Japanese: 一ぽん......?

Question

From いっすんぼうし:

かたなのかわりにぬいばりを一ぽんもらうと、

I can't find the meaning of 一ぽん anywhere...is it some sort of counter?

Apart from the meaning, I don't know its pronunciation either...ichipon? ippon?

Any help?

Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

pretty sure pon is the way hon is sometimes pronounced (sorry about the romaji, this computer wont let me type in kana)

Answer 2

Well, 一ぽん is not how you write it. It's 一番 (ichiban) and it means "first" or "number one" (in every sense). 一ぽん would be read as "ichipon" and is not a word (from what I can find).

Now, ぽん (pon) means "pop" or "plop." It's possible you could be combining kanji/kana that aren't meant to be combined.

Answer 3

This is a common counter. It is used to count trees, for example. The base pronunciation is hon. The initial sound changes depending on the preceding sound. For example, let us count 1, 2, 3 (ichi, ni, san).

ippon, nihon, sambon.