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'.
Questions tagged [counters]
233 questions
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votes
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Why was "一匹" used for Godzilla?
I've heard someone say that "一匹{いっぴき}" was used at the end of the original Godzilla movie, with Dr. Yamane saying that Godzilla wasn't the last one of "them".
Why did he use that, as opposed to "一頭{いっとう}"? Do Japanese speakers sometimes use the…
Golden Cuy
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Is it okay to use つ counting for everything?
Instead of using the proper counter for each thing, is it okay to just use the つ counter?
Like in:
彼女は子猫２匹を持っている。
Use つ instead of 匹:
彼女は子猫２つを持っている。
Are there situations when this is incorrect or not recommended?
Yuuza
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What counter words are used by animals for humans?
In Happy Feet 2, I noticed that the penguins used the hitori, futari, ... counter words for themselves, rather than 羽.
In fiction involving talking animals where the humans are regarded as somewhat "outsider", what counter word do they use for…
Golden Cuy
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13
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「二番」 vs. 「二番目」 confusion
I am confused by 「二番」vs.「二番目」、「三番」vs.「三番目」etc.
While 「一番速い人。」 seems grammatically correct and sounds ok to me, 「二番速い人。」 sounds so unnatural to me I am thinking the grammar might be wrong. But, if 「一番速い」 is correct, certainly 「二番速い」 must also…
davewp
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Which counter do you use for counting TV series episodes?
I want to say "I saw 10 episodes", but I can't find the appropriate counter.
I may use "つ" counter (十エピソードを見ました), but it's not very classy.
kadmelia
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Why are movies/video-clips counted with 本?
I just noticed in my Facebook uploads that for my videos, it says I have 25本. What's the reasoning behind using 〜本 to count videos or movie clips? The only line of reasoning I can come up with would be thinking of the the movies as as old reel of…
istrasci
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Can the 歳 counter be used for architecture, furniture etc to tell its age?
While I understand that the 歳 counter is used to indicate ages of people and animals, I was wondering if it could be used to also talk about ages of inanimate things like architecture or furniture.
For example,
sentence: That castle is more than…
Shivangi
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11
votes
3 answers
名 vs 人 for counting people?
We were asking for seats at a restaurant in Kyoto and were unsure whether to ask for nimei or futari. Which would be more appropriate? What are the distinctions in usage between these two counters?
temporary_user_name
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What is the counter for languages
I've looked this up in a few different dictionaries and the only word I got was 「か国語」written in a few different ways. but all of them contain 「国語」which I have come to understand means national language. Does this only refer to national languages for…
I dunno what to call myself
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11
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Counter for 熊 (bears): ひき or 頭?
While hiking I saw 3 bears, and I have heard a lot of people say ひき to count them. There was a mother and two small ones, if that matters.
But when talking about it I also have been told that 頭 should be used to count bears.
Are both usable? Does it…
Nicolas Raoul
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9
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2 answers
Counter followed by 隣
Referring to items at a mask selling stall:
じいさんはうさぎの二個隣にあるドラえもんを指さした。
The man pointed at the ドラえもん figure ??? next to the rabbit
I'm confused about what 二個隣 means. Does it mean that the ドラえもん is two items along from the rabbit? Or there is a…
user3856370
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8
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Why biiru hitotsu rather than ippai?
While having Ghengis Khan with some dou-min, one of them asked for "biiru hitotsu". While I could understand the biiru, I was surprised that ippai wasn't used.
I understand that (number)-tsu is valid Japanese, but not why it was used in this…
Golden Cuy
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7
votes
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Why is another photo referred to as もう一丁?
一丁 is a cut of tofu or konyaku, so why is it also used for photos? I always imagined it as a Polaroid, flat, like もう一枚 but can't find out the original reason もう一丁 was used for it.
jmac
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What is the counter used for doors?
This is from deceze, but what is the counter used for doors. Is it 枚(mai) or something else?
Mark Hosang
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6
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Counter for islands?
I have found the following sentence in my practising book (only 日本 is written in kanji because it's in one of the first lessons):
日本は しまが ６８５２ とう あります。
I am guessing that とう is the counter for islands. Is that right?
Can it be written 島 like しま?
biozic
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