③数(kazu) – numbers : counting people and the usage

You’ve learned how to count numbers.　 ①数(kazu) – numbers / ②数(kazu) – numbers

The way you count people is  not the same. The important lesson today is its usages.

But 1st, let’s see how to count people.

one person =  一人 (hitori)

Two people = 二人 (futari)

Three people = 三人 (san-nin)

Four people = 四人 (yo-nin)

Five people = 五人 (go-nin)

Six people = 六人 (roku-nin)

Seven people = 七人 (nana-nin)

Eight people = 八人 (hachi-nin)

Nine people = 九人 (kyuu-nin)

Ten people = 十人 (juu-nin)

Eleven people = 十一人 (Juu-ichi-nin)

Twelve people = 十二人 (Juu-ni-nin)

Thirteen people = 十三人 (Juu-san-nin)
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One hundred people = 百人 (Hyaku-nin)
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How many people? = 何人(nan-nin)
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Now, let’s see some example sentences and see carefully how the numbers are used in the sentences.

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①

How many friends do you have?

- 友達が 何人 いますか?(Tomodachi ga nan-nin imasuka?)

- 何人 友達が いますか?(Nan-nin tomodachi ga imasuka?)

友達 = friend, friends ___が います。 = There is ___. I have ____. ___が いますか？= Is there___?, Do you have___? いますis used for animated things, like people, animals, ghost, alien)

I have one friend.

- 友達が、一人います。(Tomodachi ga hitori imasu.)

I have two friends.

- 友達が、二人います。 (Tomodachi ga futari imasu.)

I have three friends.

- 友達が、三人います。 (Tomodachi ga san-nin imasu.)

These are simple sentences. The only important rule is put the number + counter in front of the verb.

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Doing something alone, or together with someone.

②

Who did you go to see the movie with?

- 誰と 映画を 見に行きましたか? (Dare to eiga o mi ni ikimashita ka?)

or

How many people went to see the movie?

- 何人で 映画を見に行きましたか? (Nan-nin de eiga o mi ni ikimashita ka?)

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I went alone.

- 一人で 行きました。(hitori de ikimashita.)

I went with Kanako.

- かなこさん と 行きました。 (Kanako-san to ikimashita.)

I went with my three friends.

- 友達三人で 行きました。 (Tomodachi san-nin de ikimashita.)

誰(dare) = who　　/　　映画(eiga) = movie /　　見に行く (mi ni iku) = go to see 何人 (nan- nin) = How many　　/　　行く(iku) = to go

As you can see, numbers are followed by particle で in those sentences. This particle で indicates total numbers or items acting as a group. The clause which follows will be an action.

Number で action =  I/we did “action.”

If you did something alone, you will say :  一人で action.

If you did something with 3 people, you’ll say :  三人で action.

③

Who went to Japan?

- 誰が 日本へ行きましたか? (Dare ga Nihon e ikimashita ka?)

or

How many people went to Japan?

- 何人で 日本へ行きましたか? (Nan-nin de Nihon e ikimashita ka?)

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Five of us went to Japan.

- 五人で 日本へ行きました。 (Gonin de Nihon e ikimashita.)

Everyone

④

Everyone (here) went to Japan (together).

- 皆で日本へ行きました。(Minna de Nihon e ikimashita.)

In the above case, it sounds as if they went to Japan together at the same time on the same flight.

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Where is everyone?

- 皆は、どこですか? (Minna wa doko desuka?)

Everyone went to Japan.

- 皆 日本へ行きました。(minna Nihon e ikimashita.)

The omission of で means that maybe they went to Japan together or on different days or times.

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⑤

How much does it cost (in total)?

- 全部で、いくらですか? (zenbu de ikura desu ka?)

It’s 1,980 yen for total./ The total is 1,980 yen.

- 全部で、1,980円です。 (zenbu de sen-kyuu-hyaku-hachi-juu-en desu.)

全部 (senbu) = total　　　/　　　いくら = how much

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At the end, I want to teach you this final important phrase.

If you want to say with someone together, you say : ～と一緒に(～to ishho ni)

I usually study Japanese with my friend.

- たいてい、友達と一緒に日本語を勉強します。(taitei tomodachi to issho ni nihongo o benkyou simasu.)

たいてい(taitei) = usually　　　/　　　と(to) = with　　　/　　　一緒に(issho ni) = together  日本語(nihongo = Japanese language)　　　/　　　勉強する(benkyousuru) = to study

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Hope you have a great time with your friends!

- Miho

②数(kazu) – numbers (how to count different things)

You learned how to count in Japanese on ①数(kazu) – numbers. Actually we have another way to count a thing. However, this counting is limited to one through ten.

