二十歳

二十歳

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
二	十	歳
はたち
Grade: 1	Grade: 1	Grade: S
jukujikun

Alternative spelling
二十歲 (kyūjitai)

From Old Japanese はたち (patati, “twenty items”).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
• (Tokyo) は​たち [háꜜtàchì] (Atamadaka – [1])[1][2][3]
• IPA^(key): [ha̠ta̠t͡ɕi]

Noun

二十歳(はたち) • (hatachi) 

1. twenty years old

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
二	十	歳
に Grade: 1	じゅっ Grade: 1	さい Grade: S
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
二十歲 (kyūjitai)

From 二十 (nijū, “twenty”) +‎ 歳 (sai, “year”).

Noun

二(に)十(じゅっ)歳(さい) • (nijussai) 

1. twenty years old

Usage notes

Jōyō kanji recognized only じゅう (jū) and じっ (ji') as readings of 十 until 2010, even though the latter is actually pronounced じゅっ (ju') today and NHK accepted it already in 1966.

See also

• 未成年(みせいねん) (miseinen)
• 小人(しょうにん) (shōnin)
• 大人(おとな) (otona)
• 成人(せいじん) (seijin)
• 成人式(せいじんしき) (seijinshiki)
• 成人(せいじん)の日(ひ) (seijin no hi)

References

1. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
2. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN