I previously [asked how to count
episodes](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/25919/whats-the-
counter-for-episodes) but I forgot to ask how to say "series". How can I say

> I watched 13 episodes of season 1.
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2015-07-30T04:21:44.223
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2017-04-13T12:43:44.207
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question
words english-to-japanese
The word for "season" (US) or "series" (UK)?
You can use **期【き】, シリーズ, 部【ぶ】, or シーズン** , all of which are common. Here are
the examples taken from Wikipedia (I haven't confirmed, but presumably these
reflect the official namings):

>   * [けいおん!
> 第2期](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%81%91%E3%81%84%E3%81%8A%E3%82%93!)
>   * [3年B組金八先生 第7シリーズ（2004年 -
> 2005年）](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/3%E5%B9%B4B%E7%B5%84%E9%87%91%E5%85%AB%E5%85%88%E7%94%9F)
>   * [Xファイル 第5シーズン ( _or_
> シーズン5)](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/X%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB)
>   * [水戸黄門 第38部
> (2008年)](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B0%B4%E6%88%B8%E9%BB%84%E9%96%80_\(%E3%83%91%E3%83%8A%E3%82%BD%E3%83%8B%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF_%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B7%E3%82%A2%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC\))
>

These are basically interchangeable, but here's my impression:

  * 期: very common
  * シリーズ: next common
  * 部: orthodox, serious
  * シーズン: [technical/formal](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B7%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BA%E3%83%B3_\(%E3%83%86%E3%83%AC%E3%83%93\)), relatively a bit uncommon, fits well with foreign dramas

You can use these words to count the number of seasons, too, by just removing
第:

>   * 「けいおん!」は **2期** に分けて製作された。
>   * 「3年B組金八先生」は32年間、 **8シリーズ** にわたって放映された。
>

And we have another unit to count TV series,
[クール](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB_\(%E6%94%BE%E9%80%81\)),
which roughly corresponds to 12-13 weeks (episodes), starting from April
(春クール, and so forth), July, October and January. It's either from German _Kur_
or French _cours_ , according to Wikipedia. Virtually all Japanese TV dramas
and anime are produced under this クール system, and in many cases 1クール exactly
corresponds to 1期/シリーズ.

It's unlikely that broadcasting companies officially use クール (it used to be
jargon only used by professionals). But now it's widely used among anime/drama
fans. For example, you can say:

>   * 「けいおん!」は2期に分けて、合計3クール製作された。(Indicates there are approx. 36-39 episodes.
> cf. [List of K-On! episodes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_K-
> On!_episodes))
>   * 第2クール
>   *
> [分割2クール](http://dic.nicovideo.jp/a/%E5%88%86%E5%89%B22%E3%82%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB)
> (24-26 episodes in total, but with a certain interval after broadcasting the
> first 12-13 episodes)
>
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answer