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Lesson Transcript

Do you know how to count blocks of tofu?
You'll find out at the end of this lesson!
Hi everybody! I'm Alisha.
こんにちは、 Yamamori です。
Welcome to Japanese Counters for Beginners, where you'll learn how to count all sorts of different objects in Japanese!
Yamamori-sensei, what counter will we learn in this lesson?
First, let's take a look at what sorts of objects can be counted with the counter.
When counting small or round objects, you can use the counter...
But what is small and what is round?
You could use this counter to count various objects;
objects as large as watermelons, or as small as a piece of candy.
And it doesn't have to be completely circular! You could use it to describe eggs, popcorn, or other things like that!
Okay, let's count from 1 to 10 with this counter.
Did you notice that there were some numbers that sounded different to how they usually sound?
When you read the numbers 1, 6 and 10, you should be careful.
For number 1, it's i-kko, not 'ichi-ko.'
For number 6, it's 'ro-kko' not 'roku-ko'.
For number 10, it's 'ju-kko' not 'juuko.'
Okay. Now let's take a look at some sample sentences that use this counter.
“I bought 10 cakes.”
“I cut a watermelon into 8 pieces.”
“Can I have 3 tomatoes, please?”
Now it's time for a quiz. I'm going to ask you a question in English. Please answer in Japanese. Are you ready? Be sure to use the right counter.
How many apples are there?
How would you ask for 6 doughnuts?
Do you know how to count blocks of tofu? The answer is...
This is the counter to use for tofu.
Your mother may ask you like this: とうふを2丁、買ってきて。
It literally means "Buy 2 tofu and come back."
Okay, everyone. That's it for this lesson.
I'll see you next time!