What does it mean word for word?
The word 二十歳 (hatachi) is a special reading for the kanji combination that means 'twenty years old'.
Which one should you use?
While hatachi is the unique way to say twenty, you would generally use the counter sai for other ages.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form 二十歳です is the standard polite way to state your age in most social situations. To make the statement informal, suitable for friends or family, you can replace desu with da to say 二十歳だ. When choosing how to refer to yourself as 'I' within a sentence, you might use watakushi for very formal or professional settings, boku for a casual tone often used by young boys or tomboys or ore as a casual way mostly used by males.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Kansai dialect, the particle ya is used instead of da to indicate the copula.
How do you pronounce it?
hatachi desu
Did you know?
- While hatachi remains the traditional term, the legal age of adulthood in Japan was lowered from twenty to eighteen in 2022. This creates a distinction between the legal adult age and the traditional cultural milestone of twenty.
- The age of twenty is historically linked to the seijin-shiki or 'Coming of Age' ceremony. In this rite of passage, young people dress in traditional kimonos to celebrate their transition into adulthood.
- In very formal writing, the kanji 二十歳 may be written but read as nijū-sai instead of hatachi. This occurs when the writer wants to emphasize the number over the cultural status of the age.
Example conversation
Two students are talking about their age during a break.
- 陽葵 Himari蓮さんは何歳ですか？Ren-san wa nansai desu ka?How old are you, Ren?
- 蓮 Ren二十歳です。Hatachi desu.I am twenty years old.
- 陽葵 Himariそうですか。私は二十歳です。Sō desu ka. Watashi wa hatachi desu.I see. I am twenty years old.
- 蓮 Ren陽葵さんも二十歳なんですね。Himari-san mo hatachi nan desu ne.So you are twenty too, Himari.
