Counter For Tatami Mats
Tatami Mat Counter
counter
The 〜 shows the number of tatami mats, and the 畳 part is "tatami" of course. So, this is a counter for tatami mats. It is generally used to show how big an apartment or something is. Oh, your apartment is 12 tatami mats? Nice and big!
The reading is the same as the one you learned with the kanji.
10.5畳で毎月のお家賃が一万円のこの部屋は、早い者勝ちの物件です。
This ten and a half mat room for just 10,000 yen a month is a first come, first served deal.
四畳半の部屋は、その頃のふたりの愛にはちょうどいい広さだった。
The four-and-a-half-tatami room was just the right size for their love back then.
畳の部屋でなくても、「六畳一間」と言えば大体の広さが伝わります。
Even if there's no tatami, if you say "rokujō hitoma," it still conveys an idea of the room's size.
畳には「江戸間」「京間」「団地間」などのサイズがあり、同じ6畳でも広さがちがいます。これを知らないと、「6畳なのにせまい」「6畳のカーペットが合わない」などのトラブルが起こることがあります。
Tatami mats come in different sizes such as "Edo-ma," "Kyo-ma," and "Danchi-ma," so even a 6-tatami room can vary in actual size.
If you're not aware of this, you might run into problems like thinking "It's 6 tatami, but it feels small" or "The 6-tatami carpet doesn't fit."