses, or bowls, as well as for spoonfuls of ingredients. Like many other counters, the pronunciation shifts between はい, ばい, and ぱい depending on the number.
| 1 | いっぱい |
| 2 | にはい |
| 3 | さんばい |
| 4 | よんはい |
| 5 | ごはい |
| 6 | ろっぱい |
| 7 | ななはい |
| 8 | はっぱい |
| 9 | きゅうはい |
| 10 | じゅっぱい |
Counter for small to medium-sized animals - ひき、びき、ぴき
The counter ひき (匹) is used for small to medium-sized animals, such as dogs, cats and fish. It is also used to count insects.
| 1 | いっぴき |
| 2 | にひき |
| 3 | さんびき |
| 4 | よんひき |
| 5 | ごひき |
| 6 | ろっぴき |
| 7 | ななひき |
| 8 | はっぴき |
| 9 | きゅうひき |
| 10 | じゅっぴき |
Counter for books - さつ
The counter さつ (冊) is used specifically for bound objects with pages, such as books, magazines, notebooks, and dictionaries.
| 1 | いっさつ |
| 2 | にさつ |
| 3 | さんさつ |
| 4 | よんさつ |
| 5 | ごさつ |
| 6 | ろくさつ |
| 7 | ななさつ |
| 8 | はっさつ |
| 9 | きゅうさつ |
| 10 | じゅっさつ |
Counter for flat and think objects - まい
The counter まい (枚) is used for flat, thin objects such as paper, plates, stamps, photographs, slices of bread, plates, towels, and even items of clothing like shirts or sweaters. It is one of the easiest counters to learn because the pronunciation remains consistent for almost every number.
| 1 | いちまい |
| 2 | にまい |
| 3 | さんまい |
| 4 | よんまい |
| 5 | ごまい |
| 6 | ろくまい |
| 7 | ななまい |
| 8 | はちまい |
| 9 | きゅうまい |
| 10 | じゅうまい |
Kanji used in this grammar
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