Questions tagged [counters]
助数詞. Suffixes attached to numbers to indicate what is being counted. In linguistics, these are sometimes called 'classifiers'. The combination of a number plus a classifier forms a type of 'quantifier', and the movement of quantifiers into other parts of the sentence is called 'quantifier float'.
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Questions with ordinal numbers
I know in Japanese there are multiple ways of saying ordinal numbers, each with their own nuances.
第〜, 〜目, etc.
There are also counters that don't need the ordinal marker like ページ, where 三ページ could be ...
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Pitch of Intervals of 100 With Counters
Though counters vary quite a bit in pitch, when it comes to large numbers there seem to be rules which force them to be Heiban:
However, what about intervals of 100? NHK will often show the pitch ...
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Can つ be used as a counter for ages 1 to 9?
歳 seems to be commonly used as the age counter, but I noticed that this article (see section on ages 1-9) mentions that つ can be used as an age counter:
来年で５つになるんです。
instead of maybe something like
...
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sentence patterns for counters
A number of sources say that there are two patterns in which counters are used.
Numeral + Counter + の + Noun
Noun + Particle + Numeral + Counter
I’ve just come across:
犬は四本足である
(although I think I’...
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Pitch accent of ~回
I have a question regarding pitch accent of 二回. As far as I am aware of ~回 accent goes ~か\い. However tokoboto and japandict shows 二回 as (に/かい) and ojad lists it as (にか\い) like I expected it to be. So ...
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Rate/ratio: What are the differences between 「一年一万円」,「一年に一万円」,「一年で一万円」?
When describing a rate or ratio, what are the differences between no particle, に, and で?
Also related: In a JLPT N5 sample test booklet, I came across the sentence below. Why is で used in the second ...
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回｛まわ｝り as a counter for 12 years?
In Ryuu ga Gotoku 8 (aka Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth), when asked about getting with a younger lady, a character says the line "[彼女｛かのじょ｝]下手｛へた｝すりゃふた回｛まわ｝りも年下｛としした｝だぞ" ("at worst, [...
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How does one pronounce "11.53 cups"?
I am uncertain how to handle the combination of the fraction, counter, and rendaku.
Is it じゅういっぱいてんごじゅうさん or maybe じゅういちてんごじゅうさんばい?
It occurred in this sentence here:
全日本【ぜんにほん】コーヒー協会【きょうかい】の2020年【...
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Is there a difference between ふたり or ににん?
In the phrase 2人組, is there any difference between the readings ２人組 【ふたりぐみ】and ２人組 【ににんぐみ】?
I found it in this sentence:
男性によると、路上飲みをしていた2人組が、そのまま路上で寝始めたといいます
According to the man, a couple who were ...
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How to count trains per day?
In this sentence, how does one read the counters?
1日あたり16本運行しています
There are 16 trains per day.
https://www.fnn.jp/articles/417130
I found several answers, such as...
1日【にち】あたり16本【ほん】運行【うんこう】しています ...
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What is 18坪? (じゅうはち + つぼ = ?)
What is 18坪? (じゅうはち + つぼ = ?)
I found this sentence
１８坪の店内【てんない】は落【お】ち着【つ】いた雰囲気【ふんいき】で、壁面【へきめん】にはぐるりとＳＰ、ＬＰレコードなどが１万枚【いちまんまい】並【なら】ぶ
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/culture/music/20220701-OYT1T50230
I did not ...
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What’s the difference between 1人のお客さん and お客さんの1人？ [duplicate]
Does one have a different meaning? My guess is that 1人のお客さん means "one guest", while お客さんの1人 means "one of the guests", but I'm not sure.
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How does 一つとして work in this sentence?
オリバンダーの杖には一つとして同じ杖はない。
No two Ollivander wands are the same.
I'm struggling to parse this sentence.
オリバンダーの杖には同じ杖はない on its own seems to make sense -- "there are no wands identical to Ollivander'...
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Reading of 第1希望?
How does one read the phrase 第1希望? Like this, maybe?
結婚【けっこん】して子【こ】どもがいる人生【じんせい】が第【だい】[1希望]【いっきぼう】だったから、他【ほか】のことは何【なに】も頑張【がんば】ってきていない
My first choice was to get married and have children, so I haven'...
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Counting lines of text
最初の一行を読んだ。
She read the first line.
Is 一行 pronounced as いっこう or いちぎょう?
Is a line of text just 行 or is it 一行? I can't figure out if 一行 is simply 'line' or 'one line'. I'm guessing that 行 is a counter ...
