Learn how to use the counter 個 (Ko)
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| Do you know how to count blocks of tofu? |
| You'll find out at the end of this lesson! |
| Hi everybody! I'm Alisha. |
| こんにちは、 Yamamori です。 |
| Welcome to Japanese Counters for Beginners, where you'll learn how to count all sorts of different objects in Japanese! |
| Yamamori-sensei, what counter will we learn in this lesson? |
| 個 |
| First, let's take a look at what sorts of objects can be counted with the counter. |
| When counting small or round objects, you can use the counter... |
| 個 |
| But what is small and what is round? |
| You could use this counter to count various objects; |
| objects as large as watermelons, or as small as a piece of candy. |
| And it doesn't have to be completely circular! You could use it to describe eggs, popcorn, or other things like that! |
| Okay, let's count from 1 to 10 with this counter. |
| 一個 |
| 二個 |
| 三個 |
| 四個 |
| 五個 |
| 六個 |
| 七個 |
| 八個 |
| 九個 |
| 十個 |
| Did you notice that there were some numbers that sounded different to how they usually sound? |
| When you read the numbers 1, 6 and 10, you should be careful. |
| For number 1, it's i-kko, not 'ichi-ko.' |
| For number 6, it's 'ro-kko' not 'roku-ko'. |
| For number 10, it's 'ju-kko' not 'juuko.' |
| Okay. Now let's take a look at some sample sentences that use this counter. |
| 私はケーキを10個買いました。 |
| “I bought 10 cakes.” |
| 1個のスイカを8個に切りました。 |
| “I cut a watermelon into 8 pieces.” |
| トマトを3個ください。 |
| “Can I have 3 tomatoes, please?” |
| Now it's time for a quiz. I'm going to ask you a question in English. Please answer in Japanese. Are you ready? Be sure to use the right counter. |
| How many apples are there? |
| リンゴが7個あります。 |
| How would you ask for 6 doughnuts? |
| ドーナッツを6個ください。 |
| Do you know how to count blocks of tofu? The answer is... |
| 1丁 |
| This is the counter to use for tofu. |
| Your mother may ask you like this: とうふを2丁、買ってきて。 |
| It literally means "Buy 2 tofu and come back." |
| Okay, everyone. That's it for this lesson. |
| I'll see you next time! |
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Comments
HideWhat other objects do you think you can count with the counter 個 (Ko)?
Joshua Hannanさん
コメントありがとうございます😄
大変です😮
*いつ走り始めるべきですか？
Please let us know if you have any questions :)
Sincerely
りょうま（Ryoma）
Team JapanesePod101.com
爆弾が七個あります。😱😱
いつ走り始めるべですか？😵
Konnichiwa Rachel
Thank you for your comment.
お団子、おにぎり are ok to use 個. （If the お団子 was stick on Skewers, It will be 本（ほん/ぽん). Not 個.）
Certain Sushi can be counted by 個 But Sushi changes it counter depending on which style it will served. These are 貫(かん) or 本(ほん/ぽん) or 折り(おり) or 桶(おけ) etc.
Keep up the good work and Feel free to ask us any questions.
Sono
Team JapanesePod101.com
お団子、おにぎり、寿司。
Sethさん、
こんにちは。
I am sorry. Do you mean ‘scope’?
Yuki 由紀
Witch counter I should use for number of scupes of coffee in my coffee pot?
bennetさん、
こんにちは。:smile:
Yes, they have the same meaning.
Yuki 由紀
Team JapanesePod101.com
りんご and リンゴ are the same?
thanks!
Trey san,
Konnichiwa.:smile:
Please refer to the page below.
https://www.japanesepod101.com/2013/07/12/japanese-counters-for-beginners-1-hon/
Yuki 由紀
Team JapanesePod101.com
こんにちは、
Is there a way to find the reading variations for the counters you show us for the special items (tofu, loaves of bread, pairs of chopsticks, etc.)?
Hi ドチュー,
Thank you for your comment and feedback!
The Kanji Close up PDF has been fixed :sunglasses:
Thank you for your patience and understanding. Let us know if you have questions.
Sincerely,
Laura
Team JapanesePod101.com
Hello.
In the Kanji-Close up pdf the kanji is not there.
Bye.
Raichu-san,
glad Yuki could help you!
On behalf of her, you're welcome:grin::thumbsup:
Natsuko (奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
ah yes of course, that makes sense. thanks. :smile:
Raichu san,
Konnichiwa.
When the subject, 隕石 in this case is introduced first time, the particle should be が.
When that is used second, third or more, the particle should be は.
Yuki 由紀
Team JapanesePod101.com
Slightly different question, wouldn't it be better to say "ga" instead of "wa":
隕石が二個メキシコでクラッシュしました
(or 隕石二個が...)
Jhonny Galvezさん、
You can use二個 for 隕石.:smile:
However, you don’t need to putを between 隕石 and 二個.
So the sentence should be 隕石二個はメキシコでクラッシュしました.
本当ですか？ Really? :open_mouth:
Yuki 由紀
Team JapanesePod101.com
Can this counter apply for bigger objects? Example: 隕石を二個はメキシコでクラシュしました (Trying to say that two asteroids crashed in Mexico)
> Raichu-san,
I see! :smile:
五重 is read and said as ごじゅう nowadays. 'Japanese traditional counting + counter'
can be used only up to 2 or 3 usually and in rare cases maybe to upper numbers.:sweat_smile:
Still, now I see where you got it!
And, thank you very much for a kind message!! :heart:
Indeed, nothing can be a better gift than someone telling me my voice encourages his/her study!
I'll try my best to improve my hosting skill:wink:
> ミハエルさん、
Wow, you've studied 'into' 重 and got a great info! :smile:
All those meanings/info are correct, and 重 is actually not the only one that has more than
one meaning as counter:sweat_smile: The basic idea of 重 is 'to put something onto something else
covering the same area'. So, if you 'fold' a paper, you put a part of the same paper onto the other
part, and those two parts (of the same paper) 'cover' the same area of a table (if you put it down).
Have you heard of 五重の塔 (lit. tower of five levels)?
The building has the same 'little houses' on each floor. I think you understand my point here already:grin:
As I wrote above (as reply to Raichu-san), Japanese traditional way for counters are not fully used.
If/when you have any questions on counters, please feel free to post here!:wink:
Natsuko (奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
奈津子さん、Raichu-san,
thank you very much :D
The following section is a bit off-topic, and relates to the counter 重 mentioned below. So please excuse that little detour :sunglasses:
About 五重: My dictionary does not list it. However, a list of counters (mentioned below) states that:
Along with the kun-reading "e" of 重, Japanese numbers (hito, futa, ..., too) are used for counting.
Along with the on-reading "juu" of 重, Sino-Japanese numbers (ichi, ni, ..., juu) are used for counting.
As far as I understand, both counters can be used to express "folded x times". However, there are other things listed for each counter. For 重 (juu), for example, tiered boxes are listed as countable, but not for 重 (e). Maybe it is because the on-reading "juu" also translates to "heavy" - or maybe because the list is incomplete; That is beyond my capabilities, yet :D So, there may be a difference - or not.
Source: http://www.trussel.com/jcount.htm
Item 57 for 重 = e, counter appended to Japanese number hito, futa, ..., too.
Item 162 for 重 = juu, the similar counter appended to ichi, ni, ..., juu counting.
For any other beginners like me: Don't trust one source alone. The source above may be correct - or not. I cannot decide. That is why I posted this here, as here are friendly and helpful supporters who can put me back on the right path :D So, thank you all for your help. It is really fun to be allowed learning by making mistakes!
ありがとう御座いました :D
ミハエル