助数詞

Japanese

Kanji in this term
助	数	詞

Etymology

助 (jo, “help”) +数 (sū, “number”) +詞 (shi, “word”)

Noun

助数詞 (hiragana じょすうし, romaji josūshi)

1. counter word, a Japanese part of speech

Usage notes

In Japanese, numerals cannot quantify nouns by themselves, except in certain cases for the numbers from one to ten (and then only using the forms ending in -tsu, such as hitotsu or futatsu). Instead, 助数詞 (“counter words”) are used after the number to count objects and events.

For example, 匹 (hiki) is the counter for small animals:

• 犬二匹

  いぬにひき

  inu nihiki

  "two dogs" (literally "dog two-small-animal")

See also

• 類別詞 (るいべつし, ruibetsushi)