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All Japanese activities

Activities: "Japanese counters: What are they and how to use them?"

By: Mayumi Ito

Activity 1: Reviewing the counter つ

First, let’s complete the table below (you can use hiranaga or romaji). How many have you memorized? Remember, this is not a test, and you can always check the article!
  • #KanjiReading

    1

    一 つ

    2

    二つ

    3

    三つ

    4

    四つ

    5

    五つ

    #KanjiReading

    6

    六つ

    7

    七つ

    8

    八つ

    9

    九つ

    10

    十つ

  • ??

    幾つ

    (how many / how old)

Now, let’s count things using the counter つ! Fill the blanks below.

  1. うちの菜園でスイカが採れました。
    Uchi no hatake de suika ga toremashita.
    We harvested five watermelons from our vegetable garden.

  2. 先生、質問があります。
    Sensei, shitsumon ga arimasu.
    Teacher, I have three questions.

  3. 犯行現場から指紋が見つかった。
    Hankō genba kara shimon ga mitsukatta.
    One fingerprint was found in the crime scene.

  4. ハイキングに行って、きれいな湖を見つけた。
    Haikingu ni itte kireina mizu’umi o mitsuketa.
    I went hiking and found two beautiful lakes.

    • A:

      ドーナツですね。ですか。
      Dōnatsu desu ne. desu ka.
      Donuts, right? How many?

    • B:

      ください。
      kudasai.
      Nine, please.

Activity 2: Counting

Let’s practice counting various things! Complete the following short Q&A dialogues, using the pictures as your clues (try counting aloud in Japanese!) In this exercise, you need to use either 個 transcribed ko, 本 transcribed hon, or 枚 transcribed mai. For practice, please spell them out in hiragana or romaji. For bonus points (though it’s not a test:), can you find the ones that can be replaced with つ?
  • 色鉛筆 transcribed iro enpitsumeaning colored pencil
    Twelve colored pencils arranged in a rainbow.

    T-シャツ transcribed tii-shatsumeaning T-shirt
    Four plain T-shirts.

    おにぎり transcribed onigirimeaning rice ball
    Two onigiri in a bowl.

    写真 transcribed shashinmeaning photo
    Nine black-and-white family photos.

    プレゼント transcribed purezentomeaning present
    Five colorful gift boxes.

    木 transcribed kimeaning tree
    Eight cartoon trees with different shapes.

    • A:

      色鉛筆がありますか。
      Iroenpitsu ga arimasu ka.
      How many color pencils are there?

    • B:

      あります。
      arimasu.
      There are .

    • A:

      T-シャツを持っていますか。
      Tii-shatsu o motte imasu ka.
      How many T-shirts do you have?

    • B:

      持っています。
      motte imasu.
      I have .

    • A:

      おにぎりを作りましたか。
      Onigiri o tsukurimashita ka.
      How many rice balls did you make?

    • B:

      作りました。
      tsukurimashita.
      I made .

    • A:

      壁に古い写真が飾ってありますか。
      Kabe ni furui shashin ga kazatte arimasu ka.
      How many old photos are displayed on the wall?

    • B:

      飾ってあります。 kazatte arimasu.
      are displayed.

    • A:

      誕生日にプレゼントをもらいましたか。
      Tanjōbi ni purezento o moraimashita ka.
      How many presents did you receive for your birthday?

    • B:

      もらいました。
      moraimashita.
      I received .

    • A:

      木がありますか。
      Ki ga arimasu ka.
      How many trees are there?

    • B:

      あります。
      arimasu.
      There are .

Activity 3: Counters

The following passage is a short essay Katy is writing for her Japanese class. Apparently she needs your help with counters! Complete the passage by filling each blank with a number plus counter (pick one from the “Counter Bank” below). For practice, let’s spell them out either in hiragana or romaji.
  • つ transcribed tsu
    個 transcribed ko
    本 transcribed hon
    枚 transcribed mai
    人 transcribed nin