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20. Counting & Ages

0:00 --:--
こんにちは
Hello
はじめまして
Nice to meet you
おいくつですか
How old are you
七歳です
I'm seven years old
ええ、私は八歳です
Oh, I'm eight years old
お兄さんはいますか
Do you have an older brother
はい、兄は十歳です
Yes, my brother is ten
弟も四歳です
My younger brother is four too
妹も一歳です
My younger sister is one too
一歳ですか
One year old?
赤ちゃんですね
She's a baby, huh
はい、小さいです
Yes, she's little
家族は六人です
My family is six people
家族は五人です
My family is five
へー
Oh really
姉は九歳です
My older sister is nine
弟は二歳です
My younger brother is two
二歳ですか
Two years old?
はい、元気です
Yes, he's energetic
お母さんは元気ですか
Is your mom doing well
はい、忙しいです
Yes, she's busy
そうですか
I see
お父さんも働きます
My dad works too
友達は何人いますか
How many friends do you have
三人います
I have three
一緒に勉強します
We study together
いいですね
That's nice
大きい家族が好きですか
Do you like big families
はい、好きです
Yes, I do
一緒にご飯を食べます
We eat meals together
本当にいいですね
That's really nice

Cultural Notes

Why numbers have multiple readings

四 can be よん or し, 七 can be なな or しち, and 九 can be きゅう or く. The し reading is avoided because it sounds like 死 (death), and しち can be confused with いち over the phone. In everyday conversation, people default to よん, なな, and きゅう to stay clear of these associations.

The お in おいくつですか

Adding お to いくつ makes the age question polite. This honorific prefix softens questions about personal information — you will hear it in おなまえ (your name), おしごと (your work), and おくに (your country). Dropping it and just saying いくつ？ is perfectly fine with kids or close friends.

Counters: why you can't just say a number by itself

Japanese numbers almost always need a counter word that matches what you are counting — 歳 for ages, 人 for people, 個 for small objects. This lesson introduces 歳 and the ～人 pattern (何人, 三人). English has a few of these too, like "three sheets of paper" or "two head of cattle," but Japanese uses them with nearly everything.