Quote:
Originally Posted by masaegu
In Japanese, you need to use a counter. You cannot say "(number) + noun" like you do in European languages. The counter for people is 人（にん）.
(わたしには)おとうとが５人（ごにん）います。You can drop the pronoun + particle. If you must use a subject (noun or pronoun), use には instead of just は because that is what sounds more natural.
Exceptions:
If you only have one or two little brothers, use 「ひとり」for one and 「ふたり」for two instead of ５人. For more than two, it is " (number) + 人（にん）.
「おとうとが５人います。」 is the most natural-sounding way to say this. Notice the difference in the structure between Japanese and English.
「５人のおとうとがいます。」 would be the "English way" to say it but not in Japanese. This one is not incorrect but it does not sound as natural as the sentence above.
Learn the kanji 「人 = person」as it is super-easy.
|
Thx for the explanation Im going copy and paste this so I can come back to if i need help for next time lol.