どこに行きますか？場所と言葉を楽しく学ぼう

How do you count people in Japanese?

Counting people in Japanese starts with two words you simply memorize: 一人 (hitori) for one person and 二人 (futari) for two. After those, most counts use 〜人 (-nin) — but watch the readings: 三人 (sannin), 四人 (yonin), 五人 (gonin). So 一人 and 二人 are the odd ones out, and they’re the ones you’ll say most, since they also mean “alone” and “a couple / the two of us.”

Those readings hide a trap worth calling out: 四人 is yonin, not shinin — which would sound like 死人 (“a dead person”), so Japanese steers around it. In the clip you hear the whole ladder — 一人、二人、三人、四人、五人 — as people are counted on screen. Lock in hitori and futari first, then use 〜人 for the rest, just minding those readings.