I was on my duolingo questions when it’s starts to show some examples about number of things and it used both of them but always in different situations but i don’t understand exactly which situation should i use つ or use 個
“Think of it this way: if the thing you’re counting has a boundary to it, you can use 個. If it doesn’t have a distinct boundary, or it’s too abstract, it’s an age, or it’s related to number order, it’s more common to use 〜つ.”
Edit:- 〜つ Counts: just about everything. 個 Counts: pretty much anything with a distinct shape or boundary.
My advice to you: stop using Duolingo if you want to become fluent in Japanese.
See other comment in here about solid vs. non-solid things, for つ and 個. That being said, those are really juat the basic generic ones that can be used when you don’t know the proper one, but there are dozens and dozens of these counters for all manner of sizes and shapes of things, and while it’s a pain in the ass, you’re gonna at least want to be familiar with the most common ones like -hon/bon/ppon (本) for long thin things like bottles or pencils, or -mai (枚) for broad flat things like sheets or pieces of paper.
to add to the other comments: nearly everything has an appropriate counter, some more obscure than others. if you want to mentally frame it in an english like way, it’s kind of like how we have special naming conventions for groups of different animals. like it’s a pack of wolves but not a pack of birds. you must say 5 packs of wolves, 5 flocks of birds. however in japanese it’s not for counting groups but for counting individuals. 5個 pebbles but 5枚 papers. we even have some of these in english, we say 5 *sheets* of paper, not 5 paper.
I was taught 個 was a counter for small things, like if you were counting pieces of candy. つ is used for more abstract things. I usually use this one the most. If you’re not sure what to use, this is usually the default.
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From [https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/japanese-counters-list/](https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/japanese-counters-list/)
“Think of it this way: if the thing you’re counting has a boundary to it, you can use 個. If it doesn’t have a distinct boundary, or it’s too abstract, it’s an age, or it’s related to number order, it’s more common to use 〜つ.”
Edit:-
〜つ Counts: just about everything.
個 Counts: pretty much anything with a distinct shape or boundary.
My advice to you: stop using Duolingo if you want to become fluent in Japanese.
See other comment in here about solid vs. non-solid things, for つ and 個. That being said, those are really juat the basic generic ones that can be used when you don’t know the proper one, but there are dozens and dozens of these counters for all manner of sizes and shapes of things, and while it’s a pain in the ass, you’re gonna at least want to be familiar with the most common ones like -hon/bon/ppon (本) for long thin things like bottles or pencils, or -mai (枚) for broad flat things like sheets or pieces of paper.
to add to the other comments: nearly everything has an appropriate counter, some more obscure than others. if you want to mentally frame it in an english like way, it’s kind of like how we have special naming conventions for groups of different animals. like it’s a pack of wolves but not a pack of birds. you must say 5 packs of wolves, 5 flocks of birds. however in japanese it’s not for counting groups but for counting individuals. 5個 pebbles but 5枚 papers. we even have some of these in english, we say 5 *sheets* of paper, not 5 paper.
I was taught 個 was a counter for small things, like if you were counting pieces of candy. つ is used for more abstract things. I usually use this one the most. If you’re not sure what to use, this is usually the default.