Learn Minna no Nihongo Grammar – Lesson 11

Learn Minna no Nihongo Grammar – Lesson 11
Let’s study N5-level Japanese grammar, lesson by lesson, following the Minna no Nihongo textbook.

Lesson 11: Counting

1. Counting
• ひとつ、ふたつ…とお is the general way of counting things up to 10. From 11 on, ordinary numbers are used.

• Counter words: words placed after a number to count things, people…
– 人 (にん): for counting people (note that 1 and 2 people are ひとり, ふたり)
– 番 (ばん): for ordinal numbers
– 枚 (まい ): for flat things (stamps, shirts, …)
– 台 (だい) : for machines and vehicles
– 冊 (さつ): for books and notebooks
– 着 (ちゃく): for clothes
– 個 (こ): for small objects
– 足(そく): for shoes and socks
– 軒 (けん): for houses
– 階 (かい、がい): for floors of a building
– 本 (ほん、ぼん、ぽん) : for long thin objects
– 杯 (はい、ばい、ぱい) : for drinks
– 匹 (ひき、びき、ぴき) : for small animals
– 回 (かい) : for counting how many times.

• Usage:
– The counter usually comes immediately before the verb it modifies.
– With expressions of duration, the counter can go anywhere in the sentence (except at the end)

• Question words for counting
– いくつ asks about things counted with ～つ
– Other counters use なん＋the counter word.

• Examples:
かばんをいくつかいましたか。
Kaban wo ikutsu kaimashitaka.
How many bags did you buy?

ふたつかいました。
Futatsu kaimashita.
I bought 2.

１００円の切手を１枚ください。
Hyaku en no kitte wo ichimai kudasai.
One 100-yen stamp, please.

家族は何人ですか。
Kazoku wa nannin desuka.
How many people are there in your family?

３人です。
San nin desu.
There are 3 of us.

１週間に何回にほんごをならいますか。
Isshūkan ni nankai nihongo wo naraimasuka.
How many times a week do you study Japanese?

３かいです。
San kai desu.
I study 3 times.

2. どのくらい V ますか。 How long do you do ~?
… N（a length of time）くらい（ぐらい）V ます。To do ~ for N
… N（a length of time）くらい（ぐらい）かかります。It takes N

• Usage:
– どのくらい is the question word for a length of time
– くらい・ぐらい comes after a quantity and means “about”

• Examples:
あなたはどのくらい日本語をべんきょうしましたか。
Anata wa donokurai nihongo wo benkyōshimashitaka.
How long have you been studying Japanese?

３か月べんきょうしました。
Sankagetsu benkyōshimashita.
I have been studying for about 3 months.

あなたはうちからがっこうまでバイクでどのくらいかかりますか。
Anata wa uchi kara gakkō made baiku de donokurai kakarimasuka.
How long does it take you to get from home to school by motorbike?

３０分かかります。
Sanjuppun kakarimasu.
It takes about 30 minutes.