Lesson 11: だんごは なん本ですか

N5 · Lesson 11 · 25 min — One stick, two tickets, three people — plus "and" and "only"

In English you sometimes add a word when you count: a sheet of paper, a cup of tea, two pairs of shoes. Japanese does this almost every time! These words are called "counters". In this lesson you'll learn the 5 most common ones, plus one "all-purpose" set you can use when you're not sure which counter fits.

After this lesson, you can:

• Count things from ひとつ to とお (but not people or times)
• Pick the right counter for each kind of thing (small, long, flat, people, times): 〜個こ・〜本ほん・〜枚まい・〜人にん・〜回かい
• Say sound-change forms like いっぽん・さんぼん correctly, plus the special forms ひとり・ふたり・よにん
• Say "A and B" with と, and "only ~" with だけ

Rin Eats Dango

After school, Kumata, working part-time at the dango shop, comes out to greet them. Watch how they count people and dango!

Counting needs counters: ふたり for people, 〜本ほん for a skewer; と is "and", だけ is "only". Rin's dango are down to bare sticks...

All-purpose counting: ひとつ〜とお

• ひとつ (hitotsu): 1 (thing)
• ふたつ (futatsu): 2 (things)
• みっつ (mittsu): 3 (things)
• よっつ (yottsu): 4 (things)
• いつつ (itsutsu): 5 (things)
• むっつ (muttsu): 6 (things)
• ななつ (nanatsu): 7 (things)
• やっつ (yattsu): 8 (things)
• ここのつ (kokonotsu): 9 (things)
• とお (tō): 10 (things)
• いくつ (ikutsu): how many

Counters: choose by type

• 個こ (ikko): 〜個こ (said こ): small, compact things
• 本ほん (ippon): 〜本ほん (said ほん): long, thin things
• 枚まい (ichimai): 〜枚まい (said まい): thin, flat things
• 人にん (sannin): 〜人にん (said にん): people
• 回かい (ikkai): 〜回かい (said かい): times
• なん人にん (nannin): how many people

Words in this lesson

• だんご (dango): dango (sweet rice dumplings on a stick)
• くし (kushi): skewer (the stick for dango)
• りんご (ringo): apple
• ペン (pen): pen
• シャツ (shatsu): shirt
• おとな (otona): adult
• こども (kodomo): child
• ガチャ (gacha): capsule toy (gacha)

Grammar 1 / 3: Grammar 1

N は + number + counter + です: choose the counter by the kind of thing.

• Pattern: N は + amount + です: The amount goes in the same spot as a price: りんごは みっつです。 To ask, say: りんごは いくつですか。
• 〜つ: all-purpose, but only to 10: ひとつ, ふたつ … とお. It works for most "things" (not people, not times). But it only goes up to 10. Above 10, switch to the counter that fits the thing (〜個こ for small things, 〜本ほん for long things …).
• By shape: 個こ・本ほん・枚まい: Small, compact things use 〜個こ (りんご, ケーキ). Long, thin things use 〜本ほん (ペン, かさ, だんご). Thin, flat things use 〜枚まい (きっぷ, シャツ).
• People and times: 〜人にん・〜回かい: People: 1 and 2 are ひとり, ふたり. From 3 up: さん人にん, ご人にん … 4 people is よ人にん (not よん). To ask: なん人にんですか。 Times use 〜回かい: いっ回かい, に回かい. A capsule toy machine may say "1回かい 300円えん" = 300 yen per turn.

• りんごは みっつです。 — Three apples.
• ケーキは いっ個こです。 — One cake.
• かさは に本ほんです。 — Two umbrellas. (にほん is also how you say "Japan", but the pitch is different: "2 long things" is に↘ほん, "Japan" is にほ↘ん. The context also tells you which one.)
• きっぷは さん枚まいです。 — Three tickets.
• なん人にんですか。 — How many people?
• ガチャは いっ回かい さんびゃく円えんです。 — The capsule toy is 300 yen a turn.

Sound changes: watch 1, 3, 6, 8 and 10

Tap to listen and compare what changes.

Grammar 2 / 3: Grammar 2

A と B: "A and B" — list nouns one by one.

• Noun + と + noun: おちゃと コーヒー = tea and coffee. For three or more, keep adding: だんごと おちゃと ケーキ.
• Saying "what there is": When someone asks what things or people there are, link them one by one with と: だんごと おちゃです。 (You'll learn how to order — "~, please" — later. For now, just name what there is.)
• Numbers go after the noun: おとな ふたりと こども ひとりです (two adults and one child). Put the number right after the noun. No の in between.
• Here, と only joins nouns: English "and" can join anything, even whole sentences. In this lesson, と only joins nouns (things, people) — not sentences.

• おちゃと コーヒーです。 — Tea and coffee.
• だんごと おちゃは いくらですか。 — How much are the dango and tea?
• リンさんと ともだちは がくせいです。 — Rin and his friend are students.
• かさと さいふは わたしのです。 — The umbrella and wallet are mine.
• おとな ふたりと こども ひとりです。 — Two adults and one child.

Grammar 3 / 3: Grammar 3

N だけ: "only N". だけ goes after the noun or number.

• N + だけ = only N: おちゃだけです = only tea. だけ sticks right after the noun.
• Number + だけ: ひとつだけ (only one), ひとりだけ (only one person), いっ回かいだけ (only once).
• Using it with と: コーヒーと ケーキだけです = only coffee and cake. List everything with と first, then add だけ at the end.
• The opposite of も: も means "also" (there's more), だけ means "only" (nothing else). They are opposites. For now, remember: don't use も and だけ together.

• おちゃだけです。 — Only tea.
• わたしだけですか。 — Only me?
• だんごは いっ本ぽんだけです。 — Only one stick of dango.
• ガチャは いっ回かいだけですよ。 — Just one turn on the capsule toy machine, OK?
• コーヒーと ケーキだけです。 — Only coffee and cake.