何歳
nansai
The English phrase "how old someone is" is expressed in Japanese as 何歳 (nansai).
何歳 refers to the number of years a person has lived.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
While 何歳 is a common way to ask for age, using おいくつ is a more polite and respectful way to inquire, particularly when speaking to superiors or elders. In casual settings, you may use the simplified 何歳？ or the very casual 歳は？
How does it change in a sentence?
To turn the phrase into a complete question such as "How old are you?", you add the polite copula ですか to the end of the phrase, resulting in 何歳ですか. When responding to questions about age, you can use the phrase もうすぐ◯◯になります to say "I'll soon be xx years old" or もうxxです to say "I'm already xx years old".
How do you pronounce it?
nansai
Did you know?
- Japanese uses a special word 数え年 (kazue-doshi) for traditional age. In this system, a person is one year old at birth and turns a year older every New Year's Day regardless of their birthday.
- In Japan, it is often considered impolite to ask 何歳 directly. People instead use indirect phrasing or wait for the other person to mention their age first to avoid causing discomfort.
- When counting age with 歳, the number 20 has a special reading hatachi instead of the standard nijū-sai. This unique pronunciation is a remnant of an ancient way of counting ages.
Examples in context
- 田中さん、おいくつですか？Tanaka-san, oikutsu desu ka?
- あなたは何歳？How old are you?
- 今度の誕生日で何歳になるの？How old will you be on your next birthday?
- お子さんは何歳ですか。Oko-san wa nan sai desu ka.How old is your child?
- 彼は何歳ですか。Kare wa nan sai desu ka.How old is he?
Example conversation
陽葵 and 健太 are talking about their new colleague.
- 陽葵 Himari新しい同僚は、何歳ですか。Atarashii douryou wa, nan sai desu ka.How old is the new colleague?
- 健太 Kenta二十五歳ですよ。Nijuu go sai desu yo.He is twenty-five years old.
- 陽葵 Himariそうなんですね。Sou nan desu ne.I see.
- 健太 Kentaとても若いですね。Totemo wakai desu ne.He is very young, isn't he?
