Japanese Counters: The List, Every Reading From 1 to 10, and How to Ask How Many

What are Japanese counters?

Japanese counters, called 助数詞 (じょすうし, josūshi) in Japanese, are small words you add to a number to say what kind of thing you are counting. 三匹 (sanbiki) is three small animals and 三冊 (sansatsu) is three books: the number is the same, the counter changes.

English does something similar with three sheets of paper or two cups of coffee. The difference is that in Japanese almost every number needs a counter. You can't put 三 straight in front of a noun.

Counters are one half of the Japanese counting system. The other half is the two sets of numbers, which counting in Japanese explains.

Around 500 counters exist, according to Tofugu, though many are rare. You don't need them all. The ten in the main list below cover a lot of daily life, and most of them follow the same few sound patterns. They are the counters on our N5 list. There's no official N5 list to check against, as how many words N5 needs explains.

How to use a counter in a sentence

The number and the counter go together as one word: 三 + 匹 = 三匹 (sanbiki, "three small animals"). There are two common ways to put it in a sentence.

After the noun and its particle. This is the everyday way to say how many:

• ねこが三匹います。 (neko ga sanbiki imasu) There are three cats.
• ペンを二本ください。 (pen o nihon kudasai) Two pens, please.
• コーヒーを一杯ください。 (kōhī o ippai kudasai) One coffee, please.

Before the noun, joined with の. This usually means a particular group. Wikipedia gives this pair, with 鉛筆 (えんぴつ, enpitsu, “(wooden) pencil”):

• 三本の鉛筆をください。 (sanbon no enpitsu o kudasai) Please give me the three pencils.
• 鉛筆を三本ください。 (enpitsu o sanbon kudasai) Please give me three pencils (any three).

Both are correct. If you just want to say how many, put the number after the noun.

Japanese counters list: which counter for what

Dates (一日, 二日…), months and the time also use counters (日, 月, 時, 分). They have enough irregular readings to deserve their own pages: see dates in Japanese and telling the time. Two more counters you'll meet early, 台 for machines and 階 for floors, come further down.

The sound changes (and why ippiki isn't ichihiki)

Most of the "irregular" readings are really regular. When a number meets a counter, the end of the number and the start of the counter can change. The table shows the patterns. Every reading in the tables below follows them.

A blank cell means no change: 三個 is さんこ (sanko), 六冊 is ろくさつ (rokusatsu). So the counters that start with h change the most. The ones starting with k and s double the consonant (the small っ). 枚 never changes.

Three notes:

• Ten can be じっ or じゅっ (じっぽん, じゅっぽん). Wikipedia says じっ is the older form. It adds that じゅっ has replaced it in the speech of recent generations. Where the dictionary lists both, the tables show both.
• Eight sometimes keeps its full form: 八本 is はちほん or はっぽん. Again, the table shows what the dictionary records.
• Floors (階) follow the k pattern, with one twist: after 3 the k can become g, so 三階 is さんがい (sangai) or さんかい. The same goes for 何階 (なんがい or なんかい). Wikipedia notes that not every speaker makes this change.

Hitotsu and hitori: the つ and 人 counters

Two counters don't follow the patterns at all, and they're the first two you'll need.

つ (tsu): the general counter

The つ counter uses the native Japanese numbers (ひと, ふた, み…) instead of いち, に, さん. Counting in Japanese explains the two sets of numbers.

It stops at nine. Ten is とお (tō), and the native numbers go no further. For more than ten things, you need the regular numbers and another counter, such as 個.

人 (nin): people

One and two people are ひとり (hitori) and ふたり (futari). From three on it's the regular にん (さんにん, sannin), with よにん (yonin) for four.

More on this, and on saying your age, in counting people in Japanese.

Japanese counters chart: every reading from 1 to 10

本 (hon): long, thin things

匹 (hiki): small animals

杯 (hai): cups, glasses and bowls

個 (ko): small objects

枚 (mai): flat things

冊 (satsu): books

回 (kai): how many times

歳 (sai): age

You'll often see 才 (さい, sai) written instead of 歳. It's a simpler character for the same counter. Wikipedia calls it an informal short form, and Tofugu says 歳 is the more correct one.

