10歳
jussai
The phrase "ten years old" in Japanese is 10歳 (jussai).
This phrase is used to describe a person or animal that has lived for ten years. It utilizes the counter sai, which is the specific counter used when expressing age in years.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say "is ten years old" in a polite sentence, add です (desu) after the age to form 10歳です.
How do you pronounce it?
jussai
Did you know?
- Japanese has a unique way of talking about age called kazoedoshi, where a person is considered 1歳 at birth. Under this traditional system, a child's actual age and their kazoedoshi age differ by one year.
- The character 歳 used in 10歳 has a complex history and can be written with a simpler version, 才, which is much more common in daily handwriting and digital text.
- If you were to use the counter nen instead of sai, you would be talking about a duration of ten years rather than a person's age.
Examples in context
- 大地震があった時、私はまだ10歳でした。When the large earthquake happened, I was only ten years old.This sentence is useful for expressing that you were 10歳 during a specific past event.Tatoeba #11753194 by small_snow, translation #9670187 by ravensfeather
Example conversation
Misaki and Yota are talking about their younger siblings.
- 美咲 Misaki陽太くんの弟さんは今いくつですか？Yota-kun no otoutosan wa ima ikutsu desu ka?How old is your younger brother, Yota?
- 陽太 Yotaもう10歳になりましたよ。Mou jussai ni narimashita yo.He has already turned ten years old.
- 美咲 Misakiすごいですね。もう小学生ですね。Sugoi desu ne. Mou shougakusei desu ne.That's great. He is already an elementary school student.
- 陽太 Yotaはい、最近とてもおしゃべりです。Hai, saikin totemo oshaberi desu.Yes, he has been very talkative lately.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
