Polite Way to Ask "How old are you?" : 何歳 , いくつ ,年齢 , ご年


I think the sentences:

> 何歳ですか？
>
> いくつですか？
>
> 年齢は？
>
> お年は？

are all sentences that ask "How old are you?"

How are they different?

What form is most polite?




I will probably go with "お歳をお聞きしてもいいですか？" if I had to ask the age of some
stranger or customer etc. If the other person is a female, I might throw in
"大変申し訳ありませんが" before the question. It is considered impolite to ask a female
her age in Japan. If you have to ask for whatever reason, you are expected to
take extra care.

If you are asking an acquaintance, "何歳ですか？" or "何歳でいらっしゃるんですか？" will be more
natural. You should use 何歳でいらっしゃるんですか if you think the other person is senior
than you. おいくつですか？ おいくつでいらっしゃるんですか is also appropriate in this situation.

年齢 is not commonly used to form questions, perhaps because it is a bit formal
or even a bit bureaucratic. A police officer or something could ask
年齢を教えてもらえますか？ ご年齢は？ and so on. It is frequently used in formal situations, as
in 国民の平均年齢は or 年齢が高い層の平均貯蓄額はX万円だった etc.

Finally, when you address an young child, you can say なんさい？ or いくつ？.

