本
For anything long and thin: pens, bottles, umbrellas, trees, roads, even films and phone calls.
Use it for
- 鉛筆 (えんぴつ) pencils
- 傘 (かさ) umbrellas
- ボトル bottles
Counting from one to ten
Highlighted forms change their sound, so learn them by heart.
| Number | Reading | 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 or はちほん | happon / hachihon |
| 9 | きゅうほん | kyūhon |
| 10 | じゅっぽん or じっぽん | juppon / jippon |
| How many? | なんぼん | nanbon |
The h becomes p after 1, 6, 8 and 10, and b after 3 and なん (how many).
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