Quote:
Originally Posted by Sublymonal
A little bit... As I said, I'm just starting out. If you do write in hiragana, I should be able to translate though.
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Good. But do rememebr that heavy use of romaji at the beginning stage will get you hooked on it and this will eventually slow down your Japanese learning process. Japanese people think
everything in terms of syllables.
I'll explain how to use the counters that you listed in your first post.
3（さん）: Number 3. Unlike in English,
you cannot place a noun directly after it. Same goes with any number, not just 3.
Basic Format: (number) + (counter) + の + (noun)
こ : こ is the counter than can be used for many
small countable objects if they aren't too long or thin in physical shape.
3このりんご= 3 apples. 3このけしごむ= 3 rubbers. 3このキャンディー=3 candies.
だい: だい is for counting machines, appliances, cars, etc.
3だいのくるま= 3 cars. 2だいのれいぞうこ= 2 refrigerators. 8だいのミシン= 8 sawing machines.
まい ： counter for thin objects.
4まいのかみ= 4 sheets of paper. 8まいのタオル= 8 towels. 2まいのピザ= 2 whole pizzas.
さつ ： counter for books, magazines, notebooks, etc.
1さつのほん= a book. 6さつのノート= 6 notebooks. 3さつのざっし= 3 magazines.
ひき： counter for small animals. Note the pronounciation changes according to the number preceding it.
1ぴき（いっぴき）のねこ= a cat. "Piki" with numbers 1, 6, 8, 10, 20, 30, etc.
4ひきのいぬ= 4 dogs. "Hiki" with 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9
3びきのかえる= 3 frogs. "Biki" with 3.
ほん： counter for long, stick-type objects. Like ひき, the pronunciation changes according to the number preceding it.
１ぽん（いっぽん）のバナナ= a banana. "Pon" with numbers 1, 6, 8, 10, 20, 30, etc.
4ほんのポッキー= 4 Pocky sticks. "Hon" with 2, 4, 5, 7 and 9
3ぼんのえんぴつ= 3 pencils. "Bon" with 3.
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There are countless other counters in Japanese. But you need to learn basic sentence structures and build a good vocabulary before worring about them.