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Study in the app →Japanese · JLPT Band 1 (N5) · Chapter 12
りんごが ふたつ あります There are two apples
The native tsu-counter for counting things: hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu … tō (10). Say a quantity with ...ga + number + arimasu, like Ringo ga futatsu arimasu (There are two apples). Ten has the special form tō. This counter is a handy way to count almost any object. Kana: reading the tsu-forms fluently.
Dialogue
いくつ ありますか — How Many Are There?
- Yuki りんごが あります。いくつ ですか。 There are apples. How many?
- Mike に です。 Two. (slip: count things with "futatsu", not the Sino number "ni")
- Yuki 「ふたつ」ですよ。りんごは ふたつ です。 It's "futatsu". The apples are futatsu.
- Mike あ、ふたつ です! ありがとう、ゆきさん。 Oh, futatsu! Thanks, Yuki.
Dialogue
よんつ? よっつ? — Yontsu? Yottsu?
- Ken りんごが いくつ ありますか。 How many apples are there?
- Mike よんつ あります。 There are four. (slip: four things is "yottsu", not "yon-tsu")
- Ken 「よっつ」ですよ。ちいさい「っ」です。 It's "yottsu". With the small tsu.
- Mike よっつ! むっつ、やっつ も ありますか。 Yottsu! Are there six and eight too?
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ひとつ | hitotsu | count. | one (thing) |
| ふたつ | futatsu | count. | two (things) |
| みっつ | mittsu | count. | three |
| よっつ | yottsu | count. | four |
| いつつ | itsutsu | count. | five |
| むっつ | muttsu | count. | six |
| ななつ | nanatsu | count. | seven |
| やっつ | yattsu | count. | eight |
| ここのつ | kokonotsu | count. | nine |
| とお | tō | count. | ten |
| りんご | ringo | n. | apple |
Grammar
ものを かぞえる「つ」 Counting things with the tsu-counter
ものの かずは「つ」カウンターで かぞえます: ひとつ、ふたつ、みっつ … ここのつ、そして とお(10)。10だけ「つ」が つきません。かたちは 〈もの〉が + かず + あります: りんごが ふたつ あります。いすが みっつ あります。「あります」は ものに つかう そんざいの ことば(ch9)。ひと には つかいません。
Count things with the tsu-counter: hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu … kokonotsu, then tō (10). Only 10 drops the tsu. The pattern is <thing> ga + number + arimasu: Ringo ga futatsu arimasu (There are two apples). Isu ga mittsu arimasu (There are three chairs). Arimasu is the existence word for objects (ch9); it is not used for people.
- りんごが ふたつ あります。 Ringo ga futatsu arimasu. There are two apples.
- りんごが ここのつ あります。たくさん ですね。 Ringo ga kokonotsu arimasu. Takusan desu ne. There are nine apples. That's a lot!
- りんごは いくつ ありますか。— とお です。 Ringo wa ikutsu arimasu ka. — Tō desu. How many apples are there? — Ten.
kana
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