Structure
Decade of age + 代, Decade + 年代
Details
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Standard
使用域
一般
About ~代
The suffix ~代 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 代 after the age (in tens), in Japanese.
- 10代の頃によく怒られたよ。I was scolded often when I was in my teens.
- 私は20代の頃に沢山旅行をしました。I traveled a lot in my twenties.
- 六十代の方はこちらにお並びください。People in their sixties, please line up over here.
- 70年代の音楽が好きです。I like music from the 70s.
- 80年代のファッションはかっこいい。Fashion from the 80s is cool.
Fun Fact
代 is also regularly seen when marking eras of time, or generations of people within a specific family/political position.- 新生代は哺乳類時代とも言われています。The Cenozoic era is also known as the era of mammals.
- 第5代将軍徳川綱吉はとても有名な将軍です。The fifth shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, is a very famous shogun.
Examples
街頭インタビュー、通行人:「1980年代ころからここに住んでいます。」
Street interview, passerby: 'I have been living here since (around) the 1980s.'
証人が警察官に言う:「泥棒は30代半ばだったと思います。」
A witness speaks to a policeman: 'I think that the thief was in their mid-thirties.'
半ば is a noun meaning 'middle' or 'halfway'.
新聞記事:「Xさんは昭和50年代の終わりごろにお金持ちになった。」
Newspaper article: 'Mr. X became rich toward the end of the 50s of the Showa era.'
漫画のナレーター:「イラめぐみは30代前半次長になった。」
Manga narrator: 'Megumi Ira became vice-director in her early thirties. '
新聞記事:「2010年代の終わりからハイエンドスマホの値段が上がり始めた。」
Newspaper article: 'High-end smartphone prices started growing since the late 2010s.'
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