Using a standard number to count an object in Japan: does it work??
August 2023
I stopped by the convenience store to pick up ONE item. I'd already been there 20 minutes earlier. I left the car running with the air con on. But instead of remaining in the car, my son Bob followed me into the store. Good thing Japan is so safe!
I was already at the counter buying my purchase when he came in. There were a few fresh produce items displayed and Bob noticed the plums. Only ¥150 ($1.50) for three large plums. I had already paid for my item and was almost walking out the door, but Bob was begging my attention.
“Mum can we please get some plums? They're only ¥150! They're so cheap!"
They were cheap, but we had fruit at home so when I'd been in 20 minutes earlier and seen them I'd left them where they were. But we didn't have plums at home, so Bob convinced me. We chose two bags, each with three plums in them. I paid, thanked the cashier and walked out.
At the car I reconsidered my purchase, I'd bought six plums, but we had nine people at home! With Yumi and her boys still with us for the summer holidays I couldn’t just buy six plums! I went back inside to get another bag. I wanted to communicate with the cashier, who now had processed three separate payments for me in the last 25 minutes, and explain why I was back, again! For those who haven’t heard me complain before, you need to know that there’s special ways of counting different things in Japan (read that story here). So whilst I knew that there was a special way to count people, I didn’t actually know how to say the numbers… But I went ahead anyway and said,
“kyu (nine) ninjin (people).” Seemed pretty understandable to me!
“You want carrots?" she asked in Japanese and started to move as if she were going to show me where they were.
“Oh no, no! Haha! Gomenasai (Sorry)! Not ninjin Kanai! (carrots)” I laughed as I shook my head, digging through my brain to find the right word for ‘person’. Ningen. The word is ningen.
Happy that I remembered I pressed on.
“Ningen” and I pointed to the top of my head to try and motion that I meant ‘person’.
“Ningen!” she laughed as she repeated me.
“Kyu ningen (nine people)” I tried again.
“Kyu ningen…?" she was visibly confused and had nooooo idea what I was going on about. Well, that certainly solved that mystery about wondering if it would still make sense to a Japanese if you used a standard number with an object instead of the correct way of counting that object. I have my answer: No, it doesn't make sense!
I let it be, but not for long. I tried again.
“Ichi, ni, san, shi…" I started counting in Japanese to help her make the connection of kyu (nine) and ningen (person) together. It worked!
“Aaaah, kyunin?” she clarified.
"Hai! (yes) kyunin! (nine people)” that sounded familiar enough for me to realise she was saying “nine people”. We laughed as I held up my last bag of plums, plums for the 7th, 8th, and 9th person in our house, and made my purchase. I’m not sure if she made the connection. Poor cashier, she’d be glad it would be closing time soon!!
Whilst I was struggling with numbers in Japan, dad was in Australia dealing with his own set of figures. He got some blood test results back. His PSA levels when first tested were 69. The cancer-free person will have levels at 3 or below. Three months later his reading was 63. Now his PSA level was 6! This was really great news as it meant the cancer was, potentially, mostly dead. The mass was still there as it was detected in the MRI, but these results indicated that it wasn’t very active at all. His doctor was surprised to see these results.
“These are good results,” the doctor sat in amazement. “These are very good.”
The doctor still wanted him to go through the 45 days of radiation. But we were thrilled. So mum's efforts really did pay off! And the natural supplements he was taking probably really did help! And of course the hormone therapy.
When I told Shujin the good news his reaction was, "So you cried all for nothing the other night!” Yeah, thanks for that!
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