Age and birth year
Conversation phrases, Stage 2chunk 2 of 71Getting to know you
Work out ages, which Japanese friends often check early.
- toshi ikutsu?how old are you?
- onaidoshi da!we're the same age!
- nannen umare?what year were you born?
- ketsuekigata wa?what's your blood type?
Mix-ups nannen umare (what year born) vs nannen (how many years).
toshi ikutsu?
polite oikutsu desu ka?
how old are you?
Asked among people of about the same age to work out who's older; with an older adult use oikutsu desu ka?, or don't ask.
Nansai? asks the same and is just as common among friends; ikutsu? alone works too.
toshi ikutsu? onaji gurai da yo ne?
How old are you? We're about the same, right?
年いくつ？同じぐらいだよね？
shitsurei desu kedo, oikutsu desu ka?
Sorry to ask, but how old are you?
失礼ですけど、おいくつですか？
Written 年いくつ？ · としいくつ？ · おいくつですか？Who you say it and hear itHeard 35× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
onaidoshi da!
polite onaidoshi desu ne
we're the same age!
Said happily on finding out you're the same age, which often means you can drop polite speech.
Next you'll often hear tamego de ii yo (let's drop the polite speech).
e, kyuujuuhachinen? onaidoshi da!
Wait, '98? We're the same age!
え、98年？同い年だ！
e, kyuujuuhachinen desu ka? onaidoshi desu ne.
Oh, '98? We're the same age.
え、98年ですか？同い年ですね。
Written 同い年だ！ · おないどしだ！ · 同い年ですねWho you say itHeard 47× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
nannen umare?
polite nannen umare desu ka?
what year were you born?
A softer way to ask someone's age; answer with the year (kyuujuuhachinen umare).
Japanese also count in era years (heisei juunen) and by zodiac animal.
nannen umare? watashi kyuujuuhachinen.
What year were you born? I'm '98.
何年生まれ？私98年。
nannen umare desu ka? watashi wa kyuujuuhachinen desu.
What year were you born? I was born in '98.
何年生まれですか？私は98年です。
Written 何年生まれ？ · なんねんうまれ？ · 何年生まれですか？Who you say it and hear itHeard 2× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
ketsuekigata wa?
polite ketsuekigata wa nan desu ka?
what's your blood type?
A classic small-talk question; many Japanese link blood type to personality, so expect comments on your answer.
Answer with the letter + gata (ee gata, bii gata, oo gata, eebii gata); not knowing is fine.
nee, ketsuekigata wa? ee gata desho?
Hey, what's your blood type? You're type A, right?
ねえ、血液型は？A型でしょ？
ketsuekigata wa nan desu ka? watashi wa oo gata desu.
What's your blood type? I'm type O.
血液型は何ですか？私はO型です。
Written 血液型は？ · けつえきがたは？ · 血液型は何ですか？Who said to youHeard 44× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles