How to Say ‘How many people?’ in Japanese
何名様
nan mei sama
[nan may sah-mah]
💬 Usage Tip: For customers or guests, [名様] is the polite way to count people instead of plain [人]. So a restaurant asks [何名様] rather than [何人].
🇯🇵 In Japan: This is standard service language in Japan and sounds normal in restaurants, hotels, and clinics. You usually wouldn't use [名様] for your own group unless you're speaking very formally in a customer-service context.
Phrase Breakdown
何
nan
[nan]
how many; what
Used in questions about number or quantity; here it asks how many people.
何名様でご予約ですか。
For how many people is the reservation?
名
mei
[may]
counter for people
A counter used for counting people in formal contexts such as reservations.
三名で予約できますか。
Can I make a reservation for three people?
様
sama
[sah-mah]
honorific suffix
An honorific added to show respect to customers, as in 何名様.
お客様を何名様と丁寧に数えます。
You politely count customers using the honorific 'sama.'
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