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Japanese Counters (助数詞)
The Japanese language uses what are called counters, or measure words, to count nouns. Nouns in Japanese have no number; they are neither singular nor plural except as revealed by context. So whe you want to specify a certain number of something, you have to pair the object with the appropriate counter. The grammar is simple, but knowing all the measure words commonly used in Japanese is troublesome. So here's a list of them, including most of the unusual ones you are likely to come across or need.
| Counter | Pronunciation | Used to Count |
| 番 | ban | Noh drama |
| 尾 | bi | fish |
| 部 | bu | copy of a book; newspaper |
| 着 | chaku | suit (of clothes) |
| 張 | chō | drum; koto; curtains; paper |
| 挺 | chō | gun; scissors; oar; violin; gun; rickshaw |
| 丁 | chō | knife; pair of scissors; cake of tofu |
| 台 | dai | bicycle; car; camera; computer; piano; machinery; ski; telephone; television; vehicle |
| 弾 | dan | bullet; projectile |
| 房 | fusa | bunch of fruit; lock/tuft of hair; bunch of flowers |
| 行 | gyō | line (of text) |
| 鉢 | hachi | bonsai tree |
| 盃 | hai | drink (in a cup) |
| 泊 | haku | night (when staying overnight at a hotel) |
| 針 | hari | stitch; suture |
| 発 | hatsu | bullet; projectile; rocket; missile |
| 編 | hen | article; publication; novel |
| 篇 | hen | poem |
| 匹 | hiki | small animal; fish |
| 本 | hon | bottle; article; publication; fan; pencil; movie; video; tunnel; long objects |
| 字 | ji | kanji; letter (character) |
| 寺 | ji | temple |
| 錠 | jō | pill; tablet |
| 条 | jō | river |
| 株 | kabu | share (of a stock) |
| 階 | kai | floor (of a building) |
| 画 | kaku | stroke (of a Japanese character) |
| 巻 | kan | set of books |
| 件 | ken | crime |
| 軒 | ken | house |
| 機 | ki | airplane |
| 基 | ki | elevator; reactor; rocket base |
| 個 | ko | default counter, and used when uncertain of the proper counter; egg; model (experimental) |
| 戸 | ko | household |
| 句 | ku | haiku |
| 口 | ku | sword |
| 口 | kuchi | bank account |
| 脚 | kyaku | chair |
| 曲 | kyoku | song |
| 枚 | mai | comb; plate; flat objects; name card; sheet of paper; leaf; flat, thin objects |
| 幕 | maku | act of a play; acto |
| 面 | men | cello; pool; mirror; page (in a newspaper); ski slope; tennis court |
| 門 | mon | cannon |
| 問 | mon | question |
| 人 | nin | people (n.b.: one person is read "hitori"; two people, "futari") |
| 人前 | ninmae | food (portion); serving (of food) |
| 列 | retsu | queue; row |
| 輌 | ryō | railroad car; tram car; subway car |
| 歳 | sai | years (for saying how old someone is) |
| 作 | saku | work (musical or literary); opus |
| 山 | san | temple |
| 冊 | satsu | book; bound objects |
| 隻 | seki | ship; boat |
| 戦 | sen | game; match |
| 社 | sha | shrine (Shinto) |
| 食 | shoku | meal |
| 足 | soku | shoes (in pairs) |
| 揃い | soroi | suit (of clothes) |
| 筋 | suji | cord; rope; river |
| 玉 | tama | cabbage (head of cabbage) |
| 頭 | tō | large animal; cow |
| 棟 | tō | building |
| 通 | tsū | document; letter (document) |
| 粒 | tsubu | egg |
| 羽 | wa | bird; rabbit |
| 葉 | yō | leaf |
| 座 | za | shrine (Shinto); stage (theater) |
| 膳 | zen | chopsticks (pair of) |