mate

JLPT N5 4 strokes

Words with this Kanji

Usage of

The character is primarily used as a measure word for animals, especially horses, cows, and other livestock. It counts individual animals and is equivalent to 'head' or 'animal' in English. For example, means 'one horse.'

Common Collocations

  • (one horse): the most typical use.
  • (several cows): used to count cattle.
  • (a bolt of cloth): less common but used in some dialects or contexts to measure cloth.

Notes

is not used for all animals; for example, dogs and cats are usually counted with . is more formal and often used in farming or traditional contexts. Avoid confusing with other measure words like (tóu), which also counts large animals but is more common for pigs or cattle in some regions.

When using , the noun it modifies is usually an animal or sometimes cloth, so pay attention to context to avoid mistakes.

Example Sentences

This horse is very strong.

There are ten cows on the farm.

He bought a bolt of cloth to make clothes.