Page 313 - Basic Japanese

There were 2 or 3 It will take 6 or 7 years.

salesclerks.

Not all possible combinations occur. For instance, none

occur with the counter -ji ‘o’clock’ or -gatsu ‘month.’ In such
cases, you can use two full words connected by the particle

ka ‘or’:

San-ji ka yo-ji ni kuru
deshō. Shigatsu ka

Gogatsu

deshō.

He’ll come around 3 or It will be April or May.
4 o’clock.

The secondary numerals usually do not combine in the
same way. Instead, the two consecutive numbers are

connected by ka:

Bara o hito-taba ka futa-taba kaimasu.
I will buy one or two bunches of roses.