Counting Small Animals in Japanese

How to Count in Japanese –  Review Notes

There are many ways to count things in Japanese depending on the type of object being counted! Today we will learn how to count small animals in Japanese!

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Today’s Counter is: 匹

★　You can use the Japanese counter 匹 (ひき – hiki) to count small animals!

★　When counting small animals, all of the numbers end in -hiki except the number 3 (which ends in -biki) and the numbers 1, 6, 8, and 10 (which end in -piki)

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Number 1:

★　The Japanese word for one (small animal) is 一匹 (いっぴき – ippiki).

★　Be careful! The ending sound changes to a p-sound in the number one; 一匹 is not spoken as (いちひき – ichihiki)!

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Number 2:

★　The Japanese word for two (small animals) is 二匹 (にひき – nihiki).

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Number 3:

★　The Japanese word for three (small animals) is 三匹 (さんびき – sanbiki).

★　Be careful! 三匹 does not follow the normal pattern and is not spoken as (さんひき – sanhiki)!

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Number 4:

★　The Japanese word for four (small animals) is 四匹 (よんひき – yonhiki).

★　Be careful! Although 四 can be pronounced either よん (yon) or し (shi), 四匹 cannot be pronounced しひき (shihiki).

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Number 5:

★　The Japanese word for five (small animals) is 五匹 (ごひき – gohiki).

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Number 6:

★　The Japanese word for six (small animals) is 六匹 (ろっぴき – roppiki).

★　Be careful! 六匹 does not follow the normal pattern and is not pronounced as ろくひき (rokuhiki).

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Number 7:

★　The Japanese word for seven (small animals) is 七匹 (ななひき – nanahiki).

★　Be careful! Although 七 can be pronounced either しち (shichi) or なな(nana), 七匹 cannot be pronounced しちひき (shichihiki).

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Number 8:

★　The Japanese word for eight (small animals) is 八匹 (はっぴき – happiki).

★　Be careful! 八匹 does not follow the normal pattern and is not pronounced as はちひき (hachihiki).

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Number 9:

★　The Japanese word for nine (small animals) is 九匹 (きゅうひき – kyuuhiki).

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Number 10:

★　The Japanese word for ten (small animals) is 十匹 (じゅっぴき – juppiki).

★　Be careful! 十匹 does not follow the normal pattern and is not pronounced as じゅうひき (jūhiki).

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Exceptions:

★　Generally, the counter 匹 (hiki) is used for counting small animals, such as cats and dogs. However, not all animals are counted using 匹.

★　Rabbits and birds are counted using a different counter, 羽 (wa).

★　Large animals, such as horses or cows, are usually counted using the counter 頭 (tō)

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Counting Past 10:

★　To count more than 10 small animals, refer to the numbers below. Same as with other types of Japanese counting, try to notice the pattern! (11 is 10 and 1, 12 is 10 and 2, etc.)

　　　十一匹　　　　11匹 　　　jūippiki

　　　十二匹　　　　12匹 　　　jūnihiki

　　　十三匹　　　　13匹 　　　jūsanbiki

　　　十四匹　　　　14匹　 　　jūyonhiki

　　　十五匹　　　　15匹　 　　jūgohiki

　　　十六匹　　　　16匹　　 　jūroppiki

　　　十七匹　　　　17匹　　 　 jūnanahiki

　　　十八匹　　　　18匹　　　  jūhappiki

　　　十九匹　　　　19匹　　 　 jūkyūhiki

　　　二十匹　　　　20匹　　 　nijuppiki

　　　二十一匹　　　21匹　　 　 nijūippiki

　　　二十二匹　　　22匹　　 　nijūnihiki

　　　二十三匹　　　23匹　　 　nijūsanbiki

　　　二十四匹　　　24匹　　 　nijūyonhiki

　　　二十五匹　　　25匹　　 　nijūgohiki

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Example Sentence 1:

猫を３匹飼っています。

Neko o sanbiki katteimasu.

I own three cats.

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Example Sentence 2:

あそこに犬が２匹います。

Asoko ni inu ga nihiki imasu.

There are two dogs over there.

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Example Sentence 3:

魚を六匹釣りました。

Sakana o roppiki tsurimashita.

I caught six fish.

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Test Time!

Question:

犬は何匹いますか？
Inu wa nanbiki imasu ka?
How many dogs are there?

Answer:

犬が二匹います。
Inu ga nihiki imasu.
There are two dogs.

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Question:

猫は何匹いますか？
Neko wa nanbiki imasu ka?
How many cats are there?

Answer:

猫が三匹います。
Neko ga sanbiki imasu.
There are three cats.

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Question:

たぬきは何匹いますか？
Takuki wa nanbiki imasu ka?
How many racoons are there?

Answer:

たぬきが五匹います。
Tanuki ga gohiki imasu.
There are five raccoons.

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Question:

ハムスターは何匹いますか？
Hamusutā wa nanbiki imasu ka?
How many hamsters are there?

Answer:

ハムスターが九匹います。
Hamusutā ga kyūhiki imasu.
There are nine hamsters.

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Conclusion:

Today we learned how to count small animals in Japanese! Next time we will learn more ways to count different things in Japanese so please look forward to it!

Do you know how to count flat, thin objects? Click here to find out!

Do you know how to count people? Click here to find out!

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