counter for birds; counter for rabbits
Used to count birds and rabbits. The reading changes to ば or ぱ depending on the preceding number (e.g., 一羽 いちわ, 三羽 さんば, 六羽 ろっぱ).
There are two sparrows in the garden.
There were three pigeons in the park.
He keeps three white rabbits.
We keep two rabbits at home.
匹 is the general counter for small animals, but 羽 is the conventional counter for birds (and often rabbits).
羽 counts birds and, by convention, rabbits, whereas 頭 counts large mammals regardless of whether they fly.
羽 counts birds and rabbits, while 匹 counts most other small animals such as cats, dogs, and fish.
羽 counts birds and rabbits, whereas 頭 counts large animals such as cattle, horses, and elephants.
把 and 羽 share the reading わ but count completely different things: 把 counts bundles of long thin objects, while 羽 counts birds or rabbits.
Standard kanji spelling for the counter for birds and rabbits.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the counter is used with numerals.
Originally meaning 'feather' or 'wing', this kanji was extended to count birds and later rabbits, possibly due to the similarity of rabbit ears to wings or a historical euphemism.