How can I say in Japanese that I ate two apples?
Counter suffix in Japanese
A counter suffix in Japanese is like “a cup of” in English. Instead of saying one apple, two apples etc, we use a certain expression to count something.
In Japanese, we can’t use the simple number to express the number of something. And we always need the counter suffix.
And there are plenty of counter suffixes (basic and specific).
Grammar pattern with counter suffix
Before digging into how to make a number of something using a counter suffix, let’s see the general grammar pattern.
The position of the number using a counter suffix:
- Before verb
- Before noun with the particle の (no)
So, for example,
リンゴを１つ食べました。
ringo wo hito tsu tabe mashita.
I ate an apple.
１つのリンゴを食べました。
hito tsu no ringo wo tabe mashita.
I ate an apple.
The difference is that the latter is rather literary. So in everyday life, it’s better to use the former.
The basic counter suffix
Here’s the list of a basic counter suffix which is widely used:
The characteristics are:
- Can’t be used for living being
- Use normal numbers after 10
- Used for relatively small objects
- Can also be used for something abstract
*Facultative: kanji number / Arabic number
So, for example,
わたしはリンゴを二つ食べました。
Watashi wa ringo wo huta tsu tabe mashita.
I ate 2 apples.
A:
チョコレートがいくつありますか。
chokoreeto ga ikutsu ari masu ka.
How many chocolates are there?
B:
12あります。
There are 12 pieces of chocolate.
Complete negation with the counter suffix
When being asked how many X you have and you have 0,
1 + counter suffix + も(mo) + negative sentence
is typically used.
So for example,
A:
チョコレートがいくつありますか。
chokoreeto ga ikutsu ari masu ka.
How many chocolates are there?
B:
１つもありません。
hito tsu mo ari masen.
There are no chocolate.
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