助数詞 · counters
How to count drinks and bowls in Japanese
杯 (はい)
Cupfuls, glassfuls and bowlfuls take 杯 (はい): coffee, beer, rice, ramen. It changes sound like 本: いっぱい, さんばい, ろっぱい.
Cupfuls: 杯
| 1 | 1杯 | いっぱい |
| 2 | 2杯 | にはい |
| 3 | 3杯 | さんばい |
| 4 | 4杯 | よんはい |
| 5 | 5杯 | ごはい |
| 6 | 6杯 | ろっぱい |
| 7 | 7杯 | ななはい |
| 8 | 8杯 | はっぱい |
| 9 | 9杯 | きゅうはい |
| 10 | 10杯 | じゅっぱい |
Highlighted readings are the irregular ones.
How many?
Ask with 何杯 (なんばい).
杯 counts the contents, not the container: a cup of coffee is コーヒー一杯. Empty cups are 個 or 客 (きゃく).
いっぱい also means full or a lot, written in hiragana: 「お腹がいっぱいです」.
Examples
Tap a kanji for its reading.
- コーヒーを一杯ください。A cup of coffee, please.
- ご飯を三杯も食べました。I ate three whole bowls of rice.
- 水を何杯飲みましたか。How many glasses of water did you drink?
- ビールを二杯飲みました。I had two beers.
Common mistakes
- ✗ さんはい✓ さんばいThree softens は to ば.