How to Say ‘How many people?’ in Japanese
何名様でしょうか
nan mei sama deshou ka
[nan mei sama deshou ka]
💬 Usage Tip: This phrase uses the very polite customer-service pattern noun + でしょうか to ask gently. The key reusable chunk is 何名様 for "how many people" in reservations and check-ins.
Phrase Breakdown
何名様
nan mei sama
Words in this phrase
何
nan
[nan]
how many
A question word for inquiring about quantity.
何人でしたか？
How many people were there?
名
mei
[mei]
people
Counter for counting people.
二名だけです。
Only two people.
様
sama
[sama]
honorific title
Honorific title used for addresses.
お客様に感謝します。
I am grateful to the customers.
でしょうか
deshou ka
Words in this phrase
でしょう
deshou
[deshou]
will be
Polite phrase for making suggestions or assumptions.
彼が来るでしょう。
He will probably come.
か
ka
[ka]
question particle
Turns sentence into a question.
もう一度行きますか？
Shall we go again?
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