Counters

Each language has different ways of counting objects. Japanese uses counters. They are similar to English expressions such as “a cup of ~,” “a sheet of ~” and so on. There are a variety of counters, often based on the shape of the object. The counters are attached directly to a number (e.g. ni-hai, san-mai). When combining a number with a counter, the pronunciation of the number or the counter might change. Click the link for each counter to learn about the phonetic change.