In my group Intermediate class yesterday we looked at how to count things in Japanese using various counters.

Most learners have knowledge of counters even if they are not aware of it. For example, -SAI the for years of age, -JI for time of day, -EN for the yen currency are all vey useful counters.

In this blog I have added 4 songs that can help with learning how to count various things in Japanese. Listening to and singing along with songs is a great way of naturally acquiring words, and also improving pronunciation and feel for the language.

The first song is on counting days of the month. Days of the month are a little complicated as the first 10 days are based on old Japanese numbers rather than the ICHI, NI, SAN counting system imported from China.

Remembering them all may seem impossible at first. One of my Intermediate student told me how a song had helped her remember how to say the date.

I have linked the day of the month song below.

At the end I have added a bonus track called The Ogre’s Pants which has absolutely nothing to do with anything I have just said.

Beginner

A tune to help remember how to say the days of the month.

ひづけのうた (Myu sings "Date Song") - YouTube

Upper Beginner

An introduction to the very useful, general counter ~つ, and the counter ~ほん (for long, thin items), and the counter ~ひき  (for small animals eg cats, dogs, insects)

いちにさんのうた (Myu Sings "123 Song") - YouTube

Intermediate Level

More advanced counters including ~さつ　(counting bound volumes) and how to count people using ひとり、ふたり、さんにん etc.

Japanese Counter Song (1) | Learn Japanese Counters | KidsMusicTime - YouTube

Advanced Level

This counting song involves some obscure counters listed below. Unlike the above 3, it’s also a proper song. It was released as the B side of the most popular selling record in Japan, the extraordinary and unforgettable OYOGE! Taiyaki-kun, a 1975 song originally aimed at children which deserves a blog post of it's own at some point.

Can you identify the 10 things being counted?

Japanese Children's Song - 童謡 - Ippon demo Ninjin - いっぽんでもニンジン - YouTube

(1)　~ほん (common for long, thin items)
(2)　 ~そく (counter for pairs of footwear)
(3)　 ~そう  (counter for boats)
(4)　 ~つぶ (counter for small round things eg seeds, grains of rice)
(5)　 ~だい (counter for machines, vehicles, furniture)
(6)　 ~わ (counter for birds)
(7)　 ~ひき  (counter for small animals eg cats, dogs, insects)
(8)　 ~とう (counter for large size animals eg cows, horses)
(9)　 ~はい (counter for cupful / glassful of)
(10)　 ~こ　(common general counter for items)

And for something completely different

ONI NO PANTSU (The ogres pants) maybe one of the greatest Japanese songs ever written.

While, ONI NO PANTSU might not be a phrase you can easily drop into everyday conversation, that doesn’t mean listening to it is a waste of time. Look at the grammar in the line below:

おにのパンツは　いいパンツ　　ONI NO PANTSU　WA　II PANTSU　（The ogres pants are good pants）

The NO indicates the pants below to the ogre. The WA indicates a comment is going to be made about the ogre’s pants. The II added before the PANTSU is an adjective meaning good.

Replace the nouns and you could make a slightly more useful sentence such as WATASHI NO MACHI WA II MACHI (My town is a good town)

With the video below you can sing along while reading the lyrics underneath.

Japanese Children's Song - Oni no Pants 3D! - おにのパンツ - YouTube