What does it mean word for word?
The part 何番 (nanban) literally means "what number".
Which one should you use?
While 電話番号は何番ですか？ is the standard question, using 電話番号は何？ is an informal way to ask "What's your phone number?" and 電話番号教えて。 is an informal way to say "Tell me your phone number."
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a formal way to ask the question, you can use 電話番号は何番ですか。 If you want to be polite when requesting the information, a common social or business approach is to use 電話番号を教えてください, which means "Please tell me your phone number". In very casual settings with friends, you might hear 電話番号、何番？, where the particles and the polite copula are dropped.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you replace 何番 (nanban) with 何 (nan), the question becomes "What is the phone number?" instead of "What number is the phone number?"
How do you pronounce it?
Denwabangou wa nanban desu ka?
What mistakes should you avoid?
In natural Japanese, "your" is usually omitted if the context makes it clear who is being asked.
When do people say it?
In Japan, it is common to exchange business cards instead of asking for phone numbers directly in formal situations.
Did you know?
- In Japan, asking for a phone number in a romantic context is often phrased as asking for a 'LINE' ID. Since LINE is the dominant messaging app, asking LINEやってる？ (Do you use LINE?) has largely replaced asking for digits.
- When reciting a phone number, Japanese speakers often insert the particle の (no) between groups of digits to act like a verbal hyphen.
- The word 電話 (denwa) is composed of the characters for 'electricity' and 'talk'. Literally, a telephone is an 'electric talk' device.
Examples in context
- すみませんが、電話番号は何番ですか？Sumimasen ga, denwa bangou wa nanban desu ka?Excuse me, but what is your phone number?
- 念のため、電話番号は何番ですか？Nen no tame, denwa bangou wa nanban desu ka?Just in case, what is your phone number?
- もしよろしければ、電話番号は何番ですか？Moshi yoroshikereba, denwa bangou wa nanban desu ka?If you don't mind, what is your phone number?
Example conversation
Yui is asking Hiroto for his contact information after a class.
- 結衣 Yui大翔さん、電話番号は何番ですか？Hiroto-san, denwa bangou wa nanban desu ka?Hiroto, what is your phone number?
- 大翔 Hiroto090-1234-5678です。Zero kyuu zero, ichi ni san yon, go roku nana hachi desu.It is 090-1234-5678.
- 結衣 Yuiありがとうございます。メモしておきますね。Arigatou gozaimasu. Memo shite okimasu ne.Thank you. I will make a note of it.
- 大翔 Hirotoはい、よろしくお願いします。Hai, yoroshiku onegaishimasu.Yes, please (contact me).
