What is 人 (にん/り)?
人 (にん/り) is the counter for people. It's one of the most essential counters in Japanese with special irregular readings for 1 and 2.
1人 = ひとり (not いちにん!)
2人 = ふたり (not ににん!)
3人 = さんにん
4人 = よにん
Complete People Counter Chart
| Number | Reading | Romaji | Kanji |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ひとり | hitori | 一人 |
| 2 | ふたり | futari | 二人 |
| 3 | さんにん | san-nin | 三人 |
| 4 | よにん | yo-nin | 四人 |
| 5 | ごにん | go-nin | 五人 |
| 6 | ろくにん | roku-nin | 六人 |
| 7 | しちにん/ななにん | shichi-nin/nana-nin | 七人 |
| 8 | はちにん | hachi-nin | 八人 |
| 9 | きゅうにん | kyuu-nin | 九人 |
| 10 | じゅうにん | juu-nin | 十人 |
Larger Numbers
11人 = じゅういちにん
20人 = にじゅうにん
100人 = ひゃくにん
1,000人 = せんにん
10,000人 = いちまんにん
Special Readings
ひとり (1 person)
The only reading for one person:
一人で行きます
"I'll go alone"
一人暮らし
"Living alone"
一人っ子
"Only child"
ふたり (2 people)
The only reading for two people:
二人で食べました
"We ate together (two people)"
二人とも
"Both people"
二人きり
"Just the two of us"
Why the Irregularity?
ひとり and ふたり come from native Japanese, while 3+ use Sino-Japanese numbers. This is a historical remnant.
Common Patterns
〜人 + で (together/with)
一人で
"Alone/by oneself"
二人で
"Together (two people)"
三人で行きました
"We went (three people together)"
家族5人で住んでいます
"We live as a family of 5"
〜人 + が/は (subject marker)
3人が来ました
"3 people came"
学生が10人います
"There are 10 students"
友達が2人います
"I have 2 friends"
〜人 + を (object marker)
友達を5人招待しました
"I invited 5 friends"
3人を選びました
"I selected 3 people"
〜人 + の (possessive)
3人の学生
"3 students"
二人の子供
"2 children"
5人の友達
"5 friends"
Asking "How Many People?"
何人 (なんにん)
何人いますか？
"How many people are there?"
何人来ますか？
"How many people are coming?"
何人必要ですか？
"How many people are needed?"
何人参加しますか？
"How many people will participate?"
何名 (なんめい) - Polite
In formal situations:
何名様ですか？
"How many people?" (polite, at restaurants)
ご予約は何名様ですか？
"How many people for the reservation?"
Common Situations
Restaurants
A: 何名様ですか？
"How many people?"
B: 4人です
"4 people"
A: こちらへどうぞ
"This way, please"
Making Plans
A: パーティーに何人来ますか？
"How many people are coming to the party?"
B: 10人ぐらい来ます
"About 10 people are coming"
A: じゃあ、食べ物をたくさん用意しないと
"Then we need to prepare a lot of food"
Family
A: ご家族は何人ですか？
"How many people are in your family?"
B: 4人家族です
"We're a family of 4"
A: お子さんは？
"Children?"
B: 二人います
"I have 2"
Work/School
A: チームは何人ですか？
"How many people are on the team?"
B: 6人です
"6 people"
A: それじゃ、ちょうどいいですね
"That's just right then"
Special Expressions
〜人目 (ordinal)
"The Nth person":
一人目 (ひとりめ) - the first person
二人目 (ふたりめ) - the second person
三人目 (さんにんめ) - the third person
彼は3人目の子供です
"He's the third child"
〜人ずつ (each/apiece)
一人ずつ入ってください
"Please enter one person at a time"
二人ずつグループを作ってください
"Please make groups of 2"
3人ずつ分かれましょう
"Let's divide into groups of 3"
〜人とも (all/both)
二人とも来ました
"Both people came"
3人とも学生です
"All 3 are students"
5人とも合格しました
"All 5 passed"
〜人きり (just/only)
二人きりで話したい
"I want to talk with just the two of us"
一人きりにしないで
"Don't leave me alone"
〜人前 (serving/portion)
For food servings:
3人前ください
"3 servings, please"
一人前の料理
"One serving of food"
Formal Alternatives
名 (めい) - Polite Counter
Used in business/formal settings:
参加者は50名です
"There are 50 participants"
出席者は何名ですか？
"How many attendees are there?"
