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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner

How do you say "decade" in Japanese?

10年

10 nen

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "decade" is 10年 (10 nen).

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Pronunciation

Ju nen combines a number and a counter, said ju then nen, with nen carrying a nasal ending like the English 'nen'.

Writing and usage

10年 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

彼らはここに10年間住んでいました。

karera hakokoni 10 nenkan sun deimashita.

They lived here for a whole decade.

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How to remember 10年

Ju nen literally means ten years, so just remember ju is ten and nen is years, and a decade adds up naturally.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 10年

How do you pronounce 10年?

Ju nen combines a number and a counter, said ju then nen, with nen carrying a nasal ending like the English 'nen'.

Is 10年 formal or casual?

10年 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 10年 written in Japanese?

10年 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as 10 nen.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Decade" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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