10. Counting and ordering

The number goes after the noun

English: two beers. Japanese: beer, を, two, then the verb. ビールを二つお願いします. Noun, particle, counter, predicate. The counter is its own card and slots in right after the particle.

Counters depend on what you count. Things in general: 一つ・二つ・三つ (hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu). People: 一人・二人・三人 (hitori, futari, sannin). Cups and glasses: 一杯・二杯. Flat things like tickets and cards: 一枚・二枚.

When in doubt, 一つ・二つ works for almost any object.

Ordering with a number

これを一つください (one of these, please) gets you through most shops. 二人です (two people) is what you say walking into a restaurant; it is a fixed phrase, so it lives on the Words page.