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Struggling with numbers (piefed.ca)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/japaneselanguage@sopuli.xyz
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Guys. Why are numbers so god damn complicated in Japanese? lo!!!

Ok ok in English and other languages we have different names for numbers whether it's one, two, three, or first, second, third, etc. But, that's about it. In Japanese you have to pronounce numbers in so many different ways!

I need help! How do I remember what to use? Heck, I don't even know what the other numbers are! Ok so I know the regular numbers, plus N-ばん for number one, number two, etc. But what's "first", "second", "third" etc?

And what about dates? Age? Inanimate things? Things that are alive, whether they are small or big?

What are some good resources or good mnemonics that you use to remember all of that?

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[–] 8 points 1 year ago

I find nothing helpful except exposure. Reading and hearing it cements the oddities of counting.

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    [–] 6 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    When in doubt, just use -ko

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

    -ko for physical items, -tsu for abstract things.

    Hell, I'd argue most Japanese just use -ko in every day life except for the important counters. 羽、匹、本、冊、日、月、年、枚、円、人/名、戸、階。 Those are the ones I believe are necessary. Almost everything else can be replaced by -ko or -tsu.

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    • [–] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    Yeah, it's hard. I feel like it got a little more comfortable when I stopped trying to stress about memorizing them. But it is probably good to go ahead and do flashcards for 1-10 things and 1-10 days.

    Once you get used to a few counters, then learning a new counter is like learning a word. You can kinda feel when rendaku might kick in, or ichi gets shortened, etc.

    Even still, it's just hard. I know I've seen a few videos on YouTube or TikTok of people just counting, or doing songs with counting. But unfortunately I don't have any on hand to link.

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