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Japanese counters

In Japanese you cannot just put a number in front of a noun: you add a counter word that depends on what you are counting. Three pencils are 鉛筆三本 (えんぴつさんぼん), but three sheets of paper are 紙三枚 (かみさんまい). Many counters change their sound with certain numbers, so each page lists every form from one to ten with the tricky ones highlighted.

New to Japanese numbers? Start with the numbers →

Things

People and animals

Time

Money

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Counters click fastest in real conversation: ordering food, buying tickets, telling the time.

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