Counter for chopsticks


Just curious about this one. I'm never sure what to say when I ask for
chopsticks in Japanese. I know that "by-the-book", you can count them with
～そろい （揃い) or ～ぜん （膳）. So I always say 「お箸を 一揃い（ひとそろい）／一膳（いちぜん） お願いします。」 to ask
for a pair. But as with other things I say in Japanese, I'm afraid that this
sounds too "textbookish".

So I'm just wondering how native speakers ask for chopsticks (if they ever
need to). Do they use these counters, or the basic ひとつ／ふたつ／．．． counters, or
something completely different? I hate sounding too textbookish.




In a restaurant it is usually enough to simply ask for お箸を下さい. It is perfectly
understood that that means _"enough chopsticks for me [and my companions],
please"_. Anything more specific is usually unnatural.

If you do need to specify how many pairs of chopsticks exactly, you'd usually
use 〜膳 _-zen_.




In a restaurant it is usually enough to simply ask for お箸を下さい. It is perfectly
understood that that means _"enough chopsticks for me [and my companions],
please"_. Anything more specific is usually unnatural.

If you do need to specify how many pairs of chopsticks exactly, you'd usually
use 〜膳 _-zen_.

