Hai Counter (杯) - Cups, Glasses, Bowls
The Japanese counter 杯 (hai) attaches to anything served in a cup, glass, or bowl: coffee, tea, beer, wine, rice, ramen, soup. Heavy sound-changes: ip-pai (1), ni-hai (2), san-bai (3), rop-pai (6), hap-pai (8), jup-pai (10).
Cups, glasses, bowls, drinks served in a cup or glass. Sound-changes at 1, 3, 6, 8, 10. Also for octopuses and squid at fishmongers (literary).
| # | Kanji | Romaji | Notes | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一杯 | ip-pai | gemination | |
| 2 | 二杯 | ni-hai | ||
| 3 | 三杯 | san-bai | rendaku | |
| 4 | 四杯 | yon-hai | ||
| 5 | 五杯 | go-hai | ||
| 6 | 六杯 | rop-pai | gemination | |
| 7 | 七杯 | nana-hai | ||
| 8 | 八杯 | hap-pai | gemination | |
| 9 | 九杯 | kyu-hai | ||
| 10 | 十杯 | jup-pai / jip-pai | either accepted |
What counts as a hai-unit
- Hot drinks: coffee (コーヒー koohii), tea (お茶 ocha), matcha, hot chocolate.
- Cold drinks: water (水 mizu), juice (ジュース juusu), iced tea, smoothies.
- Alcohol: beer (ビール biiru) in a glass / mug, wine (ワイン wain), sake (酒) in a cup (お猪口 ochoko), cocktails.
- Rice and noodles: bowls of rice (ご飯 gohan), ramen (ラーメン), soba (蕎麦), udon (うどん), don bowls (丼).
- Soup: miso soup (味噌汁 misoshiru), consommé, ramen broth.
- Literary / market: squid (イカ), octopus (タコ), crabs (カニ) in fishmonger contexts.
Sound-change pattern
Gemination at 1, 6, 8, 10: ip-pai, rop-pai, hap-pai, jup-pai (or jip-pai). The /h/ becomes /p/ after the preceding consonant.
Rendaku at 3: san-bai. The /h/ voices to /b/.
Regular at 2, 4, 5, 7, 9: ni-hai, yon-hai, go-hai, nana-hai, kyu-hai.
Ordering at a restaurant
- コーヒーを一杯ください (koohii o ip-pai kudasai): “a cup of coffee please”.
- ビールを二杯ください (biiru o ni-hai kudasai): “two beers please” (in glasses or mugs).
- お代わりください (o-kawari kudasai): “refill please”. Common with rice and tea.
- もう一杯 (mou ip-pai): “one more”, used when asking for another.
- 三杯飲みました (san-bai nomimashita): “I drank three”, used in casual recounting.
Frequently asked questions
What does hai count?
Things served in a cup, glass, or bowl: cups of coffee or tea, glasses of wine or beer, bowls of rice (ご飯 gohan) or noodles (ラーメン raamen, 蕎麦 soba, うどん udon), cocktails, soup. Hai treats the container-plus-contents as a single countable unit, which is why the same word counts both the cup and the drink in it.
Why does the spelling change so much (hai, pai, bai)?
Sound-changes. The base /h/ becomes /p/ at the gemination positions (1, 6, 8, 10: ip-pai, rop-pai, hap-pai, jup-pai) and /b/ at the rendaku position (3: san-bai). The same pattern appears in 本 (hon -> pon, bon) and 匹 (hiki -> piki, biki). Source: Tofugu hai guide.
How do I order “one beer” in Japanese?
For a glass / mug of beer: ビールを一杯ください (biiru o ip-pai kudasai), “one beer please”. For a bottle of beer: ビールを一本ください (biiru o ip-pon kudasai). The counter changes by what the beer is in: hai for the glass, hon for the bottle.
Does hai count squid and octopus?
In fishmonger and traditional culinary contexts, yes: 杯 (hai) historically counted octopuses (タコ tako), squid (イカ ika), and crabs (カニ kani). In modern everyday Japanese, 匹 (hiki) is more common for live animals; hai survives in markets and literary registers. Tofugu and Daijisen both document the literary use.
Continue: counters hub · flat objects (mai) · prices in yen.