51吃瓜网

Some years ago, while watching one of the gossipy daytime TV “wide shows,” I happened to see a feature concerning a certain Ms. K, a tall and vivacious TV program moderator. Single and at that time アラサー (补谤补蝉ā, around age 30), she had been spotted entering a high-class hotel in Tokyo’s Akasaka district, where she apparently spent the night in a romantic tryst with, well, somebody. Probably acting on a tip, a paparazzo was waiting the next morning when she disembarked from the elevator and he snapped a “gotcha” picture. He then asked her for a comment.

Pointing a finger to her nose, she replied in the style of extreme politeness intended to be rude — called 慇懃無礼 (inginburei): わたくし が幾つだとお思いになります？（Watakushi ga ikutsu dato o-omoi ni narimasu? “How old do you think I am?“). The implication being ガキじゃないんだぞ (gaki ja nai-n-da zo, “Hey, I’m no spring chicken“) and am entitled to spend the night with whomever I choose.

The Japanese language certainly has no shortage of age-related terms, and the subject can pop up in almost any context. Aside from the polite お年はお幾つですか？ (O-toshi wa o-ikutsu desu ka, “How old are you?“), many’s the time when someone at a bank or government office requests, ここに生年月日を書いてください (Koko ni seinengappi o kaite kudasai, “Please write in your ‘born-year-month-day’” (i.e., your date of birth)).