As those members who have some knowledge of Japanese know, Japanese uses counting words. These can be thought of a similar to words like "head" in the English "50 head of cattle," or "sheet" in "10 sheets of paper," but in Japanese, unlike in English, nearly all nouns require a counter, and there are lots of them.

Kimono-related counting words can be quite complicated, because they sometimes don't work as you might expect. Here is a list.

Fabric (反物 tanmono)

counter: 反
pronunciation: tan
examples: ittan, ni-tan, san-tan
notes: a tan is a bolt of fabric. Since they're long and cylindrical, they can also be counted with hon. For some reason, single bolts that are double length (the length of 2 bolts) are counted using hiki (疋 or 匹), meaning "head," which is a counter for animals.

Fans (扇子 sensu)

counter: 本; 枚
pronunciation: hon; mai
examples: ippon, ni-hon, san-bon; ichi-mai, ni-mai, san-mai
notes: choose the appropriate counter depending whether the fan is open or closed: hon (long/thin) implies it is closed, "mai" (thin/flat) suggests it's open

Footwear (履物 hakimono)

counter: 足
pronunciation: soku
examples: issoku, ni-soku, san-soku
notes: see Tabi for more info.

Fundoshi (褌 fundoshi)

counter: 本
pronunciation: hon
examples: ippon, ni-hon, san-bon
notes: fundoshi can also be counted with "mai"; see Haori for more info. Colloquially, they can also be counted with 丁 chou, which is the counter for guns and tools....

Hakama (袴)

counter: 腰
pronunciation: koshi
examples: hito-koshi, ni-koshi, san-koshi
notes: hakama are often counted using mai, but koshi, which means "waist," is the original term.

Han-eri (半衿)

counter: 掛け
pronunciation: kake
examples: hito-kake, ni-kake, san-kake
notes: han-eri can also be counted using mai, but only if they are not attached to the juban.

Haori (羽織)

counter: 枚
pronunciation: mai
examples: ippon, ni-hon, san-bon; ikkumi, ni-kumi, san-kumi
notes: "mai" is used for counting thin, flat objects like sheets of paper

Haori-himo (羽織紐)

counter: 本、組
pronunciation: hon, kumi
examples: ichi-mai, ni-mai, san-mai
notes: single haori-himo are counted with "hon"; "kumi" is used for counting pairs of himo. Pairs can also be counted with 揃え (soroe), 対 (tsui) or 双(sou).

Japanese umbrellas (和傘 wagasa)

counter: 張り
pronunciation: hari
examples: hito-hari, ni-hari, san-bari
notes: hari refers to things that spread, thus is the traditional counter for umbrellas. Nowadays hon (long/thin) is more common.

Juban (襦袢 juban; 長襦袢 naga-juban)

counter: 枚
pronunciation: mai
examples: ichi-mai, ni-mai, san-mai
notes: see Haori

Kamishimo (裃)

counter: 具
pronunciation: gu
examples: ichi-gu, ni-gu, san-gu
notes: gu is a counter for "sets" of clothing. It's also used to count things like suits.

Kimonos (着物 kimono; 長着 naga-gi)

counter: 枚
pronunciation: mai
examples: ichi-mai, ni-mai, san-mai
notes: see Haori and Montsuki sets

Montsuki sets

counter: 揃い
pronunciation: soroi
examples: hito-soroi, ni-soroi, san-zoroi
notes: "monstuki sets" refers to complete formal outfits: kimono + haori + hakama. Counting with soroi implies a complete set of formal or ceremonial clothing. Monstuki kimono by themselves can be counted using 着 chaku

Obi (帯)

counter: 本
pronunciation: hon
examples: ippon, ni-hon, san-bon
notes: the counter hon is used for long, thin objects such as pencils and bottles. The pronunciation changes for each of the numbers as can be seen in the partial list above. Obi can also be counted with mai (on the grounds that they are thin and flat); 条 jou, or 筋 suji can also be used, since these indicate things that are long and narrow.

Tabi (足袋)

counter: 足
pronunciation: soku
examples: issoku, ni-soku, san-soku
notes: the kanji 足 means "foot." The counter soku is used to count pairs of tabi; single tabi are counted using mai. In older times, the counter 両 ryou, meaning "both," was used to count pairs of items; this counter is apparently still used for a special kind of tabi I've never heard of called shitouzu.

Te-nugui (手拭い)

counter: 本
pronunciation: hon
examples: ippon, ni-hon, san-bon
notes: can also be counted with "mai" (see Haori for more info); or with suji and jou (see Tabi for more info).

Yukata (浴衣)

counter: 枚
pronunciation: mai
examples: ichi-mai, ni-mai, san-mai
notes: see Haori

The information was translated from a chart on the Ginza Motoji website.

Of course, if you have fewer than 10 of an item, you can always count without counter words by using the traditional numerals hitotsu, futatus, mittsu, yottsu, itsutsu, muttsu, nanatsu, yattsu, kokonotsu and tou. "2 kimonos" thus becomes "kimono futatsu" and "7 umbrellas" is "wagasa nanatsu," but if you have 11 of something, you're out of luck (and anyway, it's nice to know the right words for things).

[topic moved and title edited by bebemochi]

thanks for that fuuga! very useful!! here are a few more i use when I'm searching the 'net:

Obi-jime(帯締め)
counter: 本

Obi-age (帯揚げ)
counter: 枚

点 is for sets. for example 3点 is a three-piece set like yukata/obi/geta. you can also search for multiple items using this one. (kind of like looking for "hukuro" obi on ebay instead of "fukuro" obi.) for example: 着物 帯 3点 would be kimono obi set of 3.

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Oh jeez, and here I was thinking -mai and -tsu was okay for everything. Thanks for the info!

And... and why aren't umbrellas counted with -hon?! They're practically the perfect long, cylindrical object! Japanese makes my brain hurt...

Not when they're open! (And isn't that what they're made for? What would be the point of using one otherwise?)

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I've never thought about this before, but it's fascinating. Thankyou! Lots to think about...

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Revamped site coming soon...

Another interesting lesson on grammar!

I was reading the wikipedia article and I never knew about counting words also applied in Cantonese. But then I learnt it when I was a child via conversations with my family so its not surprising that I don't understand the grammar.

I will play more attention now!

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Well, the hitotsu futatsu mittsu etc. system does work for everything. Only you'll sound a bit... weird if you don't use counters, like, ever. It's like always saying "tabi by the amount of six" or something.

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If it doesn't make sense, it's probably stage wear.

Thanks for the chuckle.