Counters › 頭
頭 (tou) — counting large animals
Cows, horses, elephants, bears — animals bigger than a person. Also used for large animals in zoos.
How to count with 頭, 1 to 10
| # | Reading | Romaji | Written |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | いっとう | ittou | 1頭 |
| 2 | にとう | nitou | 2頭 |
| 3 | さんとう | santou | 3頭 |
| 4 | よんとう | yontou | 4頭 |
| 5 | ごとう | gotou | 5頭 |
| 6 | ろくとう | rokutou | 6頭 |
| 7 | ななとう | nanatou | 7頭 |
| 8 | はっとう | hattou | 8頭 |
| 9 | きゅうとう | kyuutou | 9頭 |
| 10 | じゅっとう | juttou | 10頭 |
🔊 Tap any reading to hear it spoken.
Watch out
The dividing line is roughly “could you carry it?” If yes, use 匹.
In a sentence
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 牛が五頭います | うしがごとういます ushigagotouimasu | There are five cows. |
| 象を一頭見ました | ぞうをいっとうみました zouwoittoumimashita | I saw one elephant. |
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
- 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