Counters by Category: A Reference Index

This Japanese counters list is a lookup reference, not a lesson. It groups 50+ counters by what they count, with kanji, base readings, and editorial JLPT estimates.¹ Scan to the category you need. For the most common counters, follow the link to the full deep dive.

If you are not yet sure what a counter (助数詞, josūshi) is or how it attaches to a number, start with the overview hub. Return here when you need the full list.

How to Use This Reference

What each column means

Every table below uses the same four columns: counter (kanji), reading, what it counts, and a JLPT level.¹ The reading is the neutral base form, such as 本 = ほん or 杯 = はい.¹

The regular shifts with 1, 3, 6, 8, and 10 (一本 いっぽん, 三杯 さんばい, and the like) are not spelled out in each row.¹ They follow a pattern covered in the irregular-readings section below.

Native 〜つ-series counters appear in the reading column as the bare counter つ. Their full native-number forms belong to the numbers section.¹

Reference tables carry no furigana

Readings have their own column, so no furigana markup appears inside the tables. This makes the reference easier to scan when you return to it repeatedly.

The literal string "n/a" marks any cell with no clean single answer. It is not a dash.

Two counters cover most gaps: つ and 個

つ is the native general-purpose counter. It is used for 1 through 10, after which speakers switch to Sino-Japanese counters.¹ 個 (こ) is the Sino-Japanese general counter for small or roughly three-dimensional objects. It serves as the everyday fallback.¹

Full teaching of the つ versus 個 split lives in the overview hub, not here.

People and Living Things

Table: people and animals

Counter	Reading	What it counts	JLPT (est.)
人	にん	People (general headcount).1	N5
名	めい	People, formal / headcount register (reservations, attendance).1	N4
名様	めいさま	People, polite service register (「3名様」).2	N3
匹	ひき	Small animals, insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians.1	N4
頭	とう	Large animals (cattle, horses, elephants, whales); also butterflies by tradition.1	N3
羽	わ	Birds and rabbits.13	N3

For people counters, see the full deep dive in the 人 / 名 article. For animal counters, see the 匹 / 頭 / 羽 article.

人 has the famous native-reading exceptions 一人 (ひとり) and 二人 (ふたり). From 三人 on, it uses regular Sino-Japanese readings: さんにん, よにん, and so on.¹ The full story belongs to the people deep dive.

匹 and 羽 change sound in common number combinations: 一匹 いっぴき, 三匹 さんびき, 六匹 ろっぴき, and 三羽 さんわ (the set phrase さんば aside), 六羽 ろっぱ, 十羽 じっぱ (everyday じゅっぱ).¹³

「名」 and 「名様」 outrank 「人」 in polite contexts

名 and 名様 are the clerical and service-register choices for headcounts (restaurant reservations, forms, attendance). 人 is the everyday default.¹ Counting butterflies with 頭 is a real but register-marked convention from academic and zoo usage. Everyday speech often uses 匹.⁴

Objects by Shape: Long-Thin, Flat, and 3-D

Table: shape-based counters

Counter	Reading	What it counts	JLPT (est.)
本	ほん	Long, thin, cylindrical things: pens, bottles, rivers, roads, train lines.1	N5
枚	まい	Flat, thin things: paper, photos, plates, shirts, stamps.1	N5
個	こ	Small three-dimensional / general-purpose objects.1	N5
つ	(native series)	General-purpose native counter, 1 through 10 (一つ〜十).1	N5
粒	つぶ	Small grains and pellets: rice, beans, pills.1	N2
玉	たま	Round balls and orbs; portions of noodles (一玉).4	N2
切れ	きれ	Slices and cut pieces (fish, bread, cake).24	N3
棹	さお	Long rod-counted items: dressers (箪笥) and rod-shaped sweets such as 羊羹.24	non-JLPT (long-tail)

The two main counters in this category each have a full article: 本 for long, thin objects and 枚 for flat, thin objects.

本 has strong sound shifts: 一本 いっぽん, 三本 さんぼん, 六本 ろっぽん, 八本 はっぽん, 十本 じっぽん.¹ The rule is explained in the irregular-readings section.

