counter for leaves, sheets of paper, etc.
Used for flat, leaf-like objects: leaves, sheets of paper, photographs, etc. Attaches to numbers.
Only three leaves remain on this branch.
Archaic counter for boats; modern Japanese uses 隻 (せき) instead.
I will send you one photograph.
Please make three copies of the document.
In old documents, it is written as 'three boats'.
枚 is the general counter for flat objects like paper or plates, while 葉 is a more literary counter used specifically for leaves and sheet-like items such as photographs.
隻 is the modern counter for boats and ships, replacing the archaic 葉 that was once used for the same purpose.
Standard kanji form for the counter suffix.
From the noun 葉 (は, leaf), extended to count flat, leaf-like objects. The reading よう is the on'yomi.
deciduous tree
compound leaf; multifoliate leaf · biplane
leaf stalk; petiole
germ layer; germinal epithelium
yellowing autumn leaves; golden fall foliage
middle period; mid- (era) · middle lobe (right lung); median lobe (prostate)
end of an era; close of a century · descendant
cotyledon; seed leaf
green leaves
stems and leaves
tree leaf; foliage
one leaf · one page; one sheet; one card; one photo · one boat
upper lobe (of lung); superior lobe
lower lobe (of lung); inferior lobe
Japanese white pine; goyoumatsu
beginning of an epoch; initial period
preceding page; previous page · anterior pituitary; anterior lobe
simple leaf; unifoliate leaf · monoplane
right lobe
lobe; lobule · leaflet; foliole