How to Say ‘How many people?’ in Japanese
何名様ですか
nan mei sama desu ka
[nan mei sama desu ka]
💬 Usage Tip: [何名様] is the standard polite way to ask "how many people" in restaurants and hotels. You can answer with a plain headcount like [8人です], even though the staff used the more polite counter.
Phrase Breakdown
何名様
nan mei sama
Words in this phrase
何
nan
[nan]
how many
Asking about quantity or number.
何種類の果物がありますか。
How many kinds of fruits are there?
名
mei
[mei]
people
Refers to the number of people.
予約は五名様です。
The reservation is for five people.
様
sama
[sama]
honorific suffix
Added to names or titles to show respect.
お客様は神様です。
The customer is like a god.
ですか
desu ka
Words in this phrase
です
desu
[desu]
is/is it
Polite ending, indicating affirmation or a question.
それが必要ですか。
Is that necessary?
か
ka
[ka]
question
Used at the end of a sentence to represent a question.
先生、質問がありますか。
Teacher, do you have a question?
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