～代 | Grammar

Structure

[number (multiple of ten)] + 代 [number (multiple of ten)] + 代 + 前半/半ば/後半 [year (multiple of ten)] + 年代

Description

～代 after a multiple of ten gives a decade of someone's life: 20代 is "in your twenties", 50代 "in your fifties". After a year and 年, it gives a decade of history: 1990年代 is "the 1990s".

。

She is a student in her twenties.

。

My father quit his company in his fifties.

。

This song was popular in the 1980s.

covers ages ten to nineteen, so it is the closest word to "teens". The number is read as it is: is にじゅうだい.

Early, mid and late

, and go straight after 代 to narrow the range to the first half, the middle or the second half.

。

He is in his late thirties.

。

She got married in her mid-twenties.

、。

The internet spread in the early 2000s.

Particles around 代

An age decade is a noun. It takes の before another noun, and で for the age at which something happened.

。

It is a smartphone that is easy to use even for people in their sixties.

。

My grandmother entered university in her seventies.

The 代 in でんわだい電話代 ("phone bill") and しょくじだい食事代 ("cost of a meal") is a different suffix meaning a charge. It follows a noun for what you pay for, not a number.

Examples

。

I want to study abroad while I'm in my twenties.

、。

When I was a teenager, I played soccer every day.

、。

My mother is in her forties, but she is very energetic.

。

That actor looks like he's in his early thirties.

。

My grandfather continues to take walks even in his eighties.

。

I like music from the 1990s.

。

This building was built in the 1960s.

。

She got married in her mid-twenties.

。

This is a smartphone that is easy to use even for people in their sixties.

。

Most of the participants were in their twenties and thirties.

えすえぬえすSNS。

The 2010s were an era when social media changed dramatically.

、。

After reaching my late fifties, I started paying more attention to my health.

References

代Bunpro