German Phrase
Wie viele seid ihr?
Meaning
The sentence asks for the size of a group, literally ‘How many are you?’ It is used when you want to know the number of people you are speaking to, such as when arranging seats, tickets, or a meal.
When to use
Use this question when you meet a group and need to know how many people are in it – for example at a restaurant, when booking accommodation, or when organizing a team activity.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Wievieleseidihr?
Wie (question word)
‘Wie’ introduces a ‘how‑…’ question and is placed at the beginning of the sentence.
viele (countable adjective)
‘viele’ is used with countable nouns or pronouns to ask about a number; it stays in the nominative when it functions as a predicative.
seid (2nd person plural of sein)
The verb ‘sein’ must agree with the subject ‘ihr’; therefore the correct form is ‘seid’, not ‘sind’.
ihr (2nd person plural pronoun)
‘ihr’ is the subject of the sentence and follows the verb in this predicative construction.
Predicative adjective order
In questions like this the adjective phrase (Wie viele) comes before the verb, and the subject follows the verb.
🗨In Conversation
Wie viele seid ihr?
How many are you?
Wir sind vier.
We are four.
✕Common Mistakes
Wie viele sind ihr?
The verb must match the 2nd person plural subject ‘ihr’, so ‘seid’ is required.
Wie viel seid ihr?
‘viel’ is used for uncountable quantities; with people you need the countable form ‘viele’.
Wie viele ihr seid?
In this predicative construction the verb comes before the subject; ‘Wie viele ihr seid?’ is ungrammatical.
↔Alternatives
Wie viele Personen seid ihr?
How many people are you?
Wie groß ist eure Gruppe?
How big is your group?
Wie viele Leute seid ihr?
How many folks are you?
Cultural Tip
German speakers tend to ask directly for numbers, so ‘Wie viele seid ihr?’ is perfectly polite in most everyday situations. If you want to sound a bit more formal, you can use ‘Wie viele Personen sind Sie?’ when addressing strangers or customers. Remember that ‘viele’ is used for countable things; ‘viel’ would be wrong here because you are counting people.