Tuesday, 17 March 2015

Does 個 have a specialized usage as a counter?



I usually hear 個 referred to as a general purpose counter (which is how it is used in Chinese) similar to hitotsu, futatsu, etc... I just read a source which claims that it tends to refer to 3-dimensional objects and contrasts with 本 in this way:


ni-hon no nasu = two (long) eggplants


ni-ko no nasu = two (round) eggplants


Is this correct or would "ni-ko no nasu" be better left as "two (unspecified) eggplants"?




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