Japanese Counters つ and こ

Japanese Counters つ and こ

I am hesitant to discuss the Japanese counters because there are too many of them and I haven’t memorized all of them. But let’s start with counters ～つ and ～こ.

What is a Japanese counter?

Counter or counter word is a measure word that is used to count things, actions, and/or events. It is added after the numbers. The Japanese counters consist of more than 300 counter words that are used depending on the kind of shape or measure of the nouns that are being used.  

Counters are called じょすうし (Josuushi or 助数詞) or simply called ‘Classifier’.

Now let’s start with the most common Japanese counters.

First is the traditional counter. This counter is the original form of counting in Japanese or the native Japanese for counting. It is used to count most things except when counting for people, money, and time. It is sometimes referred to as Universal counter. This counter is ～つ. I also included the native Japanese for counting in my previous blog way back in 2021. You can read it here in this LINK.

Now, let’s check the counter ～こ or 個. こis like the counter つ. It can use in almost anything, like something solid or inanimate objects. Basically, it is a counter for small objects.

You can interchange these two counters if you don’t know what counters to use. But remember, if it’s about counting numbers or age, the counter ～つ is used.

For example:

I ate two apples.

You can either say:

• わたしはリンゴを2つたべました。

(私はリンゴを2つ食べました。)
(Watashi ha ringo wo futatsu tabemashita)

Or

• わたしはリンゴを2こたべました。

(私はリンゴを2個食べました。)
(Watashi ha ringo wo niko tabemashita.)

The meaning of these two sentences is the same. There are too many Japanese counters and if you don’t want to learn all of it, you can always use ～つ and ～こ.

Let’s see the table for counters つ and こ.

Numbers	Counter つ	Counter こ (個)
1	ひとつ (一つ) Hitotsu	いっこ (一個) Ikkou
2	ふたつ (二つ) Futatsu	にこ (二個) Niko
3	みっつ (三つ) Mittsu	さんこ (三個) Sanko
4	よっつ (四つ) Yottsu	よんこ (四個) Yonko
5	いつつ (五つ) Itsutsu	ごこ (五個) Goko
6	むっつ (むっつ) Muttsu	ろっこ (六個) Rokko
7	ななつ (七つ) Nanatsu	ななこ (七個) Nanako
8	やっつ (八つ) Yattsu	はっこ (八個) Hakko
9	ここのつ (九つ) Kokonotsu	きゅうこ (九個) Kyuuko
10	とお (十) Too	じっこ/じゅうこ (十個) Jikko / Juuko

 

Sample sentences:

For counter ～つ.

いくつですか。
(幾つですか。)
(Ikutsu desu ka.)
How many?

それらの1つになりましょう。
(Sorera no hitotsu ni narimashou.)
Be one of them.

それのみっつをわたしにください。
(それの三つを私に下さい。)
(Sore no mittsu wo watashi ni kudasai.)
Give me three of them.

4つのていあんがあります。
(4つの提案があります。)
(Yottsu no teian ga arimasu.)
I have four suggestions.

For counter ～こ.

なんこですか。
(何個ですか。)
(Nanko desu ka.)
How many?

なんこひつようですか。
(何個必要ですか。)
(Nanko hitsuyou desu ka.)
How many do you need?

リンゴは５ことオレンジは２こください。

(リンゴは5個とオレンジは2個ください。)

(Ringo ha goko to orenji ha niko kudasai.)

Please give me 5 apples and 2 oranges.

きょうはたまごを10個かいました。
(今日は卵を10個買いました。)
(Kyou ha tamago wo juuko)
I bought 10 eggs today.

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Related topic: 
>> Days, Weeks, Months of the Year in Japanese
>> Nationality and Language in Japanese
>> Let’s talk about time in Japanese

Japanese Grammar: 
>> Monthly Grammar: Part 1 - Simple Japanese Conversation
>> Monthly Grammar: Part II – Age in Japanese Conversation
>> Monthly Grammar: Part III – Appreciating someone

Japanese Vocabulary:
>> Japanese Vocabulary: Ten-Ten (“) and Maru (˚)
>> Japanese Vocabulary: Small ‘つ’, Long vowels and Combined Characters
>> Japanese Vocabulary: Age in Japanese Conversation

Japanese Kanji: 
>> Kanji: 口
>> Kanji: 木
>> Kanji: 金

Word of the Week: 
>> 2023 Word of the Week: Week 01
>> 2023 Word of the Week: Week 02



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