Counters › 歳
歳 (sai) — counting age in years
How old someone is. Often written 才 in casual writing because it is easier to write — the reading is identical.
How to count with 歳, 1 to 10
| # | Reading | Romaji | Written |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | いっさい | issai | 1歳 |
| 2 | にさい | nisai | 2歳 |
| 3 | さんさい | sansai | 3歳 |
| 4 | よんさい | yonsai | 4歳 |
| 5 | ごさい | gosai | 5歳 |
| 6 | ろくさい | rokusai | 6歳 |
| 7 | ななさい | nanasai | 7歳 |
| 8 | はっさい | hassai | 8歳 |
| 9 | きゅうさい | kyuusai | 9歳 |
| 10 | じゅっさい | jussai | 10歳 |
🔊 Tap any reading to hear it spoken.
Watch out
二十歳 is read はたち, an irregular you simply memorise. Otherwise it follows the plain さ行 pattern: いっさい, はっさい, じゅっさい.
In a sentence
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 娘は八歳です | むすめははっさいです musumehahassaidesu | My daughter is eight. |
| 二十歳になりました | はたちになりました hatachininarimashita | I turned twenty. |
The kanji
Other counters
- つ (tsu) — the all-purpose counter
- 人 (nin) — people
- 本 (hon) — long, thin things
- 枚 (mai) — flat, thin things
- 個 (ko) — small, roundish objects
- 匹 (hiki) — small animals
- 頭 (tou) — large animals
- 冊 (satsu) — books and bound volumes
- 台 (dai) — machines and vehicles
- 杯 (hai) — cupfuls and glassfuls
- 階 (kai) — floors of a building
- 回 (kai) — times / occurrences
- 軒 (ken) — houses and shops
- 足 (soku) — pairs of footwear
- 着 (chaku) — suits and outfits
- 通 (tsuu) — letters and documents
- 名 (mei) — people (formal)
- 番 (ban) — order and rank
- 分 (fun) — minutes
- 時 (ji) — o'clock
- 年 (nen) — years
- ヶ月 (kagetsu) — months (duration)
- 週間 (shuukan) — weeks
- 泊 (haku) — nights of a stay
- 日 (nichi) — days and dates