How to Say ‘How many people?’ in Japanese
何名様ですか。
nan mei sama desu ka
[nahn may sah-mah dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: [名] is a polite counter for people, and [何名様] is the standard way staff ask group size. In fast speech, [何名様] is often said smoothly as (nan-mei-sama), with [様] adding politeness.
Phrase Breakdown
何
nan
[nahn]
how many; what number
Used to ask quantity or number.
何名様ですかと聞かれました。
I was asked, 'How many people are in your party?'
名
mei
[may]
counter for people
A counter used for number of people in formal contexts.
三名で予約しました。
I reserved for three people.
様
sama
[sah-mah]
honorific suffix
A respectful suffix added for customers or guests.
お客様一名様です。
There is one guest.
です
desu
[dess]
is; am; are
A polite copula used to make statements polite.
八名様です。
There are eight people.
か
ka
[kah]
question marker
A particle placed at the end to make a question.
何名様ですか。
How many people are in your party?
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