I have a simple question for the Japanese – WHY

I have a simple question for the Japanese – WHY

by ttgl39

36 comments
  1. All counter words are borrowed straight from Chinese, so the better question is asking the Chinese why

  2. That vocab is just there to reinforce the kanji,

    As there are not much vocab with it, I guess.

    even though this kanji is not used my by itself, it used for the construction of a whole lot of other kanji and the readings are usually the same. So it’s important in that sense.

  3. That’s the kanji used for counting loaves of bread. I’m not sure there’s much more to it than that.

  4. I’m planning to read Clannad, and I’ll be disappointed if this counter isn’t used in it.

    No, don’t spoil it.

  5. Dunno, it always seemed pretty intuitive to me. It’s just an “axe” of bread. Like you take an axe and cleave one off the pile or something.

  6. Because once upon a time, loaves of bread weighed about that much.

    I find it funnier to imagine tough bread that needed an axe to chop into slices.

  7. Wow, i thought this is just a unit for weights. But it turns out, it’s a counter for loaf of bread.
    Using my chinese to understand Japanese is kinda weird, pros also comes with cons

  8. Hold on. You’re asking why Japanese has an equivalent to the English word “loaf”?

    Of all the weird things Japanese does, this isn’t even in the top 一万. :p

  9. Others have pointed it out, but literally in your screenshot is an English word that is only used when counting units of bread lol These posts always crack me up.

  10. 斤 was a unit in the old Japanese measurement system (尺貫法).

    whennnnn Japan was opened to trade, bread (amongst other things) was imported from Britain. They measured it in pounds, which was called 1英斤 (about 450g). As such, a 1lb loaf was called 1斤.

    When Japan switched to the metric system, most of the 尺貫法 units fell out of usage, apart for some – 斤 for bread, 合 for rice and sake, for example.

    Also 斤 isn’t necessarily a “counter for bread” – it’s the approximate size of a single standard loaf of bread. So like 2斤の食パン would be a single loaf of bread that’s like 2x the size.

  11. Loaves of bread, sheets of paper, bottles of beer, strips bacon, cans of coke, cups of coffee, fillets of fish, slice of pizza, sticks of butter, bowls of soup, heads of lettuce…..

  12. Strictly speaking, 斤 is not a counter but a (classical) unit of weight. Today, it’s sometimes used like a counter for bread loaves (specifically white bread in general) because [most Japanese white bread](https://kaigo-postseven.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/shokupan_53.jpg) is almost the same size (=1斤) at supermarkets. (1斤 must be over 340g.)

    One loaf of bread can be [1.5斤](https://shokupan-honpo.com/?product=%E9%A3%9F%E3%83%91%E3%83%B3), [2斤](https://nogaminopan.com/item/2023bread01/), [3斤](https://www.honma-bread.com/rusk/products/detail/21)… depending on the size.

  13. I dont know are you a troll or what😅. I’ve learned several language already and most of them have this counter for most of things. Different things got different counter. Thats how language is. And its more beautiful and efficient like that

  14. Once you learn learn them, you’ll start to think they’re logical and efficient even more than English.

  15. You… you’re literally asking why Japanese does something that English also does…? Your screenshot itself has the word “loaf”

    THE WORD LOAF IS LITERALLY A BREAD LOAF COUNTER

  16. The only thing annoying about counters is the fact that they sometimes change based on which number it is. In my opinion, this is what makes it challenging because English does not have this nuance. Of course, we have “loaf of bread” and “loaves of bread” but that’s all. 仕方がないね

  17. Yes we use counters in English but we don’t have to use them for everything.
    Bananas, cats, bicycles, all animals, toes, ties, swords, tires, cds, hats, wrenches and other tools, towels, flashlights, watches, t-shirts, etc. This is just a quick list I made while looking around.

  18. “Why isn’t Japanese like English? Are the Japanese stupid 😡?” Half of this subs questions 

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