_n( string $single, string $plural, int $number, string $domain = 'default' ): string

Description

printf( _n( '%s person', '%s people', $count, 'text-domain' ), number_format_i18n( $count ) );

Compatibility

Present in every tracked release (6.7.7 to 7.1.0), and compiles on PHP 7.4 through 8.6-dev.

Parameters

$singlestring

The text to be used if the number is singular.

$pluralstring

The text to be used if the number is plural.

$numberint

The number to compare against to use either the singular or plural form.

$domainstringoptional

Text domain. Unique identifier for retrieving translated strings.
Default 'default'.Default: 'default'

Return value

string

The translated singular or plural form.

Code examples

Every example is editable and runs in a real WordPress booted in your browser by WordPress Playground. Press Run, then edit the code: clicking away re-runs it. Nothing is sent anywhere until you do.

$posts = get_posts( array( 'post_type' => 'post', 'numberposts' => -1 ) );
$count = count( $posts );

$label = sprintf(
	_n( '%s post found', '%s posts found', $count, 'text-domain' ),
	number_format_i18n( $count )
);

echo esc_html( $label );

$priced_posts = get_posts( array(
	'post_type'  => 'post',
	'meta_key'   => 'price',
	'numberposts' => -1,
) );
$count = count( $priced_posts );

printf(
	esc_html( _n( '%s post has a price set.', '%s posts have a price set.', $count, 'text-domain' ) ),
	number_format_i18n( $count )
);

Common problems and fixes · 3

• Why does _n() return the plural form for a count of 0?
• Why doesn't the number show up in the string _n() returns?
• Why does my custom text domain's plural form never get filtered?

Alternatives and related functions

_n_noop

When the singular and plural strings need to be registered for translation before the actual number is known, such as inside a static array evaluated later with translate_nooped_plural().

_nx

When the same singular or plural word needs different translations depending on grammatical context, requiring an extra context string alongside $single and $plural.

__

When there is only one string to translate and no singular or plural variation to choose between.

number_format_i18n

When the numeric value returned by _n() as a placeholder needs locale-aware formatting before it is inserted into the translated string.

Performance profile

How much work a call to _n() does, and what it touches: the algorithmic scaling, the Zend instruction count per call across PHP versions, the hooks it hands control to, and the core code that calls it. Measured from the compiled opcodes, not a stopwatch, so every number is identical on any machine running the same PHP version, and every function in core is ranked by cost.

Cost class

Trivial

Touches nothing outside its own arguments.

Scaling

Constant

No loop in the body: the same number of instructions runs whatever you pass in.

Instructions

34

Executed per call on PHP 8.5. The body compiles to 34.

Plugin surface

2 hooks

Third-party callbacks on 'ngettext', 'ngettext_{$domain}' run inside this call, and their cost is not bounded by anything here.

Called by

45

45 places in core call this, so the cost is paid more often than your own code shows.

What it touches

• hookthird-party callbacksapply_filters()called directly

Further down the call graph this can also reach query, option, cache, serialize and transient. Those are the worst case, several calls deep and usually down an error path, not what a normal call pays.

What one call costs · 1 distinct outcome

One number would be a lie: the work depends on which branch runs. These are every distinct cost _n() can have, taken from its control-flow graph on PHP 8.5.

Hooks and filters fired · 2

2 hooks fire while _n() runs, in this order:

1. 1
   apply_filters( ngettext )filterline 497 (+15 into the body)

   Filters the singular or plural form of a string.

2. 2
   apply_filters( ngettext_{$domain} )filterline 512 (+30 into the body)

   Filters the singular or plural form of a string for a domain.

Uses · 2

• get_translations_for_domain()Returns the Translations instance for a text domain.
• apply_filters()Calls the callback functions that have been added to a filter hook.

Used by · 45

• Twenty_Fourteen_Ephemera_Widget::widget()Output the HTML for this widget.
• WP_Customize_Manager::save_changeset_post()Saves the post for the loaded changeset.
• WP_Customize_Nav_Menus::customize_register()Adds the customizer settings and controls.
• WP_Customize_Nav_Menus::enqueue_scripts()Enqueues scripts and styles for Customizer pane.
• WP_Customize_Widgets::enqueue_scripts()Enqueues scripts and styles for Customizer panel and export data to JavaScript.
• WP_List_Table::ajax_response()Handles an incoming ajax request (called from admin-ajax.php)
• WP_List_Table::comments_bubble()Displays a comment count bubble.
• WP_List_Table::pagination()Displays the pagination.
• WP_MS_Themes_List_Table::get_views()
• WP_MS_Users_List_Table::get_views()
• WP_Plugins_List_Table::get_views()
• WP_Privacy_Requests_Table::process_bulk_action()Process bulk actions.

Source code

View on Trac ↗View on GitHub ↗

482function _n( $single, $plural, $number, $domain = 'default' ) {483	$translations = get_translations_for_domain( $domain );484	$translation  = $translations->translate_plural( $single, $plural, $number );485 486	/**487	 * Filters the singular or plural form of a string.488	 *489	 * @since 2.2.0490	 *491	 * @param string $translation Translated text.492	 * @param string $single      The text to be used if the number is singular.493	 * @param string $plural      The text to be used if the number is plural.494	 * @param int    $number      The number to compare against to use either the singular or plural form.495	 * @param string $domain      Text domain. Unique identifier for retrieving translated strings.496	 */497	$translation = apply_filters( 'ngettext', $translation, $single, $plural, $number, $domain );498 499	/**500	 * Filters the singular or plural form of a string for a domain.501	 *502	 * The dynamic portion of the hook name, `$domain`, refers to the text domain.503	 *504	 * @since 5.5.0505	 *506	 * @param string $translation Translated text.507	 * @param string $single      The text to be used if the number is singular.508	 * @param string $plural      The text to be used if the number is plural.509	 * @param int    $number      The number to compare against to use either the singular or plural form.510	 * @param string $domain      Text domain. Unique identifier for retrieving translated strings.511	 */512	$translation = apply_filters( "ngettext_{$domain}", $translation, $single, $plural, $number, $domain );513 514	return $translation;515}

Changelog

Introduced in 5.5.0. Unchanged from 6.7.7 through 7.1.0.

1. 6.7.7
2. 6.8.8
3. 6.9.7
4. 7.0.4
5. 7.1.0

Signature, return type and hooks compared across 5 parsed releases.

About this page

Parsed data

Generated from the wordpress-develop 6.7.7 tag, from src/wp-includes/l10n.php, and regenerated for each WordPress release so it tracks the code rather than a snapshot of it.

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