Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 5: 1/20

(だい)Teens, Twenties, Thirties, 1910s, 20s/30s

Structure

Decade of age + だい
Decade + 年代ねんだい

Details

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About ~代

The suffix (だい) is used for several different things. One of the most common uses is for highlighting someone's decade of age. In the same way that English says teens, twenties, and thirties. All that is required is adding (だい) after the age (in tens), in Japanese.

In addition to someone's decade of age, (だい) can be used to express a chronological decade, such as the 1960's, 70's, or 80's. In these cases, (ねん)(だい) will be used after the decade.

Fun Fact

(だい) is also regularly seen when marking eras of time, or generations of people within a specific family/political position.

  • 新生(しんせい)(だい)哺乳類時(ほにゅうるいじ)(だい)とも()われています
    The Cenozoic era is also known as the era of mammals.
  • (だいご)(だい)将軍(しょうぐん)徳川綱吉(とくがわつなよし)とても有名(ゆうめい)将軍(しょうぐん)です
    The fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, is a very famous shogun.

Examples

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    街頭(がいとう)インタビュー、通行人(つうこうにん):「1980年代(ねんだい)ころからここ()んでいます。」

    Street interview, passerby: 'I have been living here since (around) the 1980s.'

    証人(しょうにん)警察官(けいさつかん)():「泥棒(どろぼう)30(さんじゅう)(だい)(なか)だったと思います。」

    A witness speaks to a policeman: 'I think that the thief was in their mid-thirties.'

    新聞記事(しんぶんきじ):「Xさん昭和(しょうわ)50(ごじゅう)年代(ねんだい)()ごろにお金持(かねも)になった。」

    Newspaper article: 'Mr. X became rich toward the end of the 50s of the Showa era.'

    漫画(まんが)ナレーター:「イラめぐみ30(さんじゅう)(だい)前半(ぜんはん)次長(じちょう)になった。」

    Manga narrator: 'Megumi Ira became vice-director in her early thirties. '

    新聞記事(しんぶんきじ):「2010(にせんじゅう)年代(ねんだい)()からハイエンドスマホ値段(ねだん)()がり(はじ)。」

    Newspaper article: 'High-end smartphone prices started growing since the late 2010s.'

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