N5 · Lesson 7
Shopping
counters ・ いくら ・ 〜を ください ・ と／や ・ だけ
In this lesson, you will learn to count things the Japanese way (flat things, long things, books, people, and the all-purpose つ), ask what something costs, ask for it, and say what you bought, all of it or only one.
By the end you will be able to say
この シャツは いくらですか。How much is this shirt?
三枚 ください。Three, please (of flat things like shirts).
りんごを 三つ 買いました。I bought three apples.
ペンを 三本 買いました。I bought three pens.
私は 一枚だけ 買いました。I only bought one.
The grammar in this lesson
- One, two, three things: ひとつ, ふたつ, みっつ — The native counter つ, for anything without a special counter.
- Counters: 枚, 本, 冊, 人 — Flat things, long things, books and people each have their own counter.
- How much? いくら, 円, and 〜を ください — Ask the price, read it, and ask for the thing.
- And, among others, only: と, や〜など, だけ — と for a complete list, や〜など for examples, だけ for 'only'.
- The polite お and ご — お金, お茶, ご飯: a prefix that makes a word polite.