A typical human body cell contains 23 chromosome pairs, for a total of 46 chromosomes.
Twenty-two pairs are autosomes, numbered 1 through 22. The remaining pair consists of the sex chromosomes: usually XX in females and XY in males. Each pair contains one chromosome inherited from the mother and one from the father.
This count describes diploid somatic cells, such as skin or muscle cells. Human egg and sperm cells are haploid, meaning they normally contain 23 individual chromosomes—one from each pair—so fertilization restores the usual total of 46.
The number 23 refers to chromosome pairs, while 46 refers to individual chromosomes; these figures are therefore not competing answers. Chromosome abnormalities can alter the count, as in trisomy 21, in which cells typically have three copies of chromosome 21 and 47 chromosomes overall.