In Japanese there are counting systems based on the shape of the object i.e. counting paper, counting bottle shaped object, counting cup or glasses. Lets learn them one by one.
Bottle shaped counting:
| Quantity | Hiragana | Reading | Kanji |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | いっぽん | ippon | 一本 |
| 2 | にほん | nihon | ニ本 |
| 3 | さんぼん | sanbon | 三本 |
| 4 | よんほん | yonhon | 四本 |
| 5 | ごほん | gohon | 五本 |
| 6 | ろっぽん | roppon | 六本 |
| 7 | ななほん | nanahon | 七本 |
| 8 | はっぽん | happon | 八本 |
| 9 | きゅうほん | kyuuhon | 九本 |
| 10 | じゅっぽん | juppon | 十本 |
Usage: Cylinder shaped and tall things i.e. Bottles, Pencil, Pen, Chopsticks, Torch light, Battery etc.
Paper shaped counting:
| Quantity | Hiragana | Reading | Kanji |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | いちまい | ichimai | 一枚 |
| 2 | にまい | nimai | ニ枚 |
| 3 | さんまい | sanmai | 三枚 |
| 4 | よんまい | yonmai | 四枚 |
| 5 | ごまい | gomai | 五枚 |
| 6 | ろくまい | rokumai | 六枚 |
| 7 | ななまい | nanamai | 七枚 |
| 8 | はちまい | hachimai | 八枚 |
| 9 | きゅうまい | kyuumai | 九枚 |
| 10 | じゅうまい | juu-mai | 十枚 |
Usage: Thin and flat things i.e. telephones, boxes, plain paper sheets, polythene bags, paper bags, newspapers etc.
Glasses and Cups shaped counting:
| Quantity | Hiragana | Reading | Kanji |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | いっぱい | ippai | 一杯 |
| 2 | にはい | nihai | ニ杯 |
| 3 | さんばい | sanbai | 三杯 |
| 4 | よんはい | yonhai | 四杯 |
| 5 | ごはい | gohai | 五杯 |
| 6 | ろっぱい | roppai | 六杯 |
| 7 | ななはい | nanahai | 七杯 |
| 8 | はっぱい | happai | 八杯 |
| 9 | きゅうはい | kyuuhai | 九杯 |
| 10 | じゅっぱい | juppai | 十杯 |
Usage: Cups, Drinking glasses, Wine Glasses etc.
That is all. Hope this article will help you understanding Japanese counting system based on their shape. Try to use them and apply whenever you have the chances. In general you can count by general counting system. Hope this article helps anyway.
