杯(はい)

はい

counter

cups, glasses, bowls

1. cups, glasses, bowls

A counter for cups, glasses, bowls, and spoonfuls of liquid or food served in such containers.

コーヒーを一(いっ)杯(ぱい)ください。

One cup of coffee, please.

いっぱい with small っ and ぱ

毎朝(まいあさ)水(みず)を二(に)杯(はい)飲(の)みます。

I drink two glasses of water every morning.

ラーメンを三(さん)杯(ばい)食(た)べました。

I ate three bowls of ramen.

さんばい with voiced ば

お茶(ちゃ)をもう一(いっ)杯(ぱい)いかがですか。

Would you like another cup of tea?

夜(よる)ごはんの後(あと)で、味噌汁(みそしる)を二(に)杯(はい)飲(の)んで、コーヒーも一(いっ)杯(ぱい)飲(の)みました。

After dinner, I drank two bowls of miso soup and also one cup of coffee.

杯(はい) is a counter for drinks and servings in cups, glasses, or bowls.

Usage

Cups of coffee/tea
Glasses of water/juice
Bowls of rice/soup/noodles
Spoonfuls

Counting patterns

一(いっ)杯(ぱい) (ippai)
二(に)杯(はい) (nihai)
三(さん)杯(ばい) (sanbai)
四(よん)杯(はい) (yonhai)
五(ご)杯(はい) (gohai)
六(ろっ)杯(ぱい) (roppai)
七(なな)杯(はい) (nanahai)
八(はっ)杯(ぱい) (happai)
九(きゅう)杯(はい) (kyuuhai)
十(じゅっ)杯(ぱい) (juppai)
何(なん)杯(ばい): how many cups?

Watch out

いっぱい, usually written in kana, also means 'full' or 'a lot'; that sense grew out of 'one cupful', so 一杯(いっぱい) alone is often not a count of cups.

Related Words

Related: 一杯(いっぱい) (a cup of; full)

Compare: 〜本(ほん) (counter for bottles and long objects)

Related Articles

Japanese Counters and Classifiers

core

Added 2026.1.7 21:03 · Revised 2026.10.8 15:28

00500/00933_hai