Counters › 件
件 (ken) — counting cases and matters
Incidents, enquiries, orders, bookings, bugs — anything handled as an item of business. Very common at work.
How to count with 件, 1 to 10
| # | Reading | Romaji | Written |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | いっけん | ikken | 1件 |
| 2 | にけん | niken | 2件 |
| 3 | さんけん | sanken | 3件 |
| 4 | よんけん | yonken | 4件 |
| 5 | ごけん | goken | 5件 |
| 6 | ろっけん | rokken | 6件 |
| 7 | ななけん | nanaken | 7件 |
| 8 | はっけん | hakken | 8件 |
| 9 | きゅうけん | kyuuken | 9件 |
| 10 | じゅっけん | jukken | 10件 |
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Watch out
Do not confuse it with 軒 (houses), which is pronounced the same but voices at three: 三件 is さんけん, while 三軒 is さんげん.
In a sentence
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 問い合わせが三件あった | といあわせがさんけんあった toiawasegasankenatta | There were three enquiries. |
| 一件だけ残っています | いっけんだけのこっています ikkendakenokotteimasu | Only one case is left. |
The kanji
Other counters
- つ (tsu) — the all-purpose counter
- 人 (nin) — people
- 本 (hon) — long, thin things
- 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
- 度 (do) — degrees and occasions
- 割 (wari) — tenths (10%)
- 点 (ten) — points and items
- 秒 (byou) — seconds
- 曲 (kyoku) — songs and pieces of music
- 隻 (seki) — ships
- 発 (hatsu) — shots and rounds
- 章 (shou) — chapters
- 巻 (kan) — volumes of a series
- 番目 (banme) — nth in a sequence
- 席 (seki) — seats
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