26
votes
Accepted
Are there native Japanese numbers greater than 10? What use are they?
As it turns out, there are Japanese numbers greater than 10!
Getting started, let's review the basics:
1 through 9:
[一つ]{ひとつ}、[二つ]{ふたつ}、[三つ]{みっつ}、[四つ]{よっつ}、[五つ]{いつつ}、[六つ]{むっつ}、[七つ]{ななつ}、[八つ]{やっつ}、...
17
votes
Accepted
Why is another photo referred to as もう一丁?
Its use is not limited to photos. もう一丁 is an idiomatic phrase which just means "one more try", "give it another shot".
丁 is also used as a counter for dishes (of food), and today もう一丁 is typically ...
14
votes
Accepted
Looking for a kanji/symbol used for counting noodles
That is the 略字 for 枡, the square vessel used for sake and a measurement of volume.
EDIT: Punningly, also used as an abbreviation for the verb ending ーます during the Edo period:
また、「ます」と呼ぶことから丁寧の語尾(...
14
votes
Accepted
How to read 24-hour clock format
You can read the time of day in 24-hour format using the pronunciation for the numbers 13–24 as for the numbers 1–10 followed by 時【じ】, e.g.
15:40 = 15時40分 = じゅうごじ よんじゅっぷん
19:20 = 19時20分 = じゅうくじ ...
14
votes
Accepted
Meaning of 見る in 「1日から2日は見て」
取り寄せるのに1日から2日は見ておいたほうがいいからね。
You know, (expect) it takes at least one day or two before the product arrives (to our office/department).
This 見る is "to expect", "to estimate", etc. See the tenth ...
12
votes
Why was "一匹" used for Godzilla?
Googling the two terms in Japanese, there are a great deal of discussions among the Japanese about when to use which as clearly ambiguous to them as much as it is to you. One of such quoted the ...
12
votes
Accepted
What is the counter for languages
You can also use 2か国語, 3か国語 etc. to talk about how many languages one speaks, as in...
「私は、3か国語が話せます。」
「彼は、フランス語とドイツ語と英語の3か国語が話せます。」
You can also use 言語, as in...
「僕は、フランス語とドイツ語と英語の3つの言語が話せます。...
12
votes
Accepted
Would the same counter be used to order a slice of pizza and a whole one?
As for pizza, 枚 always stands for a whole round pizza. Each cut slice is counted with 切【き】れ (一【ひと】切れ, 二【ふた】切れ...).
(top: ピザ 一枚, bottom: ピザ 一切れ)
11
votes
Accepted
名 vs 人 for counting people?
Short Answer: If you're a customer trying to make a reservation, you can use whichever you want.
Long Answer: 名 and 人 are different in formality. But 名 and 人 are not keigo; they are not honorific/...
11
votes
Accepted
Are Japanese counters the same when viewing items online?
counters are based on size and shape of physical items
I'm not sure what you mean by this, but not really --- I'd say we choose counters based upon what we perceive the object to be.
So, for ebooks (...
10
votes
Structure: thing を numeral (or numeral and counter) ください
Think like this:
All nouns in Japanese are uncountable. You can't count apples any more than you count water or light. Thus under Japanese grammar you always have to say "two 'objects' of apple", "...
10
votes
Doesn't ~ニン(人)as a suffix imply that it is a counter of people
Yes, 人【にん】 is a counter "agrees" with person, but no, it cannot play the role of a noun. Counters only makes a number able to modify a noun, but grammar prohibits it from having noun meaning. Thus, if ...
10
votes
Accepted
How to pronounce 1ターン?
Both いちたーん and いったーん are valid. (As an aside, わんたーん is also very common, especially when it's part of a longer phrase like 1ターンキル.)
There may be exceptions I'm not aware of, but basically foreign ...
9
votes
Accepted
Why are counters necessary to describe the quantity of objects?
Counters aren't necessary any more in Japanese than gendered nouns are in romance languages, e.g. la vache vs. le chat.
English has something extremely similar to counters called Collective Nouns. ...
9
votes
Accepted
What is the Japanese word for "counter" and how do I ask questions with it?
"Counter" "counter word" is [助数詞]{じょすうし}, but when you ask and respond to "What is the counter word for XX?" you'd usually say like...
「傘は何で数えますか?」
(lit. Do you count umbrellas with what?)
--「(...
9
votes
Accepted
Counter followed by 隣
It's RxD.
1個隣, ひとつ隣 RD
2個隣, ふたつ隣 RxD
3個隣, みっつ隣 RxxD
Numbers larger than three is possible, but the larger the number is, the less likely 隣 would be used. People use 5個離れて, ななつ先 and such instead.
...
9
votes
Accepted
How do you express time duration when mixing time units?
"1年3ヶ月22日19時間25分14秒" works fine in scientific/technological contexts. In real conversations or mails, people usually add some と, typically after 1年, 22日 and/or 25分. と is sometimes mandatory because ...
9
votes
Accepted
What is the counter for kanji characters?
The counter for kanji characters is 字 or 文字. For example:
200字 - 200 characters
150文字 - 150 characters
四字熟語 - an idiomatic phrase with 4 characters
9
votes
Accepted
Leaving away the 目 suffix for ordinal numbers
Nページ can mean "N page(s)" referring to the number of pages (eg 300ページの本 = a 300-page book). However, Nページ can also mean "page N", the page marked with that number. On the other ...
9
votes
How to say "garlic", "garlic clove" and "garlic bulb" in Japanese?
If you mean you use those words in cooking, we rather say like:
にんにく一玉【ひとたま】 or 一房【ひとふさ】: "a ball/bunch of garlic" = "a garlic bulb"
にんにく一片【ひとかけ】: "a chip of garlic" = &...
8
votes
Accepted
Exceptions in pronouncing the counter for minutes (分)
分 meaning "minute(s)"
When 分 is used as a counter with the meaning "minute(s)", it is read as follows:
1分 = いっぷん
2分 = にふん
3分 = さんぷん
4分 = よんぷん
5分 = ごふん
6分 = ろっぷん
7分 = ななふん
8分 = はちふん・...
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