Structure
Decade of age + 代
Decade + 年代
Details
Register
Standard
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.
In addition to someone's decade of age, ~代 can be used to express a chronological decade, such as the 1960's, 70's, or 80's. In these cases, 年代 will be used after the decade.
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
--:--
Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
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.'
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代前半で次長になった。」
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.'
Self-Study Sentences
Study your own way!
Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.
Online
Compounds and examples
Weblio
Offline
Tobira
Page 307
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
~代 – Grammar Discussion
There's currently no discussion for ~代
Ask questions and learn together with other Bunpro users!