五つ

Japanese JLPT N5 Vocabulary Japanese ★★★★★ 5/5 neutral いつつitsutsu
Reading いつつ
Romaji itsutsu
Kanji breakdown 五 (itsu) — five; つ is a native counter suffix
Pronunciation /i.tsɯ.tsɯ/

Meaning

Five (things). The native Japanese counter for five, used for general objects.

Part of the native Japanese counting system. Uses the いつ reading of 五. A natural midpoint in the ひとつ–とお counting range. Commonly heard in everyday shopping and ordering, and when counting items of any category.

Examples

  1. チョコレートを五つ食べました。 I ate five chocolates.
  2. 五つの国を旅行しました。 I traveled to five countries.
  3. 指が五つあります。 There are five fingers.

Usage Guide

Context: counting objects, daily life, ordering

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From the native Japanese いつ (five) plus the counter suffix つ. This reading is unique to the native counting system and does not appear in Sino-Japanese compounds.

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal

Related Phrases

一 One; 1. The most basic number in Japanese. 一つ One (thing). The native Japanese counter for one, used for general objects. 七 Seven; 7. A culturally significant number in Japan. 万 Ten thousand; 10,000. A fundamental large number unit unique to the Japanese counting system. 三 Three; 3. A number with cultural significance in Japan. 三つ Three (things). The native Japanese counter for three, used for general objects. 九 Nine; 9. The highest single digit, with two common readings. 二 Two; 2. A fundamental number used in counting and everyday contexts.
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