Counters › 本
本 (hon) — counting long, thin things
Pens, bottles, umbrellas, trees, roads, train lines — anything long and thin. Despite the kanji, it is not the counter for books.
How to count with 本, 1 to 10
| # | Reading | Romaji | Written |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | いっぽん | ippon | 1本 |
| 2 | にほん | nihon | 2本 |
| 3 | さんぼん | sanbon | 3本 |
| 4 | よんほん | yonhon | 4本 |
| 5 | ごほん | gohon | 5本 |
| 6 | ろっぽん | roppon | 6本 |
| 7 | ななほん | nanahon | 7本 |
| 8 | はっぽん | happon | 8本 |
| 9 | きゅうほん | kyuuhon | 9本 |
| 10 | じゅっぽん | juppon | 10本 |
🔊 Tap any reading to hear it spoken.
Watch out
This is the classic は-row counter: 1・6・8・10 take っ plus ぽ, and 3 takes ん plus ぼ. Learn 本 and you have learned 匹 and 杯 too.
In a sentence
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ビールを二本お願いします | ビールをにほんおねがいします bi-ruwonihononegaishimasu | Two beers, please. |
| 鉛筆が三本あります | えんぴつがさんぼんあります enpitsugasanbonarimasu | There are three pencils. |
The kanji
Other counters
- つ (tsu) — the all-purpose counter
- 人 (nin) — people
- 枚 (mai) — flat, thin things
- 個 (ko) — small, roundish objects
- 匹 (hiki) — small animals
- 頭 (tou) — large animals
- 冊 (satsu) — books and bound volumes
- 台 (dai) — machines and vehicles
- 杯 (hai) — cupfuls and glassfuls
- 階 (kai) — floors of a building
- 回 (kai) — times / occurrences
- 歳 (sai) — age in years
- 軒 (ken) — houses and shops
- 足 (soku) — pairs of footwear
- 着 (chaku) — suits and outfits
- 通 (tsuu) — letters and documents
- 名 (mei) — people (formal)
- 番 (ban) — order and rank
- 分 (fun) — minutes
- 時 (ji) — o'clock
- 年 (nen) — years
- ヶ月 (kagetsu) — months (duration)
- 週間 (shuukan) — weeks
- 泊 (haku) — nights of a stay
- 日 (nichi) — days and dates