5名様でご予約いただいております
"We have a reservation for 5 people"
方 (かた) - Honorific
Very polite, for guests/customers:
お二方
"Two people" (honorific)
何方様ですか？
"How many people?" (very polite)
Common Phrases
Living Situations
一人暮らし
"Living alone"
二人暮らし
"Living together (as a couple/two people)"
家族4人で暮らしています
"We live as a family of 4"
Being Alone
一人で大丈夫です
"I'm fine alone"
一人でできます
"I can do it by myself"
一人じゃない
"You're not alone"
Group Activities
二人で映画を見た
"We watched a movie (two of us)"
友達3人で遊びに行った
"I went out with 3 friends"
クラス全員30人で写真を撮った
"All 30 classmates took a photo"
Number + 人 + Position in Sentence
Beginning (Emphasis)
5人が参加しました
"5 people participated"
3人が合格した
"3 people passed"
Middle (Natural)
今日は友達が2人来ます
"2 friends are coming today"
パーティーに10人招待した
"I invited 10 people to the party"
End (Count/Total)
A: 何人いますか？
"How many people are there?"
B: 全部で15人です
"15 people in total"
Combining with Other Counters
Age + People
20歳の学生が3人います
"There are 3 twenty-year-old students"
子供が二人いて、5歳と3歳です
"I have 2 children, 5 and 3 years old"
Time + People
3時間、5人で働きました
"5 people worked for 3 hours"
一人30分ずつ話しました
"Each person spoke for 30 minutes"
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Using いちにん for 1 person
Wrong: いちにん ❌
Right: ひとり ✓
"1 person"
Mistake 2: Using ににん for 2 people
Wrong: ににん ❌
Right: ふたり ✓
"2 people"
Mistake 3: Wrong reading for 何人
Wrong: なにじん (this means "what nationality") ❌
Right: なんにん (how many people) ✓
"How many people?"
Mistake 4: Forgetting the counter
Wrong: 友達が3来ました ❌
Right: 友達が3人来ました ✓
"3 friends came"
Mistake 5: Using 人 for animals
Wrong: 犬が2人います ❌
Right: 犬が2匹います ✓
"There are 2 dogs"
Nationality vs Number of People
何人 (なにじん) - "What nationality?"
あなたは何人ですか？
(なにじん)
"What nationality are you?"
私はアメリカ人です
"I'm American"
何人 (なんにん) - "How many people?"
何人いますか？
(なんにん)
"How many people are there?"
5人います
"There are 5 people"
Context usually makes it clear which is meant!
Casual vs Formal
Casual
何人？
"How many people?"
二人で行く
"Going with 2 people"
友達3人
"3 friends"
Polite
何人いらっしゃいますか？
"How many people are there?" (honorific)
お二人でいらっしゃいますか？
"Are you two coming?"
Formal/Business
何名様でしょうか？
"How many people?" (very polite)
参加者は50名でございます
"There are 50 participants"
Common Conversations
Example 1: Restaurant Reservation
A: ご予約のお電話ありがとうございます
"Thank you for calling for a reservation"
B: 明日の7時、4人で予約したいです
"I'd like to make a reservation for 4 people at 7pm tomorrow"
A: 4名様ですね。お名前をお願いします
"4 people. Your name, please?"
Example 2: Group Project
A: このプロジェクトは何人でやりますか？
"How many people will work on this project?"
B: 5人のチームです
"It's a team of 5"
A: じゃあ、一人ずつ役割を決めましょう
"Then let's decide roles one person at a time"
Example 3: Party Planning
A: 誕生日パーティーに何人呼ぶ？
"How many people will you invite to the birthday party?"
B: 友達を10人ぐらい
"About 10 friends"
A: 家族も入れたら全部で何人？
"Including family, how many in total?"
B: 全部で15人ぐらいかな
"About 15 in total"
Example 4: Travel
A: 旅行は何人で行きますか？
"How many people are going on the trip?"
B: 友達と二人で行きます
"I'm going with a friend (2 people)"
A: いいですね！楽しんでください
"That's nice! Have fun!"
Special Vocabulary
Family Members
一人っ子 (ひとりっこ)
"Only child"
二人兄弟 (ふたりきょうだい)
"Two siblings"
三人家族 (さんにんかぞく)
"Family of 3"
4人兄弟 (よにんきょうだい)
"Four siblings"
Group Terms
一人一人 (ひとりひとり)
"Each and every person"
二人三脚 (ににんさんきゃく)
"Three-legged race" (idiom: working together)
十人十色 (じゅうにんといろ)
"To each their own" (lit: 10 people, 10 colors)
Practice Sentences
Basic
友達が3人来ました
"3 friends came"
クラスに学生が20人います
"There are 20 students in the class"
一人で住んでいます
"I live alone"
Intermediate
パーティーに何人招待しましたか？
"How many people did you invite to the party?"
二人で映画を見に行きませんか？
"Shall we go see a movie together?"
チームは5人です
"The team has 5 people"
Advanced
この会議には何名出席されますか？
"How many people will attend this meeting?"
参加者が100人を超えました
"The number of participants exceeded 100"
一人一人の意見を聞きたいと思います
"I'd like to hear each person's opinion"
Related Grammar Points
- Counter System Basics - How counters work
- Number System Overview - Japanese numbers
- 何 (nani/nan) - What/how many
- 家族 (kazoku) - Family terms
- で particle - Together/by means of
- Quantity expressions - Expressing amounts
- Polite expressions - Formal language