Let’s see.

1 ひとつ (hitotsu)

2 ふたつ (futatsu)

3 みっつ (mittsu)

4 よっつ (yottsu)

5 いつつ (itsutsu)

6 むっつ (muttsu)

7 ななつ (nanatsu)

8 やっつ (yattsu)

9 ここのつ (kokonotsu)

10 とお (tou)

You can use this way of counting when you count a small object, such as beans, rings, candy, etc…

Also when little kids tell their age, they might use this way of counting.

いくつ?  (Ikutsu?)　‐　How old are you?

みっつ。 (Mittsu)　‐　I’m 3 years old.

Commonly when you tell your age, we use this counter ： さい(sai)

何さいですか? (Nan-sai desu ka?)　‐　How old are you?

19さいです。(Juu-kyuu-sai desu.)　‐　I’m 19 years old.

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The Japanese use a variety of counters to count objects, often on the basis of their shapes. I guess they are similar expressions to English’s “sheets of” or “cups of.”

Let’s see some examples:

When you count a flat object, we use this counter : 枚(mai) follows by the number.

One sheet of paper will be ： 1枚

When combining a number with a counter, the pronunciation of the number or the counter might change.

hon	本(ほん、ぽん、ぼん)	Long, stick objects: pen, trees, tobacco, etc.
mai	枚(まい)	Flat, thin objects: paper, T-shirts, stamps, dishes, etc.
ko	個(こ)	Broad category of small and compact objects: rings, hamburgers
hai	杯(はい、ぱい、ばい)	Liquid in cups, glasses, bowls : drinks, beer, etc
satsu	冊(さつ)	Bound objects: books, magazines, notebook, etc.
dai	台(だい)	Vehicles, machines: car, oven, computer, etc.
kai	階(かい)	The floor of a building
ken	件(けん)	Houses, buildings
soku	足(そく)	Pairs of footwear: sock, shoes, boots, etc.
tsuu	通(つう)	Letters
hiki	匹 (ひき、ぴき、びき)	Insects, fish, small animals: cats, dogs, etc.
kai	回(かい)	Times, as in “ni-kai (twice)”
nin	人(にん)	“Hitori (one person)” and “futari (two people)” are exceptions.
mei	名(めい)	More formal than “nin.”
ban	番(ばん)	Ordinal numbers, as in “ichi-ban (first place, number one)”

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Let me show you more examples using counters in a sentence.

ボールが あります。　-　There is a ball.

ボールが みっつ あります。　-　There are 3 balls.

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ハンバーガーが あります。　‐　I have a hamburger.

ハンバーガーが 4こ あります。　‐　I have 4 hamburgers.

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Do you noticed where I placed the number+counter sequence?

Yes, it’s right in front of a verb in each sentences.

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Miho

①数(kazu) – numbers

Do you know how to count numbers in Japanese?

 You need to know this in order to count something, or when you pay at a shop.

 The Japanese currency is えん【円】(yen).　You put えん【円】(yen) after the number.

  Ex: 100円　＝　100 yen .

 The word in 【 】 is kanji. .

  0　【零】　ぜろ(zero)　/　れい(rei)
  1　【一】　いち(ichi)
  2　【二】　に(ni)
  3　【三】　さん(san)
  4　【四】　よん(yon)　/　し(shi)　/　よ(yo)
  5　【五】　ご(go)
  6　【六】　ろく(roku)
  7　【七】　なな(nana)　/　しち(shichi)
  8　【八】　はち(hachi)
  9　【九】　きゅう(kyuu)　/　く(ku)
  10　【十】　じゅう(juu)

 11　【十一】　じゅういち(juu-ichi) It's like 10(juu)+1(ichi).
  12　【十二】　じゅうに(juu-ni)
  13　【十三】　じゅうさん(juu-san)
  14　【十四】　じゅうよん(juu-yon)　/ じゅうし(juu-shi)
  15　【十五】　じゅうご(juu-go)
  16　【十六】　じゅうろく(juu-roku)
  17　【十七】　じゅうなな(juu-nana)　/ じゅうしち(juu-shichi)
  18　【十八】　じゅうはち(juu-hachi)
  19　【十九】　じゅうきゅう(juu-kyuu)
  20　【二十】　にじゅう(ni-juu) it's like 2(ni) × 10(juu)
  21　【二十一】　にじゅういち(ni-juu-ichi)  it's like 20(ni-juu) + 1(ichi)

  30　【三十】　さんじゅう(san-juu)
  40　【四十】　よんじゅう(yon-juu)
  50　【五十】　ごじゅう(go-juu)
  60　【六十】　ろくじゅう(roku-juu)
  70　【七十】　ななじゅう(nana-juu)
  80　【八十】　はちじゅう(hachi-juu)
  90　【九十】　きゅうじゅう(kyuu-juu)

