Use for: small, everyday things when the proper counter is unknown or unnecessary.
| Number | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ひとつ | hitotsu |
| 2 | ふたつ | futatsu |
| 3 | みっつ | mittsu |
| 4 | よっつ | yottsu |
| 5 | いつつ | itsutsu |
| 6 | むっつ | muttsu |
| 7 | ななつ | nanatsu |
| 8 | やっつ | yattsu |
| 9 | ここのつ | kokonotsu |
| 10 | とお | too |
| ? | いくつ | ikutsu |
While ～つ (-tsu) is a convenient way to count anything, it is not used after 10 item and the appropriate counter is required after that.
りんごをみっつ食べました。
Ringo o mittsu tabemashita.
I ate three apples.
Anything that can fit in your hand.
| Number | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | にこ | niko |
| 3 | さんこ | sanko |
| 4 | よんこ | yonko |
| 5 | ごこ | goko |
| 6 | ||
| 7 | ななこ | nanako |
| 8 | ||
| 9 | きゅうこ | kyuuko |
| 10 | じゅっこ / じっこ | jukko / jikko |
| ? | なんこ | nanko |
Examples: balls, apples, candies, boxes, eggs, stones, rice ball...
キャンディーをいっこもらいました。
Kyandii o ikko moraimashita.
I got one candy.
| Number | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | さんにん | sannin |
| 4 | よにん | yonin |
| 5 | ごにん | gonin |
| 6 | ろくにん | rokunin |
| 7 | ななにん | nananin |
| 8 | はちにん | hachinin |
| 9 | きゅうにん | kyuunin |
| 10 | じゅうにん | juunin |
| ? | なんにん | nannin |
Examples: students, children, guests, friends, siblings, teachers...
クラスにごにんいます。
Kurasu ni gonin imasu.
There are five people in the class.
Counter for any bound paper items.
| Number | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | にさつ | nisatsu |
| 3 | さんさつ | sansatsu |
| 4 | よんさつ | yonsatsu |
| 5 | ごさつ | gosatsu |
| 6 | ろくさつ | rokusatsu |
| 7 | ななさつ | nanasatsu |
| 8 | ||
| 9 | きゅうさつ | kyuusatsu |
| 10 | ||
| ? | なんさつ | nansatsu |
Examples: books, notebooks, manga, magazines, textbooks,
本をにさつ借りました。
Hon o nisatsu karimashita.
I borrowed two books.
This form comes with a lot of irregulars.
| Number | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | いっぽん | ippon |
| 2 | にほん | nihon |
| 3 | さんぼん | sanbon |
| 4 | よんほん | yonhon |
| 5 | ごほん | gohon |
| 6 | ろっぽん | roppon |
| 7 | ななほん | nanahon |
| 8 | はっぽん | happon |
| 9 | きゅうほん | kyuuhon |
| 10 | じゅっぽん | juppon |
| ? | なんぼん | nanbon |
Examples: pen, umbrella, bottle, tree, cigarette, baseball bat, straw, chopsticks..
ビールをさんぼん飲みました。
Bīru o sanbon nomimashita.
I drank three bottles of beer.
The irregulars are similar to the -hon, -bon, -pon (long cylindrical objects).
| Number | Kanji | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一匹 | ippiki |
| 2 | 二匹 | nihiki |
| 3 | 三匹 | sanbiki |
| 4 | 四匹 | yonhiki |
| 5 | 五匹 | gohiki |
| 6 | 六匹 | roppiki |
| 7 | 七匹 | nanahiki |
| 8 | 八匹 | happiki |
| 9 | 九匹 | kyuuhiki |
| 10 | 十匹 | juppiki |
| ? | なんびき | nanbiki |
Examples: cats, dogs, rabbits, mice, insects, fish, etc.
猫が三匹います。
Neko ga sanbiki imasu.
There are three cats.
| Number | Kanji | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | 二頭 | nitou |
| 3 | 三頭 | santou |
| 4 | 四頭 | yontou |
| 5 | 五頭 | gotou |
| 6 | 六頭 | rokutou |
| 7 | 七頭 | nanatou |
| 8 | ||
| 9 | 九頭 | kyuutou |
| 10 | ||
| ? | なんとう | nantou |
Used for: horses, cows, elephants, whales, etc.
牧場に牛が十頭います。
Bokujō ni ushi ga juttō imasu.
There are ten cows on the farm.
Think of it as 2D or foldable items.
| Number | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | いちまい | ichimai |
| 2 | にまい | nimai |
| 3 | さんまい | sanmai |
| etc... | ... | ... |
| ? | なんまい | nanmai |
Examples: paper, tickets, photos, handkerchief, t-shirt, stickers, documents...
シャツをにまい買いました。
Shatsu o nimai kaimashita.
I bought two shirts.
| Number | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | にさい | nisai |
| 3 | さんさい | sansai |
| 4 | よんさい | yonsai |
| 5 | ごさい | gosai |
| 6 | ろくさい | rokusai |
| 7 | ななさい | nanasai |
| 8 | ||
| 9 | きゅうさい | kyuusai |
| 10 | ||
| 20 | ||
| ? | なんさい | nansai |
妹ははっさいです。
Imōto wa hassai desu.