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Is there rendaku with consecutive counters?
In this Asahi article about a bicycle-powered knitting machine, the following sentence appeared:
[1足分]{いっそくふん}を[編]{あ}むのに[10分]{じゅっぷん}[程度]{ていど}こぐという
It takes about 10 minutes of pedaling to knit one ...
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Counter modifying noun with という
... 何百というふくろうが四方八方に飛び交う光景が見られました。
You could see the sight of hundreds of owls flying in every direction.
I'm intrigued by 何百というふくろう. Why is という used here?
I get very confused when it comes to numbers ...
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Is it appropriate to use 一人 as a noun in the subject position?
What is more appropriate: using the normal counting rules or using the numeral+counter directly as the subject?
一人の人が来ました/人が一人来ました/人一人が来ました
Or
一人が来ました/7人が来ました etc?
Are they both ok? Is there a nuance? ...
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Difference between ... 椅子が三つ and 三つの椅子? [duplicate]
Please, is there a difference between these two sentences!? Duolingo translates them both the same!
部屋に 椅子が三つ あります。
部屋に 三つの椅子が あります。
I believe they should have slightly different meanings, but I don'...
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Are these counter readings correct? [closed]
Are these furigana correct?
多【おお】い日【ひ】で [1日]【いちにち】 に [10袋]【じっぷくろ】 以上【いじょう】出【で】ますので、約【やく】 [100]【ひゃく】 [kg]【キログラム】 程度【ていど】出【で】ます
On a typical day, we produce more than 10 bags (of bread crusts) a day, ...
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Number+counter when NOT used as an adverb
Following up from this question, I'm curious how Japanese people naturally describe the numbers of things when NOT used like an adverb. Do they still use 「thing + number + counter」, just like when ...
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Number appearing after counter
In the deckbuilding card game Slay the Spire, I encountered this card description:
強打：８ダメージを与える。弱体２を与える。
(弱体 is a status effect that in this case, lasts for 2 turns.)
Previously I had only seen ...
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How to say "There are two of each"?
Say I have 8 tea bags, and there are two of each type of tea bag; 2 early gray, 2 mint tea, ... . How can I say "there are two of each (kind)"?
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Understanding 人間界単位で
From the first episode of Death Note:
名前のあとに人間界単位で40秒以内に死因を書くと そのとおりになる
Questions:
What purpose is "人間界単位で" ("within human-world units") serving in this sentence?
Grammatically,...
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expressing fractions of people?
One pronounces "two people" as 二人【ふたり】, but what happens with "2.7 people"? Is the following reading of this sentence correct?
このうち[2.7]{にてんなな}人【にん】に1人【ひとり】が「重【おも】い荷物【にもつ】を背負【せお】...
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Why is ２つ not marked with a を particle here?
The sentence
質問が２つあります。
translates to
I have a couple of questions.
But I assume the more literal translation is something like:
Questions, there exist two.
Question: If my literal translation ...
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What does 男手一つで育てる literally mean?
紅緒を男手一つで育てた陸軍少佐。
It's from はいからさんが通る.
It means "Major who raised Benio with his own (male) help", right?
To me, if "help" could be countable in English, it would be "Major ...
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Are browser tabs タブ counted as つ or 個?
Safari counts tabs as 個 even for small numbers like 5. I wonder, is this the accurate counter word for browser tabs? Or are tabs counted with generic つ that becomes 個 for numbers greater than 10, but ...
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How can we figure out how counters are read with each number?
I see from this post that there are patterns for dakuten for counters. This page is also linked there as reference. However, I'd like to know if there is a way to look these things up.
The reason I'm ...
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How are fundoshi counted?
「昔【むかし】は裸【はだか】やったけ、なお寒【さむ】かった」と振【ふ】り返【かえ】る秀子【ひでこ】さんは[30歳]【さんじゅっさい】までふんどし[1枚]【いちまい】で潜【もぐ】っていた
"I used to dive naked and it was even colder," recalls Hideko, who dove in a loincloth until she ...
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Omission of subject/object with descriptive counters
Counters continue to cause me no end of confusion.
Consider
りんごを一個食べた。
I ate one apple.
In order to know what I'm talking about I need the object, りんご. This is because the counter 個 tells me very ...
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Is いっしゅるい the correct reading of 1種類?
「いろいろやると大変【たいへん】になるから」と、メニューはカレーライス[1種類]【いっしゅるい】のみ
He opened a small curry shop with only one type of curry rice on the menu, saying, "If I do too many things, it will be too much work."
