BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Japanese Culture New article - Counting Cardinal Numbers

Hi all,
This week's article is on counting in Japanese. Because the whole thing can be rather complex, it only focuses on cardinal numbers. I'll probably go on to dates, time and counting objects in future articles.


Counting In Japanese - Cardinal Numbers

Why do the Japanese make counting so complicated? I heard that there is a different counting system for counting bottles, flat things, people, etc.

The Japanese I've spoken to don't know the answer either LOL. According to an unofficial, casual survey I've conducted with my students past and present, Japanese ranks way up among the subjects they hate the most. LOL

As for the counting system, my guess is that they copied and modified the counting system from China, as the Chinese use a similar counting system.

I'm contemplating doing articles on the various counting systems, but I'm still trying to think of a way to present them as clearly and easily-understandable as possible.