  100　【百】　ひゃく(hyaku)
  101　【百一】　ひゃくいち(hyaku-ichi)
  102　【百二】　ひゃくに(hyaku-ni)
  103　【百三】　ひゃくさん(hyaku-san)
  104　【百四】　ひゃくよん(hyaku-yon)
  105　【百五】　ひゃくご(hyaku-go)
  106　【百六】　ひゃくろく(hyaku-roku)
  107　【百七】　ひゃくなな(hyaku-nana)
  108　【百八】　ひゃくはち(hyaku-hachi)
  109　【百九】　ひゃくきゅう(hyaku-kyuu)
  110　【百十】　ひゃくじゅう(hyaku-juu)
  111　【百十一】　ひゃくじゅういち(hyaku-juu-ichi)
  112　【百十二】　ひゃくじゅうに(hyaku-juu-ni)

  200　【二百】　にひゃく(ni-hyaku)
  300　【三百】　さんびゃく(san-byaku)
  400　【四百】　よんひゃく(yon-hyaku)
  500　【五百】　ごひゃく(go-hyaku)
  600　【六百】　ろっぴゃく(roppyaku)
  700　【七百】　ななひゃく(nana-hyaku)
  800　【八百】　はっぴゃく(happyaku)
  900　【九百】　きゅうひゃく(kyuu-hyaku)

  1,000　【千】　せん(sen)
  1,001　【千一】　せんいち(sen-ichi)
  1,010　【千十】　せんじゅう(sen-juu)
  1,011　【千十一】　せんじゅういち(sen-juu-ichi)
  1,100　【千百】　せんひゃく(sen-hyaku)
  1,101　【千百一】　せんひゃくいち(sen-hyaku-ichi)
  1,110　【千百十】　せんひゃくじゅう(sen-hyaku-juu)
  1,111　【千百十一】　せんひゃくじゅういち(sen-hyaku-juu-ichi)

  2,000　【二千】　にせん(ni- sen)
  3,000　【三千】　さんぜん(san-zen)
  4,000　【四千】　よんせん(yon-sen)
  5,000　【五千】　ごせん(go-sen)
  6,000　【六千】　ろくせん(roku-sen)
  7,000　【七千】　ななせん(nana-sen)
  8,000　【八千】　はっせん(hassen)
  9,000　【九千】　きゅうせん(kyuu-sen)

  10,000　【一万】　いちまん(ichi-man)
  100,000　【十万】　じゅうまん(juu-man)
  1,000,000　【百万】　ひゃくまん(hyaku-man) One million
  10,000,000　【一千万】　いっせんまん(issen-man)
  100,000,000　【一億】　いちおく(ichi-oku)
  1,000,000,000　【十億】　じゅうおく(juu-oku) One billion
  10,000,000,000　【百億】　ひゃくおく(hyaku-oku)
  100,000,000,000　【一千億】　いっせんおく(issen-oku)
  1,000,000,000,000　【一兆】　いっちょう(icchou) One trillion

・・・・・

 I used to remember the place like this :  1(ichi), 10(juu), 100(hyaku), 1,000(sen), 10,000(man), 100,000(juu-man), 1,000,000(hyaku-man), 10,000,000(sen-man), 100,000,000( ichi-oku), 1,000,000,000(juu-oku), 10,000,000,000(hyaku-oku), 100,000,000,000(sen-oku), 1,000,000,000,000(icchou) .

  To continue the study for numbers, click here ： ②数(kazu) – numbers ・

Quiz

Now, let's check how many number you can count!
Count the number in Japanese and click the button to check the answer!

100　
152　 .
647　
809   .
1,000   .
3,021　
6,305　
8,031　
10,000　
20, 950　
80,570　  .
100,000　   

-Miho

Quiz : Count big number!

When you count 10,000, you say ten thousand in English; however, in Japanese, we have a special word for this place. So you really need to get used to it.

 Make sure these word's pronunciation.
100,300,600,800
1000,3000,6000,8000
10,000 .

  Count in Japanese!

 1)

 2)

 3)

 4)

 5)

 6)

 7)

 8 )

 9)

 10)

 11)

 12)

 13)

 14)

 15)

 16)

 17)

③数(kazu) – more about particle で as a group

Last blog, I wrote about the way to count people and the possible usages of it.  ③数(kazu) – numbers : counting people and the usage 

This time, let's learn more about particle で and at the end, try some quizzes!
 First, see some examples. .

I went to Hawaii with my family.

