counter for ships
Used for counting vessels such as boats, ships, and submarines. Common in news and formal contexts.
Three large ships are anchored in the harbor.
counter for one half of a pair
Used for counting one half of a pair, such as one panel of a folding screen or one of a pair of scrolls. Often used in art and antique contexts.
This folding screen is a set of six panels.
counter for bundles (archaic)
Archaic counter for items carried in a bundle, such as fish, birds, or arrows. Not used in modern Japanese outside historical or literary contexts.
In the old document, it is written 'three bundles of fish'.
隻 is the more formal, often official/news-register counter for ships and submarines, while 艘 is the everyday counter used for boats and small craft in casual speech.
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 this counter.
The kanji 隻 originally meant 'one of a pair' or 'single', which extended to counting ships and later to bundles. The reading せき is the on'yomi.