My little sister is 8 years old.
We use -jikan for duration, not for the "clock" time.
| Number | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | いちじかん | ichijikan |
| 2 | にじかん | nijikan |
| 3 | さんじかん | sanjikan |
| 4 | ||
| 5 | ごじかん | gojikan |
| 6 | ろくじかん | rokujikan |
| 7 | ななじかん | nanajikan |
| 8 | はちじかん | hachijikan |
| 9 | ||
| 10 | じゅうじかん | juujikan |
| ? | なんじかん | nankan |
Examples: movie length, study time, travel time, work hours, sleeping time.
バスでさんじかんかかります。
Basu de sanjikan kakarimasu.
It takes three hours by bus.
No irregulars, just add -dai.
| Number | Kanji | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一台 | ichidai |
| 2 | 二台 | nidai |
| 3 | 三台 | sandai |
| 4 | 四台 | yondai |
| 5 | 五台 | godai |
| 10 | 十台 | juudai |
| ? | なんだい | nandai |
Used for: cars, bicycles, computers, TVs, washing machines, etc.
車が三台あります。
Kuruma ga sandai arimasu.
There are three cars.
| Number | Kanji | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | 二軒 | niken |
| 3 | ||
| 4 | 四軒 | yonken |
| 5 | 五軒 | goken |
| ? | なんけん | nanken |
Used for: houses, shops, and small buildings.
家を二軒見ました。
Ie o niken mimashita.
I saw two houses.
A counter for cups, glasses, and bowls of liquid — basically, drinks or small servings in containers.
| Number | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | いっぱい | ippai |
| 2 | にはい | nihai |
| 3 | さんばい | sanbai |
| 4 | よんはい | yonhai |
| 5 | ごはい | gohai |
| 6 | ろっぱい | roppai |
| 7 | ななはい | nanahai |
| 8 | はっぱい | happai |
| 9 | きゅうはい | kyuuhai |
| 10 | じゅっぱい | juppai |
| ? | なんばい | nanbai |
You’ll often hear いっぱい (ippai) used conversationally to say “a full cup” or even “a lot” in a broader sense:
ごはんをいっぱい食べた – I ate a lot of rice.
ビールを三杯飲みました。
Bīru o sanbai nomimashita.
I drank three beers.
コーヒーをにはい作りました。
Kōhī o nihai tsukurimashita.
I made two cups of coffee.
The -ど counter is used to express how many times something happens or is done. It typically follows a number and is often translated as "times" in English.
| Number | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| once | いちど | ichido |
| twice | にど | nido |
| 3 times | さんど | sando |
| 4 times | よんど | yondo |
| 5 times | ごど | godo |
| never | いちども | ichidomo |
For more emphasis or clarity, you may also encounter かい (回) as a more commonly used counter for times — especially in spoken Japanese. But -ど feels a bit more formal or used in writing.
いちど だけ みました。
Ichido dake mimashita.
I saw it once only.
このえいがを にど みた。
Kono eiga o nido mita.
I watched this movie twice.
そのばしょに さんど いきました。
Sono basho ni sando ikimashita.
I went to that place three times.
Used to count how many times something has happened, with a sense of “the nth time.” Combines the counter 回 (kai) for occurrences with 目 (me) to mark order.
| Number | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | いっかいめ | ikkaime |
| 2 | にかいめ | nikaime |
| 3 | さんかいめ | sankaime |
| 4 | よんかいめ | yonkaime |
| 5 | ごかいめ | gokaime |
| 6 | ろっかいめ | rokkaime |
| 7 | ななかいめ | nanakaime |
| 8 | はちかいめ | hachikaime |
| 9 | きゅうかいめ | kyuukaime |
| 10 | じゅっかいめ | jukkaime |
| ? | なんかいめ | nankaime |
- Irregular pronunciation (like いっかい, ろっかい, じゅっかい) applies here just like with 回 alone.
- This counter emphasizes order, not just quantity.
- Frequently used when talking about attempts, visits, or experiences.
これは 三回目 です。
Kore wa sankaime desu.
This is the third time.
日本に 行く のは 二回目 です。
Nihon ni iku no wa nikaime desu.
This is my second time going to Japan.
今週 は 五回目 の えいが です。
Konshuu wa gokaime no eiga desu.
This is my fifth movie this week.
These expressions are used to describe order or ranking, such as "first," "second," "third." They are often used with lists, rankings, or sequences.
| Order | Kana | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | さいしょ | saisho |
| 2 | にばんめ | nibanme |
| 3 | さんばんめ | sanbanme |
| 4 | なんばんめ | nanbanme |
- saisho is often used to mean “at first” or “the first one” in a broader sense, not just in numbering.
- -banme adds the ordinal "th" to any number.
- Commonly used with things like people in line, items in a list, turns, or preferences.
最初 に ひらがな を べんきょう しました。
Saisho ni hiragana o benkyou shimashita.
I studied hiragana first.
この人 は 二番目 に ならんでいます。
Kono hito wa nibanme ni narandeimasu.
This person is standing second in line.
私 の 三番目 の いもうと です。
Watashi no sanbanme no imouto desu.
This is my third youngest sister.