![]() ▼ Which is only acceptable when referring to anĪdorable cat wearing a sweater made out of a single sock. In English we also have the awkward saying “a pair of pants,” even though no one in their right mind would ever wear a single “pant.” But if we changed it to “a leg of pants/socks” like in Japanese, then I think a lot of English-learners would imagine it only referred to a single pant/sock. It’s mostly because the kanji used for soku (足) means “leg/foot.” So when you put ichi (“one”) and soku (“foot”) together as issoku, it feels like it should mean “a sock/shoe for one foot,” not two. Maybe this one is just me, but when I first learned the counter soku (“a pair of socks/shoes”), I just couldn’t make it click. Wikimedia Commons/Engr Read Hossain, Wikimedia Commons/Liuthalas ![]() Wikimedia Commons/Flickr upload bot, Wikimedia Commons/charlesjsharp, Oh and the counter wa, used to count birds, hey guess what… also used to count rabbits. No other insects or small/medium-sized animals. “Great,” you think, “that makes sense.” Until you find out that it’s also used to count… butterflies. It’s used to count big animals like cows, horses and whatnot. Wikimedia Commons/Citron, Wikimedia Commons/Carl Fredrikīut hai isn’t the only counter that seems normal at first then bites you in the butt later. ▼ Yes… I can, uh, totally see the resemblance there. Yup, if you’re counting octopus, squids, or anything else that’s slimy, lives in the ocean, and has a bunch of tentacles, chances are it’s counted the same way as you would count glasses of drinks. It’s used to count glasses of drinks and can be very useful for when you want to scream “another round of drinks!” ( mō ip pai!).īut then later I went on to find out that hai is also used to count… cephalopods. One of the first counter words that I learned was hai. Compared to the other items on this list, having to learn a whole new number system actually makes some sense. Since the different numbers aren’t really part of the counter word itself, tsu is only an honorable mention. And using san for “three?” Haha, you’re funny that’s mi now for mittsu. And forget using ni for “two,” that’s futa now to make futa-tsu. Oh no, instead you have to use the other word for “one” ( hito) with tsu to make hito-tsu. You can’t just put the word for “one” ( ichi) and tsu together to get ichi-tsu and call it a day. In order to use the tsu counter, you have to learn an entirely new number system. However… that convenience comes at a price. Counting houses? Use a tsu! Counting tissue boxes? Use a tsu! And there was much rejoicing. The sheer number of them can be intimidating: one for counting little things, one for counting electrical equipment, one for counting people, and so on.īut then they breathe a sigh of relief after learning that there’s a generic counter word that can be used for pretty much everything: tsu. When most students first learn about Japanese counter words, their eyes widen in terror. Honorable Mention: The deceptively difficult counter “tsu” (つ) Either way, one thing’s for sure: you’ll never count the same way again. Maybe reading this will make them clearer, or maybe it will just make everything worse. That’s why today we’re counting down the top five most confusing Japanese counter words. ![]() In English we have some counter words too (like an “ear” of corn or a “pair” of pants), but Japanese has counter words for everything: small animals, big animals, flat objects, machinery, and so, so much more. Japanese may have a lot of insanity to it, but one thing that often flies under the radar are the counter words. But this week the spooky holidays are over and we’re back doing what we do best: pointing out the craziness that is the Japanese language. Japan we looked at the top five budget Japanese Halloween costumes. English has “heads” of lettuce and “loaves” of bread, but Japanese is even worse.
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