九人(きゅうにん)

きゅうにん
noun
nine people
quantity
1. nine people
A count of nine people. Usually read きゅうにん today; the older reading くにん survives in set phrases and in some regional speech.
九人(きゅうにん)並(なら)んでいる。
Nine people are lined up.
野球(やきゅう)のチームは九人(きゅうにん)で守(まも)る。
A baseball team fields nine players.
十人(じゅうにん)のうち九人(きゅうにん)が賛成(さんせい)したので、提案(ていあん)はそのまま通(とお)った。
Nine out of ten agreed, so the proposal passed as it was.

九(きゅう) plus the counter 人(にん) for people.

Which reading

きゅうにん is the standard modern reading. くにん is older and now mostly limited to fixed expressions; when in doubt, say きゅうにん.

Common patterns

  • 九人(きゅうにん)で: as a group of nine
  • 十人(じゅうにん)のうち九人(きゅうにん): nine out of ten
  • 九人(きゅうにん)制(せい): nine-a-side (of a sport)

Related counts

Related Words

Related: 十人(じゅうにん)
Related: 何人(なんにん)
Related: 八人(はちにん) (eight people)
general
Added 2026.8.11 12:25 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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