Counting Large Animals in Japanese – 頭 tou

How to Count in Japanese – Part Six – Review Notes

There are many ways to count things in Japanese depending on the type of object being counted! Today we will learn how to count large animals in Japanese!

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Today’s Counter is: 頭

★　You can use the Japanese counter 頭 (とう – tou) to count large animals such as horses, cows, or elephants!

★　If you missed our other lesson, click here to learn how to count small animals in Japanese!

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Number 1:

★　The Japanese word for one (large animal) is 一頭 (いっとう – ittou).

★　Be careful! Although the number one in Japanese is ichi, 一頭 is not spoken as (いちとう – ichitou)!

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Number 2:

★　The Japanese word for two (large animals) is 二頭 (にとう – nitou).

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Number 3:

★　The Japanese word for three (large animals) is 三頭 (さんとう – santou).

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Number 4:

★　The Japanese word for four (large animals) is 四頭 (よんとう – yontou).

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Number 5:

★　The Japanese word for five (large animals) is 五頭 (ごとう – gotou).

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Number 6:

★　The Japanese word for six (large animals) is 六頭 (ろくとう – rokutou).

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Number 7:

★　The Japanese word for seven (large animals) is 七頭 (ななとう – nanatou).

★　You can also say 七頭 (しちとう – shichitou).

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Number 8:

★　The Japanese word for eight (large animals) is 八頭 (はっとう – hattou).

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Number 9:

★　The Japanese word for nine (large animals) is 九頭 (きゅうとう – kyuutou).

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Number 10:

★　The Japanese word for ten (large animals) is 十頭 (じゅっとう – juttou).

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Counting Past 10:

★　To count more than 10 large animals, refer to the numbers below. Same as with other types of Japanese counting, try to notice the pattern! (11 is 10 and 1, 12 is 10 and 2, etc.)

　　　十一頭　　　　11頭 　　　jūittou

　　　十二頭　　　　12頭 　　　jūnitou

　　　十三頭　　　　13頭 　　　jūsantou

　　　十四頭　　　　14頭　 　　jūyontou

　　　十五頭　　　　15頭　 　　jūgotou

　　　十六頭　　　　16頭　　 　jūrokutou

　　　十七頭　　　　17頭　　 　 jūnanatou

　　　十八頭　　　　18頭　　　 jūhattou

　　　十九頭　　　　19頭　　 　 jūkyūtou

　　　二十頭　　　　20頭　　 　nijuttou

　　　二十一頭　　　21頭　　 　 nijūittou

　　　二十二頭　　　22頭　　 　nijūnitou

　　　二十三頭　　　23頭　　 　nijūsantou

　　　二十四頭　　　24頭　　 　nijūyontou

　　　二十五頭　　　25頭　　 　nijūgotou

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Example Sentence 1:

ぞうが３頭います。

Zou ga santou imasu.

There are three elephants.

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Example Sentence 2:

牛を１０頭飼っています。

Ushi o juttou katteimasu.

I have ten cows.

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Example Sentence 3:

一頭の馬が近づいて来た。

Ittou no uma ga chikazuitekita.

One horse came close (to me).

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Test Time!

Question:

ぞうは何頭いますか？
Zou wa nantou imasu ka?
How many elephants are there?

Answer:

ぞうが二頭います。
Zou ga nitou imasu.
There are two elephants.

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Question:

ライオンは何頭いますか？
Raion wa nantou imasu ka?
How many lions are there?

Answer:

ライオンが四頭います。
Raion ga yontou imasu.
There are four lions.

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Question:

馬は何頭いますか？
Uma wa nantou imasu ka?
How many horses are there?

Answer:

馬が五頭います。
Uma ga gotou imasu.
There are five horses.

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Conclusion:

Today we learned how to count large animals in Japanese! Check out some of our other counting lessons below!

How to count small animals

How to count people

How to count flat, thin objects

How to count long, cylindrical objects

How to count cars and other machines

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