Meaning
In Japanese, when counting people, you use a counter word called 人 (nin) added after numbers. However, one and two people have special irregular forms: ひとり (hitori) for one person and ふたり (futari) for two people. From three people onwards, follow the regular pattern of number + にん (nin).
Formation
| Part of speech | Formation |
|---|---|
| 数字 | 数字＋にん（nin） |
Examples
-
ひとり
One person (hitori) -
ふたり
Two people (futari) -
さんにん
Three people (san-nin) -
よにん
Four people (yo-nin) -
ごにん
Five people (go-nin) -
ろくにん
Six people (roku-nin) -
ななにん
Seven people (nana-nin) -
はちにん
Eight people (hachi-nin) -
きゅうにん
Nine people (kyu-nin) -
じゅうにん
Ten people (ju-nin)
Summary
- ひとり (hitori) and ふたり (futari) are irregular forms that must be memorized separately
- From three people onwards, use the regular number + にん (nin) pattern
- The counter word にん (nin) reflects that you are counting people specifically, not objects