Japanese Counters List: 人, つ, 匹, 本, 枚 and More

Short answer: Japanese counts things with counters (助数詞, josūshi): a number plus a short word that shows what kind of thing is counted. The ones you need first are 人 (people), つ (general things), 個 (small objects), 本 (long things), 枚 (flat things), 匹 (small animals), 杯 (cups and bowls), 冊 (books), 台 (machines) and 日 (days). Several change their sound after 1, 3, 6, 8 and 10: 一本 is いっぽん, 三匹 is さんびき.

The readings below follow the counter tables on Wiktionary (ja-number-counter), the sound-change rule summarised in the Japanese Wikipedia article 助数詞, and the special readings in the official jōyō kanji table (常用漢字表, 2010). If the number kanji themselves are new, start with Japanese numbers in kanji.

How counters work

A number never sits directly in front of a noun. You attach a counter to the number, and the counter phrase usually comes after the noun and its particle:

• 猫が三匹います。 (ねこがさんびきいます) “There are three cats.”
• 本を二冊買いました。 (ほんをにさつかいました) “I bought two books.”
• りんごを三つください。 (りんごをみっつください) “Three apples, please.”

You can also put the counter before the noun with の: 三匹の猫 (three cats). To ask “how many”, put 何 (なん) before the counter: 何人 (なんにん), 何本 (なんぼん), 何枚 (なんまい). For つ the question is いくつ.

Japanese counters list

Counter	Reading	Used for	Example
人	にん (ひとり, ふたり)	people	三人 さんにん
つ	つ	general things, 1 to 9	三つ みっつ
個	こ	small or round objects	りんご三個 さんこ
本	ほん	long, thin things; bottles	鉛筆一本 いっぽん
枚	まい	flat, thin things	紙二枚 にまい
匹	ひき	small animals, fish, insects	犬一匹 いっぴき
頭	とう	large animals	牛三頭 さんとう
羽	わ	birds	鳥一羽 いちわ
杯	はい	cups, glasses, bowls	コーヒー一杯 いっぱい
冊	さつ	books, notebooks	本二冊 にさつ
台	だい	machines, cars, bikes	車一台 いちだい
日	か, にち	days and dates	三日 みっか
回	かい	times, occurrences	一回 いっかい

All of these are everyday words. The kanji 人, 本 and 日 are JLPT N5, while 枚, 匹, 個 and 冊 sit at higher levels in kanji lists even though beginners use the words early. Each kanji has a page with a picture story, readings and stroke order.

Readings 1 to 10

#	つ	人	匹	本	杯	枚	個
1	ひとつ	ひとり	いっぴき	いっぽん	いっぱい	いちまい	いっこ
2	ふたつ	ふたり	にひき	にほん	にはい	にまい	にこ
3	みっつ	さんにん	さんびき	さんぼん	さんばい	さんまい	さんこ
4	よっつ	よにん	よんひき	よんほん	よんはい	よんまい	よんこ
5	いつつ	ごにん	ごひき	ごほん	ごはい	ごまい	ごこ
6	むっつ	ろくにん	ろっぴき	ろっぽん	ろっぱい	ろくまい	ろっこ
7	ななつ	ななにん, しちにん	ななひき	ななほん	ななはい	ななまい	ななこ
8	やっつ	はちにん	はっぴき	はっぽん	はっぱい	はちまい	はっこ
9	ここのつ	きゅうにん	きゅうひき	きゅうほん	きゅうはい	きゅうまい	きゅうこ
10	とお	じゅうにん	じゅっぴき	じゅっぽん	じゅっぱい	じゅうまい	じゅっこ
?	いくつ	なんにん	なんびき	なんぼん	なんばい	なんまい	なんこ

For 8, the unchanged forms (はちひき, はちほん, はちこ) are also heard, and for 10 both じっ and じゅっ are accepted (じっぽん, じゅっぽん): the jōyō table lists ジッ for 十 and notes ジュッ as well. 九人 can also be くにん.

The sound-change rule

Most of the table follows one pattern, described in the 助数詞 article:

1. Counters starting with k, s, t or h shorten 1, 6, 8 and 10 to a small っ: 一個 いっこ, 六回 ろっかい, 八冊 はっさつ, 十回 じゅっかい. 8 sometimes stays はち.
2. If the counter starts with h, that h becomes p after the small っ: いっぴき, ろっぽん, はっぱい.
3. After 3 (さん) and 何 (なん), some h-counters become b: さんびき, さんぼん, さんばい, なんびき, なんぼん, なんばい.
4. Counters starting with other sounds (枚 まい, 台 だい, 人 にん) do not change: いちまい, いちだい.

