How to say 'Counter' in Japanese | 匹

Wondering how to say 'Counter' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Counter is 'Hiki', written as 匹 in Japanese.'Counter' in hiragana is ひき.

word

匹

Meaning

Counter

Reading

ひき

hiki

Kanji

匹Equal, Counter for animals

Explanation

The Japanese suffix '匹 (ひき)' is a counter used for small animals, such as cats, dogs, fish, and insects. It is one of the most common counters in Japanese and is essential for counting animals. The reading 'ひき' changes depending on the number it follows due to rendaku (voicing) and phonetic rules. For example: one cat「猫一匹」(ねこいっぴき), two dogs「犬二匹」(いぬにひき), three fish「魚三匹」(さかなさんびき). Note that the counter does not change based on the size of the animal, but rather the category (small animals). This suffix is widely used in everyday conversation and is a fundamental part of Japanese counting systems.

Part Of Speech

suffix

Kanji JLPT

Kanji Grade

Frequency

2546

Composition

kanji

Handwriting

Kanji in the Word 匹

This word contains 1 kanji character:

kanji

匹

Meaning

Equal, Counter for animals

Learn the Word 匹

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What does 'Hiki' (匹) mean?

'Hiki' means 'Counter' .

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