Counters are one of the things that English speakers often have a hard time with when learning Japanese. Most words in Japanese do not have a 'plural' form. Instead different types of things have different counters. This type of counter is seen in English as well; it is the equivallent of saying 'three glasses of water' instead of 'three waters.' There are many such counters; only a few of which are listed here.

If you don't know the counter for something, it is usually OK to use the general set (Except for with people!). The general set is made up of the traditional Japanese numbers. Do not confuse this general set with the standard set of numbers, which was actually borrowed from Chinese.

Note: If you go beyond ten of something, the standard set of numbers should be used before the counter listed at the top.

The most basic way to use a counter is as follows:

Item ga counter arimasu/imasu. (Arimasu is for inanimate things and imasu for animate ones.)

Examples: