What are the different ways to count in Japanese?
When you don’t know which counter is correct, use the standard Japanese counting system from one to nine, which ends in a “つ”: 一つ (ひとつ, one), 二つ (ふたつ, two), 三つ (みっつ, three), 四つ (よっつ, four), 五つ (いつつ, five), 六つ (むっつ, six), 七つ (ななつ, seven), 八つ (やっつ, eight) and 九つ (ここのつ, nine).
How does counting work in Japan?
The Japanese number system is spread into units of four. You can simply count from 1 to 99 with just these ten numbers. Japanese is easier than English in this respect because you do not have to memorize separate words such as “twenty” or “fifty”. In Japanese, it’s simply just “two ten” and “five ten”.
Why does Japanese have different counting systems?
The Different Japanese Counting Systems Sino-Japanese comes from Chinese origins, while Native Japanese originates from Japan. The main difference between the two counting systems is that you need to use counters with Sino-Japanese, but there’s no need for them in Native Japanese.
Why are there multiple ways to count 4 and 7 in Japanese?
The simple reason is that some numbers are derived from the native Japanese pronunciation, known as kunyomi. The other numbers’ pronunciations are drawn from the imported, ancient Chinese readings of kanji, known as onyomi. Because of this, sometimes there are multiple different onyomi for a single word.
Is 4 in Japanese yon or shi?
Basic numbering in Japanese
| Number | Character | Preferred reading |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一 | ichi |
| 2 | 二 | ni |
| 3 | 三 | san |
| 4 | 四 | yon |
What is the number 0 in Japanese?
rei
For zero in Japanese, the kanji is 零 (rei). However, it is more common to use and say “zero” the same way we say it in English: ゼロ (zero). Or マル (maru) which translates to “circle” and it’s used the same way we say “oh” instead of “zero” in English when reading individual digits of a number.
What is the counter for tickets in Japanese?
Mai
Mai (枚, まい) Use this counter for flat, thin objects like pieces of paper and tickets.
Why is 4 in Japanese yon or shi?
The numbers 4 and 9 are considered unlucky in Japanese: 4, pronounced shi, is a homophone for death (死); 9, when pronounced ku, is a homophone for suffering (苦). See tetraphobia. In modern Japanese, cardinal numbers are given the on readings except 4 and 7, which are called yon and nana respectively.
Why is 7 Nana and Shichi?
As noted above, yon (4) and nana (7) are preferred to shi and shichi. It is purported that this is because shi is also the reading of the word 死 (“death”) which makes it an unlucky reading; while shichi may sound too similar to ichi (1), shi or hachi (8).
Why is 4 a bad number Japan?
Unlucky numbers Traditionally, 4 is unlucky because it is sometimes pronounced shi, which is the word for death. Sometimes levels or rooms with 4 don’t exist in hospitals or hotels. Particularly in the maternity section of a hospital, the room number 43 is avoided because it can literally mean “stillbirth”.
Why is there no 4th floor in hospitals?
The number 4 sounds like the hanja for “death” (사) (although Korean has no tones), so the floor number 4 or room number 4 is almost always skipped in hospitals, funeral halls, and similar public buildings.
Why are there different ways to count in Japanese?
Because Japanese uses different counters for different types of things ranging from simple objects, people, flat things, long slender things to books. See below on how Japanese number counting varies. With “hyaku” (100) and “sen” (1000), the pattern is basically the same. However, there are some changes in pronunciation.
What do you call a counter in Japanese?
Counters are usually single-kanji characters that have a special reading just applicable to their function as a counter. Let’s think about counting in English. To count in English we usually take a cardinal number (i.e. one, two, three, etc.) and add it to an object.
How to count cats in Japanese like a native?
Adapt the counter for the number of said objects that you want to indicate by fusing the counter with the cardinal number. Take cats, for a loveable example. The word for the noun “cat” is 猫 (ねこ). If we go through the above stages, we can count cats as follows. Cats are counted using the “small animals counter.”
How to count shirts and paper in Japanese?
In English when you are counting object like shirt, you will say one shirt, two shirts, and so on. However in Japanese, the counter for flat and thin objects like shirt and paper is まい (mai).