Two more you'll meet: 台 (dai) and 階 (kai)

台 counts machines and vehicles: cars, bikes, computers, washing machines. 階 counts the floors of a building.

How to ask how many: nan + counter, and ikutsu

To ask how many, put 何 (なん, nan, “how many”) where the number would go. The counter stays the same. For things in general, where you'd use つ, ask いくつ.

何 changes like 三 before counters that start with h. So 何本 is なんぼん (nanbon), 何匹 is なんびき (nanbiki) and 何杯 is なんばい (nanbai). Wikipedia's table of sound changes gives this rule. The dictionary has no entries for these three words, so they're on our list for a native speaker to confirm.

• ペンは何本ありますか。 (pen wa nanbon arimasu ka) How many pens are there?

How to learn Japanese counters

• Learn the patterns, not the tables. Once you know that h-counters change at 1, 3, 6, 8 and 10, you've learned 本, 匹 and 杯 at once.
• Start with つ, 人 and one pattern counter. 本 is a good one to start with. Add the others as you meet them.
• Say them with a noun. "ペンを二本" (pen o nihon) sticks better than "にほん" on its own.
• Learn the question too. 何人 and いくつ come up as soon as you order food or buy a ticket.
• When in doubt, use つ for things (up to nine). Wikipedia notes that the native numbers can often get you out of not knowing a counter. People and animals still need their own counters.

Questions about Japanese counters

How many counters are there in Japanese?

Around 500 counters exist in Japanese, according to Tofugu, though many are rare. A beginner can start with the ten on this page.

What is the Japanese counting system?

The Japanese counting system uses two sets of numbers plus counters. The native numbers (ひとつ, ふたつ…) count things up to ten, and the Sino-Japanese numbers (いち, に, さん…) go in front of most counters. Counting in Japanese explains both sets.

What's the difference between hitotsu and ikko?

Hitotsu (一つ) and ikko (一個) both mean "one thing". つ uses the native numbers and stops at nine. 個 is for small, compact objects and keeps going past ten. Wikipedia gives both りんご四つ and りんご四個 for "four apples".

Which counter do you use for animals?

Small animals, such as cats, dogs and fish, take 匹 (hiki). Large animals, such as cows and horses, usually take 頭 (tō), though many people use 匹 for all animals.

How do you ask how many in Japanese?

To ask how many in Japanese, put 何 (nan) in front of the counter: 何人 (nannin) is "how many people" and 何個 (nanko) is "how many pieces". For things in general, ask いくつ (ikutsu).

What do you say when you don't know the counter?

When you don't know the counter, use つ for things up to nine. Wikipedia notes that the native numbers can count many things from one to ten without a counter. They don't work for people or animals, which need 人 and 匹.

How do you say your age in Japanese?

You say your age with the counter 歳 (sai): 八歳 is はっさい (hassai). Twenty is はたち. Counting people and age has more.

Sources

• Readings and meanings: JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0), including 三階 read さんがい or さんかい, and 歳 also written 才.
• Readings JMdict doesn't list: Wiktionary contributors, Appendix: Japanese counters (revision 68894268, retrieved 27 September 2026), CC BY-SA 4.0.
• Word order, じっ and じゅっ, 才, 何 before h-counters, 階 after 3, 台, 頭 and 匹 used for all animals, ひとり and ふたり, よん and し, きゅう and く, はたち, and the native numbers when you don't know a counter: Wikipedia, Japanese counter word (read 1 October 2026).
• The number of counters, 頭 and 匹, 台, and 歳 and 才: Tofugu, 350 Japanese counters.
• The full list of sources is on our attributions page.
• Reviewed by two independent reviews. The word-order nuance, how rare いちにん, ににん, くにん and しほん are, なんぼん, なんびき and なんばい, where 匹 gives way to 頭, and what people say past ten are waiting for a native speaker's check.