Word
同い年
Meaning in Englishof the same age
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
同い年 means a person who is the same age as another, i.e., someone born in the same year.
Main meanings
- Denotes that two or more people share the same birth year, hence the same age
- Used to describe a person who is the same age as someone else, typically with の to form 同い年の人
- Conveys equality in age without implying any formal relationship or hierarchy
How to use it
Used in casual and neutral contexts to describe peers or to categorize people by age in social settings; typically modifies a following noun with の, as in 同い年の人; focuses on age equality rather than status or relationship.
Variants and close terms
- 同年齢 (どうねんれい) — same age
- 同年代 (どうねんだい) — same generation
- 年上 / 年下 (ねんじょう / ねんした) — older or younger
Composition
- 同: sameness
- 年: year or age
- い: adjective-like suffix forming the compound
Etymology
同い (onai) + 年 (toshi) combine to form onai-doshi, the compound meaning same age; 同い acts as a base meaning same, while 年 supplies the age context; the whole is read onai-doshi
Word class
Noun (名詞)
Word
Related words by kanji and components
N1
混同
kondou
confusion, mixing, merger
N1
同調
douchou
sympathy, agree with, alignment
N1
同等
doutou
equality, equal, same rank
N1
同封
doufuu
enclosure (e.g., in a letter)
N1
同盟
doumei
alliance, union, league
N1
年頃
toshigoro
age, marriageable age, adolescence
N1
年賀
nenga
New Year's greetings, New Year's card
N1
年号
nengou
name of an era, year number
N1
年長
nenchou
seniority
Kanji