Is ...
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reading of the counter 種
How does one read the counter 種 in this dictionary entry?
https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/三毒/#jn-91663
仏語【ぶつご】。人【ひと】の善心【ぜんしん】を害【がい】する3種の煩悩【ぼんのう】。貪【とん】・瞋【しん】・痴【ち】。
There are three kinds of vexations ...
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How do you say "n out of m" with 目?
I'm writing an application which features pagination, and I would like to translate it into Japanese. I have the following English text:
Page 2 / 115
Before adding pagination, I would have ...
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Is１人 always ひとり? [duplicate]
This sentence appeared in Mainichi the other day:
[1人]【ひとり】のために[10人]【じゅうにん】の未来【みらい】をつぶしていいんですか
Is it okay to destroy the future of ten people for the sake of one person?
Is the reading of 1人 in this ...
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What is the correct counter for "frames"?
What is the correct counter word to use when talking about a number of "frames" in a time? Ex: a time in a video game.
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Why are there so many words that mean "first" (and other ordinal numbers)? What are the differences?
Here are the words that roughly mean "first" that I'm aware of, but feel free to add more:
最初
一番
一番目
一次
第一次
第一
第一位
一位
首位
What are the differences (if any) between all of them?
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Anything special with the number 20? [duplicate]
When counting, the number 20 is always quite different than other numbers. For example, you have 二十日 (はつか) and 二十歳 (はたち). Where does this difference come from? Is the number 20 special in Japan?
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Counting number of numbers
So I'm a Japanese learner just coming across how to count stuff like cars, or buildings, or bottles, or anything!
But I was just wondering, is there any counter to count numbers?
For example, you ...
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On age counter(s) 「歳 、才 / 年齢 、 年令」
disclaimer: this question regards only the age counter for humans. For age counters regarding innanimate things(such as how old are cars or trees) please refer to this thread: General expression for ...
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Is there a counter for a dog's barking? Or more generally, a counter for sounds?
Had the thought while chatting online about whether there is a counter for barks from a dog or possibly one for distinct sounds in general.
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What is the grammatical function of "が" in this context of counting people?
In an anime I've been watching, the protagonist goes to a village where one of his friends came from, where all the people in the village have the same hair color as his friend. (with "〇" ...
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新しい回 counter use
I heard the use of 新しい回 to say "the last episode released" : do I understand it right ? is it a common expression ?
I have some doubt because according to me the counter for episode is 話。
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Counters with and without の
I'm currently reading a short paragraph here that has the following sentences:
男{おとこ}はそう言{い}うと、もう一枚{いちまい}マントを出{だ}して、急{いそ}いで着{き}ました。北風{きたかぜ}は二{に}枚{まい}のマントを脱{ぬ}がせるために、もっと強{つよ}く風{かぜ}を吹{ふ}きました。
In ...
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Why use 一本 in the expression 一本取る
I was watching an episode of ファニエスト外語学院 on judo.
At 6:26, the judoka remarked how his opponent ボビー could win him just by his horrid face, saying 「顔で一本取られた」って感じです.
I am interested in understanding why ...
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How do you pronounce amounts of damage, as in a video game?
I'm playing Slay the Spire in Japanese, and often see like ４ダメージ and stuff like that, but I don't know how you'd actually say that aloud. There's lots of information about counting in Japanese on the ...
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What is the measure word for a flag (on a pole/stick)?
Let's say there is a building with six flags on the roof.
The flags are on small poles/sticks that can be carried by a person.
The rectangular flag itself makes me think of 枚 while the pole makes me ...
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Pronunciation of bird counters: 三羽 and 四羽
We have:
一羽 いちわ
二羽 にわ
but it seems the pronunciations of the counter for 3 and 4 are irregular. In each case, are both pronunciations acceptable, or we must use the former?
三羽 さんば、さんわ
四羽 よんば、よんわ
...
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choice of ひと ふた vs イチ ニ etc. with counters
Scanning a long list of counters, the Chinese derived イチ ニ numerals seem to be prevalent. Is there any pattern or logic to the exceptions, i.e. when the native ひと ふた numerals are used?
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「計」「全」 before ~times counter (~回)
Today I heard a sentence like 「松本さんは クライムゲームを計【けい】 4回担当しました。」. I searched Google and found that there's also 「全」 but I can't find their usage explanation. How to use 「計」 and 「全」 before counters?
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