回(かい)

かい

counter

times (frequency)

1. times, occurrences

A counter for number of times or frequency of events. Used to count how many times something happens or has happened.

一(いち)日(にち)に三(さん)回(かい)薬(くすり)を飲(の)んでください。

Please take the medicine three times a day.

日本(にほん)には何(なん)回(かい)行(い)きましたか。

How many times have you been to Japan?

もう一(いっ)回(かい)言(い)ってください。

Please say it one more time.

Note: いっかい with small っ

今(いま)週(しゅう)はもう二(に)回(かい)映画(えいが)を見(み)ました。

I've already seen two movies this week.

一(いっ)回(かい)しか会(あ)ったことがないのに、友達(ともだち)になりました。

We became friends even though we only met once.

回(かい) is the standard counter for occurrences, repetitions, or frequency.

Counting patterns

一(いっ)回(かい): once (note: いっかい with small っ)
二(に)回(かい): twice
三(さん)回(かい): three times
何(なん)回(かい): how many times?

Pronunciation

一(いっ)回(かい) uses gemination (small っ). It is NOT read いちかい.

Common expressions

もう一(いっ)回(かい): one more time
毎回(まいかい): every time
初回(しょかい): first time/round
今回(こんかい): this time
次回(じかい): next time

Usage

Often used with に to show frequency: 週(しゅう)に三(さん)回(かい) (three times a week).

Related Words

Related: 〜度(ど) (counter for times or degrees)

Homophone: 階(かい) (counter for floors)

Related Articles

Japanese Counters and Classifiers

basic

Added 2026.1.7 21:25 · Revised 2026.9.4 21:29

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