人前 counts servings of food, roughly the amount intended for a person.

The idea

Put a number before 人前: 一人前 is いちにんまえ, 二人前 is ににんまえ and 三人前 is さんにんまえ. Four is よにんまえ. Ask 何人前（なんにんまえ）. The quantity can follow the food, as in 寿司を一人前注文しました, or precede it with の.

Patterns to compare
FormReading
一人前いちにんまえ
二人前ににんまえ
三人前さんにんまえ
四人前よにんまえ
五人前ごにんまえ
何人前なんにんまえ

Examples

  • 寿司すしを一人前いちにんまえ注文ちゅうもんしました。I ordered one serving of sushi.
  • ラーメンを二人前ににんまえください。Two servings of ramen, please.
  • このカレーは三人前さんにんまえです。This curry serves three.
  • 餃子ぎょうざを四人前よにんまえ作つくります。I will make four servings of gyoza.
  • 五人前ごにんまえのそばを持もち帰かえります。I will take five servings of soba home.
  • 何人前なんにんまえ必要ひつようですか。How many servings do you need?

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

A serving is an amount of food, not necessarily the number of people eating it. 一人前 uses いちにん, not the independent word 一人（ひとり）.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading in hiragana: 一人前

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    いちにんまえ

    一人前 is いちにんまえ: here 一人 is read いちにん.

  2. Write the reading in hiragana: 四人前

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    よにんまえ

    四人前 is よにんまえ: four uses よ before にん.

  3. Write the reading in hiragana: 何人前

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    なんにんまえ

    何人前 is なんにんまえ, the question for a number of servings.

Use it today

Imagine ordering a meal for several people. Say how many servings you want, then ask how many are needed.