当(あ)たりPer~, A~, Apiece, Each

Structure

Number + Counter + 当(あ)たり

Details

About 当たり

When attached to the end of numbers or counters, the noun 当(あ)たり 'to hit' will be used as a suffix. In these cases, the meaning is usually translated as 'per (A)', or 'each (A)'. Let's take a look at some examples.

Fun Fact

While the literal meaning of 当(あ)たり is 'to meet' (as in 'to come into physical contact with'), as a suffix, 当(あ)たり has a nuance that is similar to に対(たい)して 'to be in relation to'. This similarity can be seen in the following:

(A) 当(あ)たり (B) - Regarding (A), (B) equates to it.

(A) に対(たい)して (B) - Regarding (A), (B) equates to it.

Examples

--:--

これは１個(いっこ)当(あ)たり５０(ごじゅっ)キロカロリーあります。

These have 50 kilocalories apiece.

このコーヒーは一缶(ひとかん)当(あ)たり￥１３０(ひゃくさんじゅう)（税込(ぜいこみ)）。

This coffee is 130￥per can (tax included).

一個(いっこ)当(あ)たりの代金(だいきん)は千(せん)円(えん)です。

The price is 1000 yen per item.

一人(ひとり)当(あ)たり三(さん)個(こ)ずつパンを配(くば)ります。

I will hand out three pastries per person.

１日(いちにち)当(あ)たり１０００(せん)円(えん)の手当(てあ)てが出(で)ます。

1000 yen will be provided per day.

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Online
- Usage of あたり
  Japanese Stack Exchange

Offline
- [AIAIJ] An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese
  Page 39
- Tobira
  Page 118
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当たり – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

mrnoone

English translation:
per~・a~

Structure:
Number + Counter + 当たり

View on Bunpro
rextruong
Hi there, I’m going through this grammar and 「ずつ」and they have somewhat similar grammatical structure of

number + counter + ずつ

How can one distinguish which one to use when both can refer to “per”?
rextruong
Hi there, just wondering if anyone can help me out with my previous post here. Thanks.
matt_in_mito
Just asked someone in the office.
Apparently ずつ is used regularly when distributing things. So you can say １人ずつ一枚 and 当たり is used for fractions like 街の人口１万人当たり一人が外国人.
Johnathan-Weir
Look at all of Bunpro’s examples and some more online it seems like 当たり is only attached to a unit of 1. 一日、一人、一個、1リットル、など

Is this actually the case? If so it would be good to make a note of that to help distinguish it from ずつ.
nekoyama
The previous comment in this thread seems to have an example with 1万人当たり.

Here’s another example from the wikipedia article on 公営田 (public rice fields):

5人当たり1町の耕作が割り当てられた
For each five [farmers], 1 chou was assigned for cultivation.

Another from the article on 自転車:

保有台数は8655万台で、人口1.5人当たり1台にのぼる
There are 86.55 million [bicycles], one per 1.5 people.
Johnathan-Weir
Ahh, I don’t know how I missed that. Thanks.