Euphonic Changes
Systematic changes occur when particular numbers precede counters that begin with certain phonemes. For example, 一 ichi + 回 kai → 一回 ikkai, 六 roku + 匹 hiki → 六匹 roppiki. The details are listed in the table below.
These changes are followed fairly consistently but exceptions and variations between speakers do exist. Where variations are common, more than one alternative is listed.
Jū is replaced by either ju- or ji- (じゅっ/じっ) followed by a doubled consonant before the voiceless consonants as shown in the table. Ji- is the older form, but it has been replaced by ju- in the speech of recent generations.
| Numeral | k- (か きゃ etc.) | s/sh- (さ しゃ etc.) | t/ch- (た ちゃ etc.) | h- (は ひ へ ほ ひゃ ひゅ ひょ) | f- (ふ) | p- (ぱ etc.) | w- (わ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 ichi | ikk- いっか | iss- いっさ | itt- いった | ipp- いっぱ | ipp- いっぷ | ipp- いっぱ | |
| 3 san | sanb- さんば | sanp- さんぷ | sanb- さんば | ||||
| 4 yon | yonh- よんは
yonp- よんぱ |
yonf- よんふ
yonp- よんぷ |
yow- よわ
yonw- よんわ yonb- よんば |
||||
| 6 roku | rokk- ろっか | ropp- ろっぱ | ropp- ろっぷ | ropp- ろっぱ | rokuw- ろくわ
ropp- ろっぱ |
||
| 8 hachi | hakk- はっか | hass- はっさ | hatt- はった | happ- はっぱ | happ- はっぷ | happ- はっぱ | happ- はっぱ
hachiw- はちわ |
| 10 jū | jikk- じっか
jukk- じゅっか |
jiss- じっさ
juss- じゅっさ |
jitt- じった
jutt- じゅった |
jipp- じっぱ
jupp- じゅっぱ |
jipp- じっぷ
jupp- じゅっぷ |
jipp- じっぱ
jupp- じゅっぱ |
jipp- じっぱ |
| 100 hyaku | hyakk- ひゃっか | hyapp- ひゃっぱ | hyapp- ひゃっぷ | hyapp- ひゃっぱ | |||
| 1000 sen | senb- せんば | senp- せんぷ | |||||
| 10000 man | manb- まんば | manp- まんぷ | |||||
| 何 nan | nanb- なんば | nanp- なんぷ |
Read more about this topic: Japanese Counter Word