Japanese Language Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Japanese language. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
Beginner here. When would you use the counter word 名 over 人?
I read online that 名 is used for formal situations, and literally every website gave counting customers as the example (as in, asking how many people are in your party at a restaurant). Is 名 used to count people in all formal situations, or does its use not extend beyond customers?
(I'm asking Korean has the equivalent counter word 분, except it is used for any formal situation, like in counting teachers, bosses, grandparents, etc.)
名 can be used in any formal or stiff situations. For example you can count the number of participants of a formal ceremony, the number of fatalities in an airplane accident, etc. 名 is the preferred counter in places like Wikipedia, although 人 is also commonly used.
I think beginner materials mainly take 何名様ですか as an example because it's the most typical chance where travelers can hear 名 in everyday conversations.
