103
ζ³
Years Old, Age
JLPT N3
Interesting Fact
In Japan, birthdays are celebrated much like in the West today, but historically everyone became one year older together on New Year's Day. The kanji ζ³ has been connected with counting age for centuries.
Memory Trick
Think of this as the 'upgraded' version of ζ. It has extra parts because getting older means gaining more years and more experiences.
Readings
Onyomi: γ΅γ€ (sai)
Kunyomi:
Example Words
εΉ΄ι½’
γγγγ (nenrei)
Age
δΈζ³
γγ£γγ (issai)
One year old
δΊεζ³
γ―γγ‘ (hatachi)
Twenty years old
ζ³ζ
γγγγ€ (saigetsu)
Passing years
Example Sentence
ηΆγ― δΊεζ³ γ§γγ
γ‘γ‘γ― γγγ γ£γγ γ§γγ
chichi wa gojussai desu
My father is fifty years old.