Japanese Counter Word - Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal Numbers

In general, the counter words mentioned above are cardinal numbers, in that they indicate quantity. To transform a counter word into an ordinal number that denotes position in a sequence, 目 me is added to the end of the counter. Thus "one time" would be translated as 一回 ikkai, whereas "the first time" would be translated as 一回目 ikkaime.

This rule is inconsistent, however, as counters without the me suffix are often used interchangeably with cardinal and ordinal meanings. For example, 三階 sangai can mean both "three floors" and "third floor."