The rule is a guide, not a law. 六冊 and 六歳 keep ろく (ろくさつ, ろくさい), and 三階 can be さんがい or さんかい. When in doubt, learn the counter with its 1, 3, 6, 8 and 10 forms, as in the table above. The difference between Sino-Japanese いち, に, さん and native ひと, ふた, み is the same on’yomi and kun’yomi split explained in onyomi vs kunyomi.

Counting people: 一人, 二人, 三人

People use 人, with two native words at the start: 一人 (ひとり) and 二人 (ふたり). Both are in the appendix of special readings of the jōyō table. From three on you say the number plus にん: 三人 (さんにん), 四人 (よにん), 五人 (ごにん). Note よにん, not よんにん. 一人で means “alone”, and 何人 (なんにん) asks how many people.

Counting things: つ and 個

When you do not know the right counter, the native つ series is always safe for objects from one to nine: ひとつ, ふたつ, みっつ, よっつ, いつつ, むっつ, ななつ, やっつ, ここのつ, and とお for ten. These are the native readings of the number kanji, also shown in Japanese numbers in kanji.

From eleven on, つ stops. Use the plain number or 個 (こ) for small items: 十二個 (じゅうにこ). 個 is also common below ten in shops and recipes: 卵二個 (two eggs).

Counting animals: 匹, 頭 and 羽

• 匹 (ひき) is for small and medium animals, fish and insects: 犬が一匹 (いっぴき), 猫三匹 (さんびき).
• 頭 (とう) is for large animals such as cows, horses and elephants: 牛二頭 (にとう).
• 羽 (わ) is for birds, and traditionally also rabbits: 鳥一羽 (いちわ). Wiktionary lists さんば and ろっぱ as alternative readings for 3 and 6.

Counters for food and drinks

There is no single food counter. The shape or container decides:

• 杯 (はい) for a cup, glass or bowl: コーヒー一杯 (いっぱい), ご飯二杯 (にはい), ビール三杯 (さんばい).
• 本 (ほん) for bottles and long items: 水一本 (いっぽん), バナナ二本 (にほん).
• 個 (こ) for small pieces: おにぎり三個 (さんこ), 卵一個 (いっこ).
• 枚 (まい) for flat items: パン一枚 (いちまい), ピザ二枚 (にまい).
• つ works for most items when ordering: ラーメンを二つ (ふたつ) ください.

Counting days: 一日 to 十日

Days use 日 with native readings from 2 to 10, the same forms you use for dates:

Days	Reading	Days	Reading
一日	いちにち (one day), ついたち (the 1st)	六日	むいか
二日	ふつか	七日	なのか
三日	みっか	八日	ようか
四日	よっか	九日	ここのか
五日	いつか	十日	とおか

After ten, the reading is number + にち (十一日 じゅういちにち), with three exceptions to know: 十四日 (じゅうよっか), 二十日 (はつか) and 二十四日 (にじゅうよっか). For whole dates, combine these with the months of the year in kanji and the days of the week in kanji: 十一月八日日曜日 is じゅういちがつようかにちようび, Sunday 8 November.

Other everyday counters

• 冊 (さつ) books: 一冊 いっさつ, 八冊 はっさつ, 十冊 じゅっさつ.
• 台 (だい) machines and vehicles: 一台 いちだい, 何台 なんだい.
• 回 (かい) times: 一回 いっかい, 三回 さんかい, 六回 ろっかい.
• 階 (かい) floors: 一階 いっかい, 三階 さんがい.
• 歳 (さい) age: 一歳 いっさい, 八歳 はっさい, and 二十歳 is read はたち.
• 分 (ふん) minutes: 一分 いっぷん, 三分 さんぷん, 五分 ごふん, 十分 じゅっぷん.

Practice the counters

Counters use the number kanji (JLPT N5), so learn Japanese numbers in kanji first, then try the N5 kanji quiz and the JLPT N5 kanji list. If a reading in a word still trips you up, see kanji to hiragana. Kanji Guide teaches every kanji with a picture story, readings and stroke order: open the study app in your browser or get the Kanji Guide iPhone app on the App Store.