- 家族で、ハワイに行きました。(kazoku de Hawaii ni ikimashita.)

We celebrate Christmas with family.

- 家族でクリスマスを祝います。(Kazoku de kurisumasu o iwaimasu)

We decided by family talk.

- 家族で話し合って、決めました。(Kazoku de hanashiatte kimemashita.)

Literally: We talked as a family and we decided (what we are gonna do.)

家族 = family　　/　　ハワイ　＝　Hawaii　　/　　クリスマス　＝　Christmas   祝う(iwau)　＝　to celebrate　　/　　話し合う(Hanashi au)　＝　to have a talk 決める(kimeru)　＝　to decide

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The examples above show that particle で indicates "do things as a family," "as a group."  And the speaker is included in this group. (of course, because when the speaker said "family", he is including himself).

 That means if you (the speaker) want to use particle で to indicate "you did something as a group," you must use an appropriate noun for the group.

 Let's me show you some appropriate nouns to use with particle で.

ひとりで ＝ alone

三人で＝three of us

- Number で＝ number of us

みんなで ＝with everyone

かぞくで ＝ with my family

会社で(kaisha de) ＝as a company's event

- this shows you can use "___で" with big group or organization like company, school, class etc... as long as they all do something together and include you as a member of the group.

学校で(gakkou de) ＝ as a school

クラスで(kurasu de) ＝ as a class event

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 Actually, when you want to say I did this and that with my friend, ともだちで sounds weird.  Because you do not belong to the group “ともだち. ” When you say "my friend is coming," you mean this paticular friend and not incruding you, right? So you should go with と(together with), or you can say say:

ともだちとみんなで ＝with my friend

 There are some cases in which the speaker won't be included in the action even though you can use particle で.

 Now see these  examples and think about the difference.

  Situation: These 2 sentences bellow (A) & (B) are both what the teacher said. Try to translate them in English.

(A) 生徒達と、博物館へ行きました。(seito tachi to hakubutsukan e ikimashita)

(B) 生徒達で、博物館へ行きました。(seito tachi de hakubutsukan e ikimashita)

Why does the answer go like this?

生徒(seito) ＝ student　　/　　生徒達(seitotachi) ＝ students　　/　　博物館(hakubutsu-kan) ＝ museum

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(A) 生徒達と、博物館へ行きました。(seito tachi to hakubutsukan e ikimashita)

-I went to the museum with my students.

(B) 生徒達で、博物館へ行きました。(seito tachi de hakubutsukan e ikimashita)

OR

(B*) 生徒達だけで、博物館へ行きました。(seito tachi dakede hakubutsukan e ikimashita)

- My students went to the museum on their own.

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(A) In this sentence,  と indicates "together with." So the teacher went to the museum with students.  You can't use で to indicate that the teacher went with the students, because the teacher does not belong to the group "students." 

(B) In this case, the teacher didn't go to the museum with the students. Those students went on their own.  However, they did something as a group, so the teacher (speaker) can use the particle で.  If you say "__だけで" as in example (B*) it sounds clearer. It means "only the ___ did something on their own." (and the speaker is not included)

  Now try some questions! Translate the following sentences into the appropriate language (English or Japanese).

  This is what a mother said.

 (1) 今日、子供達と買い物に行きました。(Kyou, kodomo tachi to kaimono ni ikimashita.)
 

 (2) 今日、子供達で買い物に行きました。(Kyou, kodomo tachi de kaimono ni ikimashita.)
 

 (3) I'm going to go on a trip as an company event next week. (trip for fun)
 

 (4) Three of us made this.
 

 (5) I intend to go to the festival with my boyfriend tonight. (Said by a girl)
 

 (6) Let's work together in a group! (to work hard / to do one's best = 頑張る(gambaru)) .

 *(1)&(2): You can't say "子供で(Kodomo de)"  if you want to use particle で as a group. 子供 is considered as singular in this case.

Child ＝ 子供(Kodomo)　/　Children ＝ 子供達(Kodomo tachi)

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 Good luck! - Miho

色の名前：Iro no namae – Name of color

How many color do you know? These are some colors we commonly use.

 We have two types of words for color： Nouns and Adjectives.
Some words like black, white, red... you can just add い(i) after the color to make adjective forms.

Ex)

黒(Kuro) ：　This is the noun form of black.

黒い(Kuroi)：This is the adjective form of black.

Black cat ＝ 黒い猫(Kuroi neko)

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Some of the words for color, you can't make into adjective form. So if you want to say "green hat," you would say :

緑の帽子(Midori no boushi)

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N stands for Noun. Adj stands for Adjective.

Click the button to check the name of color in Japanese.

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Good luck! Miho 色(iro) – color