Hokkien counter word
Table of the traditional numerals
For counter word, the colloquial set of Hokkien numerals system is used with the exception of 1 and 2 when the number is greater than 10; for example, one should say cha̍p-it (十一) and jī-cha̍p-jī (二十二) for 11 and 22 instead of cha̍p-chi̍t (十蜀) and nn̄g-cha̍p-nn̄g (兩十兩) with no actual meaning. For 0, bô (無, means "nothing") is sometimes used, but usually it is needless to count 0.
| Numeral |
Hokkien |
|---|
| Hàn-jī |
Pe̍h-ōe-jī |
| Literary system |
Vernacular system |
| 0 |
零 / 空 |
lêng |
khòng |
| 1 |
一 / 蜀 |
it |
chi̍t |
| 2 |
二 / 兩 |
jī |
nn̄g |
| 3 |
三 |
sam |
saⁿ |
| 4 |
四 |
sù |
sì |
| 5 |
五 |
ngó͘ |
gō͘ |
| 6 |
六 |
lio̍k |
la̍k |
| 7 |
七 |
chhit |
chhit |
| 8 |
八 |
pat |
peh |
| 9 |
九 |
kiú |
káu |
| 10 |
十 |
si̍p |
cha̍p |
Common counters by category
| Pe̍h-ōe-jī |
Hàn-jī |
Use examples |
|---|
| ê |
个 |
The Hokkien counter word ê is available for most of countable nouns. |
| People and Things |
| chiah |
隻 |
Animals, bicycles (thih-bé), boats (chûn) |
| hāng |
項 |
Events (tāi-chì), things (mi̍h-kiāⁿ) |
| keng |
間 |
Rooms (pâng-keng), classrooms (kàu-sek), houses (chhù), schools (ha̍k-hāu), companies (kong-si) |
| lâng |
儂 |
People |
| lia̍p |
粒 |
Fruits, moutains (soaⁿ) |
| pún |
本 |
Books (chheh), comic books (ang-á-chheh), magazines (cha̍p-chì) |
| tâi |
台 |
Bicycles (kha-ta̍h-chhia), cars (chhia), machines (ki-khì), mechanical devices, household appliances |
| tiâu |
條 |
Lines (soàⁿ), songs (koa), railway (thih-lō͘) |
| ūi |
位 |
People (polite) |
| Time, Calendar, etc. |
| bió |
秒 |
Seconds |
| goe̍h |
月 |
Months of the year (see also: kò-goe̍h) |
| hun |
分 |
Minutes |
| hun-cheng |
分鐘 |
Minutes |
| ji̍t |
日 |
Days |
| kang |
工 |
Days |
| kò-goe̍h |
個月 |
Months |
| lé-pài |
禮拜 |
Weeks |
| mê / mî |
暝 |
Nights |
| nî |
年 |
Years |
| tang |
冬 |
Years |
| tiám-cheng |
點鐘 |
Hours |
Extended list of counters
| Pe̍h-ōe-jī |
Hàn-jī |
Use examples |
|---|
| goe̍h-ji̍t |
月日 |
Months |
| hôe |
回 |
Events, behaviors, times, frequency, novels paragraphs |
| hō͘ |
戶 |
Families |
| ia̍h |
頁 |
Pages |
| ke |
家 |
Families |
| keⁿ / kiⁿ |
更 |
1 keⁿ equals 2 hours |
| kiāⁿ |
件 |
Baggages (hêng-lí), events (tāi-chì) |
| kńg |
卷 |
Roll stuffs |
| kûn |
群 |
Groups, people (lâng) |
| khu |
坵 |
Paddy fields (chhân) |
| pak |
幅 |
drawings (tô͘) |
| pa̍k |
縛 |
Bundles, bunches |
| pî |
枇 |
Bunchs of banana (keng-chio), mullets (o͘-hî-chí), cluster-like items |
| pō͘ |
部 |
Departments (pō͘-bûn) of a company or a government |
| pōng |
磅 |
1 pōng equals 0.454 kilogram. |
| phiⁿ |
篇 |
Articles (bûn-chiuⁿ) |
| phō |
部 |
Books, especially for a "set" of books |
| phoa̍h |
袚 |
Necklace (phoa̍h-liān), chain items (liān-á) |
| se̍k |
席 |
Seats in a conference or parliament |
| sian |
身 |
Deities (sîn-bêng), puppets (ang-á), silkworm (niû-á) |
| sián |
仙 |
Cent |
| sió-sî |
小時 |
Hours (written) |
| tha̍h |
疊 or 沓 |
Stacked-like items |
| thia̍p |
疊 |
Stacked-like items, bricks (chng-á) |
| thong |
通 |
Telephone calls (tiān-ōe) |
See also