How to Say ‘How many people are in your family?’ in Japanese
何人家族ですか？
nan nin kazoku desu ka
[nan neen kah-zoh-koo deh-soo kah]
🇯🇵 In Japan: This is a common, safe icebreaker in Japan. People usually answer simply with 〜人家族です and then name the members.
Phrase Breakdown
何
nan
[nan]
how many
何 asks how many when used with a counter like 枚.
何枚必要ですか。
How many do you need?
人
nin
[neen]
person; counter for people
A general counter for people; pronunciation changes depending on the number.
大人六人で入れますか。
Can six adults be seated?
家族
kazoku
[kah-zoh-koo]
family
Refers to your family members as a group.
空港で家族に会います。
I will meet my family at the airport.
です
desu
[deh-soo]
is; polite copula
です makes a sentence polite and neutral. With a place + は + noun, it states/asks what something is or where it is.
ここは地下鉄の駅です。
This is the subway station.
か
ka
[kah]
question particle
「か」で依頼を質問の形にします。語尾を上げると自然です。
手順を説明してもらえますか。
Could you explain the procedure?
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