Fundamentals of Japanese – Part 6: Counting and Demonstrative Forms

This is going to be the final post in my Fundamentals of Japanese series. I’m using it to discuss the two last grammar points I feel are important for a basic understanding of the language, but couldn’t fit into the other parts…

Counting in Japanese is pretty easy. Even though the number symbols we use in English (1, 2, 3, etc.,) are used a lot in Japanese as well, it’s still important to learn the Japanese kanji for the numbers, and or course, how to pronounce them. As with learning any language, we’ll start with 1-10:

1. 一 (ichi)
2. 二　(ni)
3. 三　(san)
4. 四　(shi or yon)
5. 五　(go)
6. 六　(roku)
7. 七　(shichi or nana)
8. 八　(hachi)
9. 九　(kyuu)
10. 十 (juu)

Eleven would be 十一(juu-ichi), twelve would be 十二(juu-ni), thirteen would be 十三(juu-san), and so on up to nineteen, following the same pattern of 十(10) plus the next number.

Twenty would be 二十(ni-juu), twenty-one would be 二十一(ni-juu-ichi), twenty-two would be 二十二(ni-juu-ni), and so on following the same pattern as 11-19 except with 二(2) at the front to indicate counting in the 20s. The pattern continues with the 30s, 40s, and up until the end of the 90s. So thirty would be 三十(san-juu), forty-five would be 四十五(yon/shi-juu-go), and eighty-nine would be 八十九(hachi-juu-kyuu).

One-hundred in Japanese is 百(hyaku). The pattern would then follow: 101 would be 百一(hyaku-ichi), 102 would be 百二(hyaku-ni), and so on. Then 110 would be 百十(hyaku-juu), 111 would be 百十一(hyaku-juu-ichi), 112 would be 百十二(hyaku-juu-ni), etc,. Moving further on, 120 would be　百二十(hyaku-ni-juu), 131 would be 百三十一(hyaku-san-juu-ichi), 166 would be 百六十六(hyaku-roku-juu-roku), and 193 would be 百九十三(hyaku-kyuu-juu-san), again continuing the same pattern as the double-digit numbers except with 百(100) at the beginning.

Two-hundred would be 二百(ni-hyaku), 201 would be 二百一(ni-hyaku-ichi), 221 would be 二百二十一(ni-hyaku-ni-juu-ichi)…and I think the pattern is pretty clear by now :) The only thing that gets a little tricky in the hundreds is that pronunciation of certain ones don’t follow the usual pattern. 三百(300) is pronounced “sanbyaku,” 六百(600) is pronounced “roppyaku,” and 八百(800) is “happyaku.” But other than those three pronunciation deviants, everything else follows the usual counting pattern.

I’m going to stop at a thousand, which is 千(sen) in Japanese. But even so, the pattern still persists. How would you say 2,568 in Japanese? You can take it in sections: 二千(2,000) + 五百(500) + 六十(60) + 八(8).　So the full word would be 二千五百六十八(ni-sen-go-hyaku-roku-juu-hachi). It’s not until 10,000 that things change again.

Counting numbers by themselves in Japanese is easy, as I hope I demonstrated above. It’s using them as counters for things that gets tricky. Unlike English where we count all things the same way (three books, three people, three birds, three houses…), Japanese uses different counters depending on the subject being counted. Usually the regular numbers (一(1), 二(2), 三(3), etc.,) are used, but they’re combined with different ending suffixes.

There are a ton of different counters in Japanese, too many for me to list here. But I have listed a few below to give you an idea of how they work. Amongst them you’ll notice some exceptions to the pronunciation rules, which unfortunately can only be learned through memorization.

Counting people (add 人/-nin)
1. 一人(hitori)
2. 二人(futari)
3. 三人(san-nin)
7. 七人(nana/shichi-nin)
10. 十人(juu-nin)
51. 五十一人(go-juu-ichi-nin)
325. 三百二十五人 (san-byaku-ni-juu-go-nin)

Counting books, volumes, and bound objects (add 冊/-satsu)
1. 一冊(issatsu)
2. 二冊(nisatsu)
8. 八冊(hassatsu)
10. 十冊(jussatsu)
65. 六十五冊(roku-juu-go-satsu)

Counting flat objects (add 枚/-mai)
ex: cards, shirts, paper
1. 一枚(ichi-mai)
2. 二枚(ni-mai)
9. 九枚(kyuu-mai)
34. 三十四枚(san-juu-yon/shi-mai)
100. 百枚(hyaku-mai)

Counting long, cylindrical objects (add 本/-hon)
ex: bottles, pens, trees
1. 一本(ippon)
2. 二本(ni-hon)
3. 三本(san-bon)
8. 八本(happon)
110. 百十本(hyaku-juppon)

Counting small animals (add 匹/-hiki)
ex: cats, dogs, mice
1. 一匹(ippiki)
2. 二匹(ni-hiki)
3. 三匹(san-biki)
6. 六匹(roppiki)
98. 九十八匹(kyuu-juu-happiki)

Counting years of age (add 歳/-sai)
1. 一歳(issai)
2. 二歳(ni-sai)
4. 四歳(yon-sai)
8. 八歳(hassai)
20. 二十歳(hatachi)
26. 二十六歳(ni-juu-roku-sai)

General counter
This counter can be used for a variety of objects that don’t fit into specific categories. It’s usually acceptable to use this counter for most small to normal sized objects. As you can see, its pronunciation is irregular for 1-10. After 10 however, counting is reverted back to regular numbers without any suffix.

