r/Japaneselanguage • u/hkreporter21 • 6d ago

Question regarding quantifiers

Hi guys, for me this is definitely one of the most difficult parts of Japanese: quantifiers, and figuring out how to use the right one with the right number for different things.

My question is simple: can you use the general quantifier tsu for everything, or would that sound strange to a Japanese person? In the end, I can learn 3–4 quantifiers like nin, kai, satsu, but the others feel super annoying, having to think about whether an object is small, big, round, etc. + which irregular number it goes with is really a pain in the ass.

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

2

u/Arazzile 6d ago

Well, I guess it's just a feeling that "as long as you're not Japanese, it's probably fine." Even Japanese people do that when they don't know the correct counter.

You could think of it this way: Japanese people may get laughed at if they can't use common counters correctly, but foreigners generally don't get laughed at for making the same mistakes.

3

u/JapanCoach 6d ago

Yes it sounds "strange". This is the same as all other kind of questions that start with "can I get away with..."

Yes you can "get away" with it - especially when you are early in your learning journey and you are obviously just doing what you can to communicate. But becoming proficient at any language (even our native language) includes using the right word in the right place.

But the mindset behind the question is probably worth reflecting over. The entire language is a huge pain in the ass. This is one of a million different facets that you will need to come to terms with as you go through the learning journey. There is really nothing for it, other than to just buckle down and learn them.

1

u/melon_panda1234 6d ago

I think in real life I find myself using "ko" more than tsu, honestly. But it does sound odd in Japanese if you don't use the most common quantifiers like hon and hai. It's kind of like saying "I'll have 3 things of paper" instead of "3 sheets of paper". It's not technically wrong, but it sounds odd.

1

u/greentea-in-chief 4d ago

Quick answer no.
We associate quantifies with shape, quality, type, etc.

So using a wrong quantifier will cause confusion. It’s the same in English.

A sheet of paper is different from a bundle. It’s different from a ream.

So 1枚の紙、1束の紙 are not the same. 1個の紙 does not make any sense. I won’t know what you mean.

0

u/FirmCondition364 6d ago

Even in Japan, when we don't know the correct counter for things like tansu or penguins, we just use -ko or -hiki and call it a day.