棹 is genuinely archaic in everyday speech. A 箪笥 is now commonly counted with 台, 点, or 組 as well.⁴ It is included here as a long-tail example of how specialized a counter can be.

Containers and Servings

Table: containers and servings

Counter	Reading	What it counts	JLPT (est.)
杯	はい	Cupfuls / glassfuls / bowlfuls; also squid, octopus, and crab by tradition.1	N4
皿	さら	Plates / dishes of food served (一皿).2	N3
膳	ぜん	Bowls of served rice; also pairs of chopsticks (一膳).24	N2
滴	てき	Drops of liquid (一滴).24	N2
瓶	びん	Bottles, as filled containers.2	N3
缶	かん	Cans.2	N3
袋	ふくろ	Bags / sacks (一袋).2	N3
箱	はこ	Boxes / cartons (一箱).2	N4

杯 has strong sound shifts: 一杯 いっぱい, 三杯 さんばい, 六杯 ろっぱい, 八杯 はっぱい, 十杯 じっぱい.¹ The reason is covered once, in the irregular-readings section.

Using 杯 to count squid, octopus, and crab is a famous semantic extension worth knowing. The counter and its readings are unchanged.¹

「膳」 for chopsticks counts pairs, not sticks

一膳 is one pair of chopsticks, not one stick. That is the trap learners usually hit first.⁴ The other live sense of 膳 is a served bowl of rice.⁴

Time, Frequency, and Occurrences

Table: time and frequency

Counter	Reading	What it counts	JLPT (est.)
回	かい	Times / occurrences / repetitions.1	N5
度	ど	Times / occasions; also degrees of temperature and angle (dual sense).56	N4
番	ばん	Position in a numbered series / turn / rank (一番).1	N5
周	しゅう	Laps / circuits / times around (一周).2	N3
泊	はく	Nights of a stay (一泊二日).2	N3
限	げん	Class periods / lesson slots (一限, 二限目).6	N3

Clock and calendar units (時 じ, 分 ふん, 日 にち / か, 月 がつ, 年 ねん) are part of number formation rather than classifier counters, so they are not tabled here.¹ Number readings are routed to the numbers article in the dedicated section below.

度 has two senses: it can count times or occasions, and it can measure degrees in temperature or angle.⁵ The money-and-units table cross-references this temperature sense rather than re-listing 度.

回 takes 一回 いっかい, 六回 ろっかい, 八回 はっかい, 十回 じっかい, with gemination (a small っ) before the か sound.¹ The rule is explained later.

Money, Measures, and Units

Table: money and units

Counter	Reading	What it counts	JLPT (est.)
円	えん	Yen (currency).1	N5
銭	せん	Sen, the historical 1/100-yen sub-unit; archaic, survives in finance and FX quotes.2	non-JLPT
歳 / 才	さい	Years of age; 才 is the simplified everyday substitute glyph.1	N5
人前	にんまえ	Food portions / servings for N people (二人前).24	N2
割	わり	Tenths, units of 10%; 三割 = 30%.2	N3

The temperature and angle sense of 度 lives in the time-and-frequency table above and is not duplicated here.

歳 has the irregular reading 二十歳 (はたち) for "twenty years old." The full native-reading story belongs to the numbers section.¹ It also takes 一歳 いっさい, 八歳 はっさい, 十歳 じっさい, with gemination (a small っ) before the さ sound.¹

Purely metric loanword units such as キロ, グラム, and メートル behave like counters with numbers. They are loanword units rather than native classifiers, so they are noted here without a table row.¹

Buildings, Places, and Vehicles

Table: buildings, places, vehicles

Counter	Reading	What it counts	JLPT (est.)
階	かい	Floors / storeys (三階 さんがい).1	N5
軒	けん	Houses / shops / buildings counted as standing units (三軒 さんげん).1	N3
棟	むね / とう	Buildings / blocks / wings; reading varies by context.2	N2
室	しつ	Rooms (号室 in room numbering).2	N2
台	だい	Machines, vehicles, appliances, furniture.1	N5
機	き	Aircraft and standalone machines (aviation register, 一機 いっき).7	N2
隻	せき	Ships and boats / vessels.12	N1
両	りょう	Train cars / railway carriages.12	N2

階 changes as 一階 いっかい, 三階 さんがい, 六階 ろっかい, 八階 はっかい, 十階 じっかい. 軒 changes as 一軒 いっけん, 三軒 さんげん, 六軒 ろっけん.¹ The rule is explained later.

