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counter for articles

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d_albrodt_513924
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Posts: 9
Joined: October 8th, 2016 12:51 pm

counter for articles

Postby d_albrodt_513924 » November 5th, 2016 9:05 am

Hi,
I see that こ is a "counter for articles". I do not know what that means, since article can have several meanings (and English is not my native language). So what exactly is こ used for?
Best wishes
Dirk

mmmason8967
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Posts: 758
Joined: January 7th, 2012 12:24 pm

Re: counter for articles

Postby mmmason8967 » November 6th, 2016 10:59 pm

There are three common counters for general things:-

本 (ほん) is used for long, cylindrical things such as pencils, fingers, beer-bottles, umbrellas, sticks and so on.

枚 (まい) is used for flat, thin things like CDs and DVDs, postcards, pizzas, rugs, tickets, photographs and so on.

個 (こ) is used for other things (i.e. things that aren't counted with ほん or まい), such as balls, potatoes, bowls, eggs, sharpening stones, light bulbs and so on.

マイケル

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d_albrodt_513924
New in Town
Posts: 9
Joined: October 8th, 2016 12:51 pm

Re: counter for articles

Postby d_albrodt_513924 » November 16th, 2016 8:43 am

Thank you for replying!
So ko counts round things, right?

mmmason8967
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Posts: 758
Joined: January 7th, 2012 12:24 pm

Re: counter for articles

Postby mmmason8967 » November 17th, 2016 7:35 am

The things counted with ko are very often round, but not always. Small cubes--things like dice, for example--are also counted with ko. It's probably more accurate to say that ko is used for counting things that are small and compact.

マイケル

d_albrodt_513924
New in Town
Posts: 9
Joined: October 8th, 2016 12:51 pm

Re: counter for articles

Postby d_albrodt_513924 » November 18th, 2016 7:27 am

Ok, I understand, thank you very much.

community.japanese
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Joined: November 16th, 2012 8:54 am

Re: counter for articles

Postby community.japanese » November 21st, 2016 6:17 am

マイケルさん、
どうもありがとうございます。


よかったですね。
:)
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