How to Say "Twenty" in Japanese

二十

nijū[ɲ̟iʑɨː]

The Japanese word for twenty is 二十 (nijū).

二十 is used as a cardinal number to denote the quantity of twenty.

Meaning: cardinal number (num)

What does it mean word for word?

The word is composed of the characters for 'two' (二) and 'ten' (十), literally meaning 'two ten'.

nijū

The ancient Japanese association of 二十 with the 'limit' comes from the fact that it is the maximum number one can count using all ten fingers and ten toes.
In Japanese culture, reaching the age of 二十 is a critical milestone. It is celebrated with a national holiday called Coming-of-Age Day to mark the formal transition to adulthood.
In the Ainu language, the indigenous language of northern Japan, the word for twenty is ホッ’, which is entirely different from the Japanese 二十.

彼は一日二十ドル稼ぐ。
He earns twenty dollars a day.
This sentence is useful for seeing how 二十 is used with currency.
Tatoeba #109877 by bunbuku, translation #293813 by CK
一日は二十四時間ある。
A day has twenty-four hours.
This sentence shows the use of 二十 within a larger number.
Tatoeba #190268 by bunbuku, translation #27426 by CM
二十人もの学生が欠席した。
As many as twenty students were absent.
This sentence demonstrates using 二十 to count people.
Tatoeba #123134 by arnab, translation #280866 by CM
15 more sentences on Tatoeba

Yota and Yui are talking about their ages.

陽太 Yota

結衣さんは、いま何歳ですか。
Yui-san wa, ima nansai desu ka.
Yui, how old are you now?
結衣 Yui

私は二十歳です。
Watashi wa hatachi desu.
I am twenty years old.
陽太 Yota

そうですか。僕も二十歳です。
Sou desu ka. Boku mo hatachi desu.
I see. I am twenty too.
結衣 Yui

本当ですか。同い年ですね。
Hontou desu ka. Onaidoshi desu ne.
Really? We are the same age.

Sources

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