Japanese Counter つ (Tsu) – Counting Things in Japanese
Learn how to count general things in Japanese
Japanese has many counters depending on the type of object. When counting general items or when the correct counter is unknown, learners often start with the traditional 「つ」 counter.
The 「つ」 counter is commonly used from 1 to 10 and has special readings that must be memorized.
After 10, Japanese usually switches to the more general counter 個 (こ), which follows the regular number pattern.
1つ (ひとつ / hitotsu)
2つ (ふたつ / futatsu)
3つ (みっつ / mittsu)
After ten:
11個 (じゅういっこ / juuikko)
12個 (じゅうにこ / juuniko)