Japanese word

いくつ

Pronunciation

Romajiikutsu

Meaning

  • adverbhow many

Example

いすはいくつありますか。i su wa i ku tsu a ri ma su ka

How many chairs are there?

Illustration for いくつ (how many)

More examples

りんごはいくつありますか？ri n go wa i ku tsu a ri ma su ka

How many apples are there?

この棚には箱がいくつ並んでいますか。ko no tana ni wa bako ga i ku tsu nara n de i ma su ka

How many boxes are lined up on this shelf?

Core concept

It asks how many things there are or how old someone is, leaving the specific number to the context.

Common phrases

  • 箱がいくつbako ga i ku tsu

    how many boxes

  • おいくつo i ku tsu

    how old

Similar words

何個nanko: An interrogative expression that asks for the number of small or general items.
何人nannin: An interrogative expression that asks for the number of people.
何枚nanmai: An interrogative expression that asks for the number of flat objects.
何歳nansai: An interrogative expression used to ask about a person's age.

Definition in Japanese

物がいくつあるか、または人が何歳かを尋ねるときに用いる語。mono ga i ku tsu a ru ka ma ta wa hito ga nan sai ka o tazu ne ru to ki ni mochi i ru go

Word origin

The native word いくつ (ikutsu) is formed from 幾 (iku, "how many") and つ (tsu), a general counter for items.

Usage tips

  • The form いくつか (ikutsuka, "several") turns the question word into an expression for an unspecified number.

Other meanings

  • how oldadverb

Word lists with this word