How do you say "How old are you?" in Japanese?

"How old are you?" in Japanese is "おいくつですか。". This phrase is commonly used in Japan.

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How to Say ‘How old are you?’ in Japanese

Q: What does "おいくつですか。" mean in English?

"おいくつですか。" means "How old are you?" in English. Usage tip: Polite and natural. You can answer with [〜さいです]. If you don’t want to say, a gentle dodge is [ちょっと…] “well…”

おいくつですか。

💬 Usage Tip: Polite and natural. You can answer with [〜さいです]. If you don’t want to say, a gentle dodge is [ちょっと…] “well…”

🇯🇵 In Japan: In Japan, it’s common to ask age among students or social groups, but in formal adult settings it may be less direct.

Phrase Breakdown

おいくつおいくつ

how old (polite)

Polite way to ask age. お is honorific; いくつ literally means “how many,” used for age here.

Example

おいくつですか。

How old are you?

ですかですか

is it? / are you? (polite question ending)

です (polite) + か (question marker). Turns a statement into a polite question.

Example

忙しいですか。

Are you busy?

Word-by-Word Breakdown

おお

[o]

honorific prefix (polite)

お makes the question polite. おいくつですか is a standard polite way to ask age.

Example

すみません、おいくつですか。

Excuse me, how old are you?

いくいく

[iku]

how many / how old (in おいくつ)

いく is part of いくつ. In this fixed question, it means “how old.”

Example

おいくつですか。

How old are you?

つつ

[tsu]

(part of いくつ) “-tsu” ending

つ completes いくつ. Learn おいくつ as one unit for “how old (are you)?”

Example

おいくつですか。

How old are you?

ですです

[desu]

to be (polite); is/am/are

です makes the question polite. You can answer with 〜さいです.

Example

二十五さいです。

I’m 25 years old.

かか

[ka]

question particle “?”

か turns it into a polite question: おいくつですか。

Example

おいくつですか。

How old are you?

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