Free Japanese Counters Worksheets
Make printable Japanese counters worksheets with four exercises: write the reading, choose the counter, count the nouns and fill in the chart. Pick the counter groups, from people and age to days and dates, and for the reading and sentence exercises, the numbers: 1 to 10, 11 to 100 or 何 (なん, how many). The answer key starts on its own page, and Shuffle makes a new set. Print on A4 or US Letter or save as PDF, free and with no signup.
The four counters exercises
- Write the reading. A number and counter, such as 3本 (three long things), with a line for its reading, さんぼん, set out in two columns.
- Choose the counter. A noun with its reading and English, such as 鉛筆 (えんぴつ, pencil), and four counters to circle.
- Count the nouns. Each line gives a noun, a number and the English, such as “There are three pencils,” and students write the Japanese: 鉛筆が3本あります。 (えんぴつが さんぼん あります。) With 何 (なん) the line becomes a question, so “How many pencils are there?” is 鉛筆は何本ありますか。 (えんぴつは なんぼん ありますか。)
- Fill in the chart. A blank chart with 1 to 10 and 何 down the side and a column for each counter, five counters to a page, which the key fills in.
Choosing the counters and numbers
Pick the counter groups the same way as in the counters quiz. The seven groups are the ones in the counters chart: the つ series (ひとつ to とお), people and age, things, animals, days and dates, time, and times, order, money and places. For Write the reading and Count the nouns, pick the numbers too: 1 to 10, 11 to 100 and 何. Nothing is ticked at the start, and if you press Create too early, the page outlines whatever is still missing.
Printing and the answer key
Choose 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 lines, and A4 or US Letter. The answer key starts on its own page, so the worksheet can go out without it, and Shuffle makes a new set. Then press Print, or choose Save as PDF in the print dialog to keep a copy. The worksheets are free with no signup, and teachers may photocopy them for their classes.
A printable counters chart
The full chart, with every reading filled in, prints separately. The printable counters chart puts all 57 counters on 7 pages, with every reading from 1 to 10 and 何, to hand out or pin up.
The chart guide, the quiz and the finder
Before a worksheet, the Japanese counters chart guide explains the sound-change rules behind the bold readings, such as いっぽん and さんぼん. After it, the counters quiz lets students practice the same counters on screen, with one line after every answer that says why, which suits homework. To check which counter a noun takes, the counter finder looks it up in English, kana, kanji or romaji. If you teach Korean too, the Korean counters worksheets print counter exercises in A4 or US Letter, with an answer key on its own pages.
Frequently asked questions
Are the counters worksheets free?
Yes, there's no signup, you can print them or save them as PDF, and teachers may photocopy them for their classes.
Can I get the worksheets as a PDF?
Yes, press Print and choose Save as PDF in the print dialog, on A4 or US Letter.
Is there an answer key?
Yes, it starts on its own page, so you can hand out the worksheet and keep the key. For Fill in the chart, the key is the same chart with every reading filled in.
Which counters can I use?
You can pick any of the seven groups of our counters chart, from people and age to days and dates. For the reading and sentence exercises, you also pick the numbers: 1 to 10, 11 to 100 or 何.
Can I print a blank Japanese counters chart?
Yes, Fill in the chart prints a blank chart with 1 to 10 and 何 down the side and five counters to a page, and the key fills it in.
Is there a printable Japanese counters chart?
Yes, the full chart from our guide prints on 7 pages of A4 or US Letter, with every reading filled in. Use the Print the counters chart button on the guide.
Licenses and credits
The nouns and their JLPT levels come from OpenJLPT (CC BY-SA 4.0), which takes its levels from Jonathan Waller's JLPT lists and its words from JMdict, the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group's dictionary (CC BY-SA 4.0). The English meanings are shown in US spelling. Which counter goes with each noun was written for NexaProva and reviewed for natural Japanese; the readings were checked against Japanese dictionaries and NHK's published research on reading numbers.