Learn how to ask someone's age and to say yours
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| Introduction |
| John: Talking About Your Age. In this lesson, you'll learn how to ask someone’s age and say yours in Japanese. |
| Body |
| John: Here's the formal way to ask "How old are you?" in Japanese. |
| Risa: [Normal] 何歳ですか。(Nan-sai desu ka.) |
| John: First is a word meaning "how old." |
| Risa: [Normal] 何歳 [Slow] 何歳 (nan-sai) |
| John: Next is the word meaning "are." |
| Risa: [Normal] です [Slow] です(desu) |
| John: Last is the question particle. |
| Risa: [Normal] か [Slow] か(ka) |
| John: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the formal question meaning "How old are you?" |
| Risa: [Slow] 何歳ですか。 [Normal] 何歳ですか。 |
| John: Now, imagine you’re speaking to your friend. Here's an informal way to ask, "How old are you?" |
| Risa: [Normal] 何歳? (Nan-sai?) |
| John: This expression has only one phrase meaning “how old.” |
| Risa: [Normal] 何歳 [Slow] 何歳 (nan-sai) |
| John: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the informal question meaning "How old are you?" |
| Risa: [Slow] 何歳? [Normal] 何歳? |
| John: Here's a response meaning "I am 17." |
| Risa: [Normal] 17歳です。(Jū nana-sai desu.) |
| John: First is a word meaning "seventeen." |
| Risa: [Normal] 17（じゅうなな） [Slow] 17（じゅ・う・な・な）(jū nana) |
| John: Next is the word meaning "years old." |
| Risa: [Normal] 歳 [Slow] 歳(sai) |
| John: Last is the word meaning "am." |
| Risa: [Normal] です [Slow] です(desu) |
| John: Listen again to the response, "I am 17." |
| Risa: [Slow] 17歳です。 [Normal] 17歳です。 |
| John: Here's a response meaning "It's a secret." |
| Risa: [Normal]秘密です。( Himitsu desu.) |
| John: First is a word meaning "secret." |
| Risa: [Normal] 秘密 [Slow] 秘密 (himitsu) |
| John: Next is the word meaning "is." |
| Risa: [Normal] です [Slow] です (desu) |
| John: You can use this sentence when you don't want to disclose your age! Listen again to the response - "It's a secret." |
| Risa: [Slow] 秘密です。 [Normal] 秘密です。 |
| Cultural Insight |
| John: Now, it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Risa: In Japan, sometimes it's important to know the age of your friends or co-workers. Usually, you should talk in a formal way when speaking to your seniors and superiors. However, be sure not to ask about age at first, especially to women! |
Outro |
|---|
| John: And that's all for this lesson. Don't forget to check out the lesson notes, and we'll see you in the next lesson! |
| Risa: またね！(mata ne!) |
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