棟 has two correct readings. むね is the native everyday reading, and とう is the Sino-Japanese reading used in administrative and real-estate contexts.² Both are listed because both are standard.

機 narrowed over its history to aircraft and standalone machines. This development is documented in the academic record of the counter's emergence.⁷

Bound and Printed Things

Table: bound and printed

Counter	Reading	What it counts	JLPT (est.)
冊	さつ	Books, magazines, bound volumes, notebooks.1	N5
部	ぶ	Copies of a publication; sets of documents (新聞を一部).2	N3
通	つう	Letters, emails, written documents.12	N3
巻	かん	Volumes in a series / scrolls / tape reels.2	N3
号	ごう	Issues / editions of a periodical; sequential from the first (創刊号).5	N2

Single sheets of paper use 枚, which appears in the shape-based table. It is not re-listed here.¹

冊 changes as 一冊 いっさつ, 八冊 はっさつ, 十冊 じっさつ.¹ The rule is explained later.

Clothing and Worn Items

Table: clothing and footwear

Counter	Reading	What it counts	JLPT (est.)
着	ちゃく	Suits / outfits / garments worn as a set (一着).2	N3
足	そく	Pairs of footwear and socks (一足 いっそく).1	N3
点	てん	Items of clothing / merchandise / artwork (dual retail and art sense).2	N3
組	くみ	Sets / pairs / groups (一組).2	N4

Single flat garments such as shirts use 枚, which appears in the shape-based table. It is not re-listed here.¹

足 changes as 一足 いっそく, 八足 はっそく, 十足 じっそく.¹ The rule is explained later.

点 has two senses: a retail or inventory item count, and an artwork or exhibit count (作品三点). Both are standard.²

Events, Cases, and Abstract Things

Table: events and abstractions

Counter	Reading	What it counts	JLPT (est.)
件	けん	Cases / matters / incidents / inquiries (一件).2	N3
問	もん	Questions / problems on a test (三問).2	N3
課	か	Lessons / chapters / sections (第一課).2	N4
曲	きょく	Songs / musical pieces (一曲).2	N3
品	しな / ひん	Dishes on a menu / items; reading splits by sense.6	N3
話	わ	Episodes / story installments (第一話).2	N3
句	く	Haiku / phrases / poetic lines (一句).12	N1

Physical shops and houses use 軒, which appears in the buildings table. It is not re-listed here.

品 splits by sense. しな leans to the native "item / goods" meaning, while ひん is the Sino-Japanese reading in compounds such as 美術品 (びじゅつひん).⁶ The dish-on-a-menu count appears as 一品, read いっぴん.⁶

件 changes as 一件 いっけん, 六件 ろっけん, 八件 はっけん, 十件 じっけん.² The rule is explained later.

Irregular Readings Across the Tables

Why some rows shift with 1, 3, 6, 8, 10

The base readings in every table above shift in a predictable way. Counters whose base reading begins with a は-row, か-row, or さ-row consonant regularly geminate, adding the small っ (促音便), with the numbers 1, 3, 6, 8, and 10 (and 100, and 何).¹ For は-initial counters, the pattern alternates between gemination and voicing (連濁).¹

The standard examples span the tables: 一杯 いっぱい and 三杯 さんばい (は-initial, gemination at 1, 6, 8, 10 and voicing to 〜ばい at 3); 三階 さんがい (か-initial voicing at 3); 八本 はっぽん and 一本 いっぽん (は-initial); 一足 いっそく and 一冊 いっさつ (さ-initial gemination).¹

This is a regular pattern, not something to memorize cell by cell. That is why the reference lists only the base readings.¹ The systematic treatment, including the full rule and its exceptions, belongs to the dedicated counter sound-change article.

The Numbers These Attach To

Sino-Japanese vs native number readings

Most counters take the Sino-Japanese number series: ichi, ni, san, yon, go, and so on (一回 いっかい, 二冊 にさつ).¹ The 〜つ series instead takes the native series: hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu, up to ten (とお).¹

A few famous native-reading exceptions are worth naming: 一人 (ひとり) and 二人 (ふたり) for people, 二十歳 (はたち) for age twenty, and 一日 (ついたち) and 二十日 (はつか) for calendar days.¹

The full number system, from 1 to 100,000,000 and beyond, is covered in the dedicated Japanese numbers article.

Good to know

JLPT-level estimates are editorial, not official

No official JLPT vocabulary list has been published since 2010, and the JLPT has never published a definitive counter list. The level column in every table reflects textbook placement and corpus frequency, consistent with how J-Compass treats JLPT vocabulary throughout. Do not read any cell as an official syllabus claim.

One object can take several counters

A squid can be counted with 杯 (traditional) or 匹. Rabbits can be counted with 羽 (traditional) or 匹. Vehicles can use 台 for the machine or 両 for a train car.¹⁴ Counter choice can encode register, perspective, or tradition, not just physical shape.

Treat counters as vocabulary tied to a category

Learn each counter alongside a typical noun and a mental shape-or-category bucket: 本 is the pencil-and-bottle bucket, 枚 is the sheet bucket. Established pedagogy treats counters as item-linked vocabulary rather than abstract grammar. That is why standard references and this index group them by category.⁴

Even native speakers fall back on つ and 個

No one actively uses all of the roughly 500 counters that exist. For rare or uncertain objects, the generic native 〜つ series and 個 are accepted in everyday speech.¹

See also

• Counters in Japanese: An Overview of 助数詞 (Josūshi)
• Japanese Counter Sound Changes: Why 一本 Is いっぽん, Not いちほん
• Japanese Numbers: How to Count from 1 to 100,000,000 (and Beyond)
• 本 (Hon) Counter: Long, Thin Objects in Japanese
• 枚 (Mai) Counter: Flat, Thin Objects in Japanese
• 人 / 名 (Nin/Mei) Counter: Counting People in Japanese
• 匹 / 頭 / 羽 Counters: Counting Animals in Japanese
• JLPT Vocabulary by Level: How Many Words for N5 to N1
• Time, Date, and Calendar Vocabulary in Japanese

References

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia contributors. "Japanese counter word." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_counter_word (authoritative reading-and-meaning table for ~500 counters; also the consolidated euphonic-change table). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³ ↩⁴⁴ ↩⁴⁵ ↩⁴⁶ ↩⁴⁷ ↩⁴⁸ ↩⁴⁹ ↩⁵⁰ ↩⁵¹ ↩⁵² ↩⁵³ ↩⁵⁴ ↩⁵⁵ ↩⁵⁶

2. Wikipedia (Japanese) contributors. 「助数詞」. ウィキペディア. https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/助数詞 (readings and usage for specialized and long-tail counters). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴

3. ジャパンナレッジ. 「『10羽』は『じっぱ』が正しい？」 目からウロコ！数え方のナゾ. https://japanknowledge.com/articles/kze/column_kaz_13.html (euphonic readings of 羽, with NHK accent-dictionary citations). ↩ ↩²

4. 飯田朝子. 『数え方の辞典』. 小学館. (the standard Japanese reference dictionary of counters; via its public-facing entries at 数え方単位辞典 https://www.sanabo.com/kazoekata/ and JapanKnowledge https://japanknowledge.com/contents/kazoekata/). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

5. コトバンク (デジタル大辞泉 / 大辞林 entries). https://kotobank.jp/ (dictionary readings/senses for 号, 度, and others). ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. Wiktionary contributors. "限," "度," "羽," "品" (Japanese sections). Wiktionary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/限#Japanese and sibling entries (counter readings and senses). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

7. 伊藤由貴. 「助数詞『機』の成立」. 『語文』104号, 大阪大学国語国文学会, 2015, pp. 85–99. https://ir.library.osaka-u.ac.jp/repo/ouka/all/70966/ (history and scope of the aircraft counter 機). ↩ ↩²