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So I’m doing the practice on past tense nouns (season 2), and one of the questions is 七人 じゃありません
I would have thought the reading would be ななり , but instead its down as しちにん. Why is this? It doesnt follow the pattern as the other kanji I’ve learned up till know, why is the on yomi being used, and why has り changed to にん?For now im just going to remember it as what its put down as, but I’d like to know why its different :)
Thanks in advance.It’s not different, that’s the thing. It’s the kanji you’ve learnt up until that point that are different, and silly Koichi never mentions that. After “two people”, the reading for the counter 人 is にん.
So:
一人 ＝ ひとり
二人 ＝ ふたり
三人 ＝ さんにん
四人 ＝ よにん
五人 ＝ ごにん
六人 ＝ ろくにん
七人 ＝ しちにんEt cetera. Always にん.
Incidentally, 七 is a weird one in that its readings tend to be interchangeable – I have also heard ななにん in the past.
Because apparently the Japanese are fricken masochistic when it comes to numbering things.
You think this is bad… Your mind will s’plode! @_@
Yeah, wait until you learn how to count days. =P
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