Counting people · 〜人
Use this counter for people. The special forms ひとり and ふたり come from native Japanese counting. From three onward, use number + にん, remembering the special reading よにん for four.
- When to use it
- Saying how many people there are, how many are coming, or how many are needed.
- How many?
- 何人なんにん — how many people?
Rows in yellow are irregular forms that do not follow the counter’s usual pattern.
- 1一人ひとり
- 2二人ふたり
- 3三人さんにん
- 4四人よにんSay よにん, not よんにん
- 5五人ごにん
- 6六人ろくにん
- 7七人しちにんしちにん and ななにん are both used
- 8八人はちにん
- 9九人きゅうにん
- 10十人じゅうにん
- ?何人なんにんQuestion: how many people?
Examples
- 家族(かぞく)は四人(よにん)です。 — There are four people in my family.
- 学生(がくせい)は何人(なんにん)いますか。 — How many students are there?
- 友達(ともだち)と二人(ふたり)で行(い)きました。 — I went with a friend, just the two of us.