The phrase "three times the sum of a number and 4" can be expressed mathematically as follows:
Let's denote the unknown number as \( x \).
The sum of the number and 4 can be written as \( x + 4 \).
Now, three times this sum is represented as:
\[ 3(x + 4) \]
So, the expression that represents the phrase is:
\[ 3(x + 4) \]