I usually hear 個 referred to as a general purpose counter (which is how it is
used in Chinese) similar to hitotsu, futatsu, etc... I just read a source
which claims that it tends to refer to 3-dimensional objects and contrasts
with 本 in this way:

ni-hon no nasu = two (long) eggplants

ni-ko no nasu = two (round) eggplants

Is this correct or would "ni-ko no nasu" be better left as "two (unspecified)
eggplants"?
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2014-02-27T13:30:37.190
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2014-02-27T17:59:49.707
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question
counters
Does 個 have a specialized usage as a counter?
Hm that's quite hard.. If you say パンが一本 it definitely does not mean bread that
is round or cubicle (it has to be long in some sense), whereas パンが一個 could
both refer to round/cubicle one or a longer one.

I'd say "two (unspecified) eggplants" would be more correct. You definitely
can't convey without ambiguity that it's not long by referring to it as 個
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-27T17:59:49.707
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2014-02-27T17:59:49.707
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answer