何歳
nansai
In Japanese, "how old" is expressed as 何歳 (nansai).
The phrase is used to ask about a person's age. In Japanese, the subject (the person whose age you are asking) is often omitted if it is clear from the context.
Which one should you use?
While 何歳 is the standard way to ask, おいくつ is a more polite and respectful way to ask someone's age than 何歳. In informal settings, you may see 何歳？ or 年齢は？, which translates to "Age?"
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
To make it polite, you should use おいくつですか, which uses the honorific prefix お to show politeness. Use 何歳？ or 年齢は？ for informal situations.
How does it change in a sentence?
To form a standard polite question, add ですか to 何歳 to create 何歳ですか, which means "how old are you / how old is [subject]".
How do you pronounce it?
nansai
Did you know?
- Traditionally, Japan used the kazoedoshi system where a baby was considered one year old at the moment of birth. This means a person's answer to 何歳 would be one year higher than their biological age.
- Asking 何歳 can be seen as intrusive because age dictates social hierarchy in Japan. People often wait for the other person to volunteer their age to avoid accidentally shifting the power dynamic of the conversation.
- In Japanese, you cannot use the adjective 古い (furui) for 'old' when asking a person's age. That word is strictly reserved for inanimate objects, such as an 'old' book or building.
Examples in context
- 私何歳に見える？How old do I look?This sentence shows how to use 何歳 to ask how old someone looks.Tatoeba #3587931 by tommy_san, translation #1487664 by marshmallowcat
- 何歳、あの少年？How old is that boy?This sentence uses 何歳 to ask the age of a boy.Tatoeba #9191626 by small_snow, translation #9190860 by CK
- トムは何歳ですか。How old is Tom?This sentence demonstrates how to ask Tom's age using 何歳 in a polite way.Tatoeba #4622541 by e4zh1nmcz, translation #2261908 by CK
- おいくつですか？How old are you?
- 年齢は？What's your age?
- 59 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Yota and Himari are talking about a new student.
- 陽太 Yota新しく来た人は、何歳だと思いますか？Atarashiku kita hito wa, nansai da to omoimasu ka?How old do you think the new person is?
- 陽葵 Himariうーん、二十歳くらいに見えますね。Uun, hatachi kurai ni miemasu ne.Hmm, they look about twenty years old.
- 陽太 Yotaやっぱり、何歳か聞いてみましょう。Yappari, nansai ka kiite mimashou.As I thought, let's ask how old they are.
- 陽葵 Himariそうですね。聞いてみましょう。Sou desu ne. Kiite mimashou.You're right. Let's ask.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
