Japanese counter word

In generative grammar, one proposed structure of Japanese nominal phrases includes three layers of functional projections: #P, CaseP, and QuantifierP. Here, #P is placed above NP to explain Japanese's lack of plural morphology, and to make clear the # head is the stem of such morphology. This structure relies on movement in order to satisfy agreement via extended projection principle features. == Substitution of counters ==

In Japanese, virtually all nouns must use a counter to express number because Japanese lacks singular/plural morphology. ==Table of traditional numerals==

==Common counters by category==

This is a selective list of some of the more commonly used counting words. ==Extended list of counters==

This list also includes some counters and usages that are rarely used or not widely known; other words can also be used as counters more sporadically. ==Euphonic changes==

Systematic changes occur when particular numbers precede counters that begin with certain phonemes. For example, + → . The details are listed in the table below. This can be the result of the morpho-phonological phenomenon of historical sound changes, as shown by the voicing of : {{fs interlinear|lang=ja|indent=2 change from glottal to bilabial . It may also be that some counters carry features which are responsible for for singular, dual, and plural nouns, where singular carries [+singular, −augmented] features, dual carries [−singular, −augmented] features, and plural carries [−singular, +augmented] features. {{fs interlinear|lang=ja|indent=2 {{fs interlinear|lang=ja|indent=2 {{fs interlinear|lang=ja|indent=2 These changes are followed fairly consistently but exceptions and variations between speakers do exist. Where variations are common, more than one alternative is listed. is replaced by either or () followed by a doubled consonant before the voiceless consonants as shown in the table. is the older form, but it has been replaced by in the speech of recent generations. ==Exceptions==

The traditional numbers are used by and for young children to give their ages, instead of using the age counter (or ) . Some counters, notably and , use the traditional numerals for some numbers as shown in the table below. Other uses of traditional numbers are usually restricted to certain phrases, such as and (one and two months respectively), (a single word) and (once). Sometimes common numbers that have a derived meaning are written using different kanji. For example, (alone) is written , and (once more, another time) is normally written instead of . The counter for months (derived from kanji ) is commonly written . and are alternatives for 7, and are alternatives for 4, and and are alternatives for 9. In those three pairs of options, , and respectively are more commonly used. Some counters, however, notably (people), (month of the year), (day of the month, days), (time of day) and (hours) take certain alternatives only. These are shown in the table below. While (occurrences) and (0.01 yen, now rarely used) follow the euphonic changes listed above, homophones (stories/floors of a building) and (1000) are slightly different as shown below, although these differences are not followed by all speakers. Thus ("third floor") can be read either or , while ("three times") can only be read . ==Ordinal numbers==

In general, the counter words mentioned above are cardinal numbers, in that they indicate quantity. To transform a counter word into an ordinal number that denotes position in a sequence, is added to the end of the counter. Thus "one time" would be translated as , whereas "the first time" would be translated as . This rule is inconsistent, however, as counters without the suffix are often used interchangeably with cardinal and ordinal meanings. For example, can mean both "three floors" and "third floor." ==Periods of time==

To express a period of time one may add to the following words: , , , (and its irregular readings aside from ), , and . Usage varies depending on the word, though. For example, omitting in the case of would be a mistake, whereas and are both in frequent use. In addition, is rarely heard due to essentially being superfluous, the already functioning to express the length. == Counter for rabbits ==

The counter for rabbits is (), which is the same as the counter for birds. Usually, () is used for "small-to-medium-size animals", therefore, the counter for rabbits is an exception. There are many theories about why () is used for rabbits instead of (). One of the theories is that in Edo-era, eating four-legged animals was strictly forbidden by the government, and people were not allowed to consume rabbit meat. Then, people started to categorize rabbits as birds so that they could consume rabbit meat, and the counter was also changed from () to (). Takemitsu says that the origin of the word rabbit, , is which describes birds feather: therefore, the counter, (), is used for rabbits. ==See also==