一いち葉よう

also: ひとは

い

ち

よ

う

Meanings

1

one leaf

Counts a single leaf, especially of a plant. The reading ひとは is rare and literary.

紅こう葉ようした一いち葉ようが風かぜに舞まっていた。
A single autumn leaf was dancing in the wind.

2

one page; one sheet; one card; one photo

Only with reading いちよう

Used with the reading いちよう to count flat, thin items such as pages, sheets of paper, cards, or photographs.

アルバムに一いち葉ようの古ふるい写しゃ真しんが残のこっていた。
One old photo remained in the album.
答とう案あん用よう紙しを一いち葉ようずつ配くばってください。
Please hand out the answer sheets one by one.

3

archaic

Archaic counter for a single boat or small vessel. Not used in modern Japanese.

古こ文ぶん書しょには「一いち葉ようの舟ふね」という表ひょう現げんが見みられる。
The expression 'one boat' can be found in old documents.

See all 7 example sentences ›

Expressions

一いち葉よう落おちて天てん下かの秋あきを知しるa single leaf falls and you know autumn has come; a small sign reveals a larger trend

Grammar

一人ひとり・二に本ほん・三さん冊さつnumbers and countersN5

Kanji

一one, one radical (no.1)
葉leaf, plane, lobe

Related words

一いち枚まい
一枚 is the standard counter for flat objects (paper, tickets, plates, etc.), while 一葉 is more literary and limited to leaves, pages, photos, and similar thin items.

Word family

イチヨウラン
Dactylostalix ringens; rigid Dactylostalix

Written forms

一葉Usage100%
- いちよう
  Standard kanji spelling for the reading いちよう, used for counting flat objects like leaves, pages, and photos.
- ひとは
  Rare reading for 'one leaf'; mostly encountered in classical or poetic contexts.
ひとは

Etymology

Compound of 一 (one) and 葉 (leaf). The reading ひとは uses the native Japanese reading of the kanji, while いちよう uses the Sino-Japanese reading. The extension to counting pages, sheets, and photos comes from the resemblance to a leaf.