1. 一つ(hitotsu)
2. 二つ(futatsu)
3. 三つ(mittsu)
4. 四つ(yottsu)
5. 五つ(itsutsu)
6. 六つ(muttsu)
7. 七つ(nanatsu)
8. 八つ(yattsu)
9. 九つ(kokonotsu)
10. 十(tou)

In Japanese, words to describe relative distance such as “this” and “that” can take on three different forms. These forms that indicate position are as follows:

こ/ko-: This one refers to something near or in the immediate area of the speaker. It can also indicate something the speaker references verbally, not necessarily a physical thing.

これは私の本です。
Kore wa watashi no hon desu.
This is my book.
“Kore” typically translates as “this” and is used when talking about something near or in the possession of the speaker.

この本は私のです。
Kono hon wa watashi no desu.
This book is mine.
When “kore” needs to modify a noun, “kono” is used.

昨日ここに来ました。
Kinou koko ni kimashita.
I came here yesterday.
When describing a location close to the speaker, “koko” is used. It’s typically translated as “here.”

こちらへください。
Kochira e kudasai.
Please come this way.
When describing a general location near the speaker, “kochira” is used. It can also be used as a polite way of saying “This is…” when introducing a person next to you.

こいつ何をしている。
Koitsu nani o shite iru.
What is (this guy) doing?
“Koitsu” is an impolite way of saying “this person” or “this thing,” basically talking in a demeaning way to someone or something near the speaker.

—–

そ/so-: This one refers to something near or being referenced by the person being spoken to. It could also refer to something not near the speaker, but not very far away either.

それは私の本です。
Sore wa watashi no hon desu.
That is my book.
“Sore” typically translates as “that” and is used when talking about something near or in the possession of the person being spoken to.

その本は私のです。
Sono hon wa watashi no desu.
That book is mine.
When “sore” needs to modify a noun, “sono” is used.

昨日そこに来ました。
Kinou soko ni kimashita.
I came there yesterday.
When describing a location close to or being referenced by the person being spoken to, “soko” is used. It’s typically translated as “there.”

そちらへください。
Sochira e kudasai.
Please go that way.
When describing a general location near the person being spoken to, “sochira” is used. It can also be used as a polite way of saying “That is…” when introducing a person a bit far away from you.

そいつ何をしている。
Soitsu nani o shite iru.
What is (that guy) doing?
“Soitsu” is an impolite way of saying “that person” or “that thing,” basically talking in a demeaning way to someone or something near or being referenced by the person being spoken to.

—–

あ/a-: This one refers to something far away, that’s neither near nor in the possession of the speaker nor the person being spoken to. In terms of non-physical things, it can be used to indicate something not referenced by the speaker nor the person being spoken to.

あれは私の本です。
Are wa watashi no hon desu.
That (over there) is my book.
“Are” typically translates as “that” and is used when talking about something far away and not in the possession of the speaker nor the person being spoken to.

あの本は私のです。
Ano hon wa watashi no desu.
That book (over there) is mine.
When “are” needs to modify a noun, “ano” is used. “Ano” is also used as a sort of stammering interjection like “um,” “er,” or “uh” in English.

昨日あそこに来ました。
Kinou asoko ni kimashita.
I came (over) there yesterday.
When describing a location far from or being referenced by a third party other than the speaker or person being spoken to, “asoko” is used. It’s typically translated as “over there.”

あちらへください。
Achira e kudasai.
Please go over there.
When describing a general location far away, “achira” is used. It can also be used as a polite way of saying “That is…” when introducing a person far from you.

あいつ何をしている。
Aitsu nani o shite iru.
What is (that guy over there) doing?
“Aitsu” is an impolite way of saying “that person” or “that thing,” basically talking in a demeaning way to someone or something far away from the speaker or being referenced by a third party.

—–

And that wraps it up for the Fundamentals of Japanese series. For those of you who have been following it, I hope you enjoyed it. If you’re new to learning Japanese, I hope you learned something from it, and if you’re a veteran Japanese learner already, I hope you at least found it interesting and may recommend it to others. As always, please feel free to leave any feedback or to point out errors I made.

There’s still so much to say about Japanese that I couldn’t get to – more particles, interrogatives, common greetings and phrases, naming family members, etc,. But I feel like I got through at least the basics of the language, which was my goal. Thanks again for reading~! ^_^

Kamiya, Taeko. The Handbook of Japanese Verbs. Tokyo, Japan: Kodansha America Inc., 2001.

Kamiya, Taeko. Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication. Tokyo, Japan: Kodansha America Inc., 2005.

Chino, Naoko. How to Tell the Difference Between Japanese Particles. Tokyo, Japan: Kodansha America Inc., 2005.

Lampkin, L. Rita. Japanese Verbs and Essentials of Grammar. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., 2004.

Sakade, Florence. A Guide to Reading and Writing Japanese. Boston, MA: Tuttle Publishing, 2003.

—–Back to Part 5: Speech Levels

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