When you get to know Japanese a little, you may be surprised at how easy it is. Despite having a totally different alphabet and all those Kanji characters, it really is quite easy to speak and understand, and also very simple grammatically. There are some things, however, that even the Japanese themselves find hard about their language, and one of these is counters.

The Japanese make counting into a nightmare. While most other languages might have a couple ways of counting (ie. one, two, three versus first, second, third), it is generally not the hardest aspect of their language. Japan has a different way of counting almost every type of object conceivable, and a few special exceptions for important items besides. Not only that, but the counters are sometimes said differently depending on which number you are on (unlike most languages where you say “one ______”), and sometimes the old style of counting must be used instead of the modern style.

Here are some examples:
- Ba (場) – Counter for sections of a play (First act, second act, etc.). Uses old style of counting.
- Bun (文) – Counter for sentences in a piece of writing.
- Byou (秒) – Counter for seconds.
- Dou (堂) – Counter for Buddhist Temples.

}- Furi (振) – Counter for Japanese swords (but not Katana). Uses old style of counting.
- Hiki (匹) – Counter for small animals, except birds.
- Hon (本) – Counter for books and long things.
- Ji (耳) – Counter for rabbits in pairs.
- Ka (日) – Counter for days 2-10 and 20 of a month. Uses old style of counting.
- Mai (枚) – Counter for flat objects.
- Nin (人) – Counter for people.
- Sai (才) – Counter for age.
- Tsu (つ) – A general counter for inanimate things. Uses the old style of counting.
- Tou (刀) – Counter for Katana.

These are just a few of many, many different counters. It’s very difficult, even for the Japanese, to remember what counter to use. In fact, there is a game show in Japan which is based around the idea of choosing the perfect counter for objects, and the contestants very rarely get above the number 20.

There is a little hope, however. Most counters are not often used, and in general conversions, you can easily get by if you know a few basic ones such as “tsu”, “sai”, “ka” and “nin”.

If you wish to know more, here are a few helpful websites:
Japanorama Counter Page
Wikipedia Counters
Counters Site

What do you think? If you already know Japanese and know about counters, how difficult or easy has it been for you to learn them?