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This is probably a simple question but something I've seemingly never
considered while studying Japanese, but how would one compare ages of people
in Japanese?

For example if I wanted to say "I'm two years older than my girlfriend" would
be something along the lines of "僕は彼女より二年年をとった" Although my interpretation of
this makes it seem unnatural, along the lines of "I've aged two more years
than my girlfriend". If someone can clarify I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

Matt
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2015-08-06T03:43:20.777
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2015-08-06T19:58:11.257
2015-08-06T19:58:11.257
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grammar word-choice syntax
How to compare the ages of people in Japanese?
You would use [年上]{とし・うえ} for older and [年下]{とし・した} for younger.

>   * 僕は彼女より2歳年上だ。 → I'm two years older than my girlfriend.
>   * 妹は私より5歳年下です。 → My sister is five years younger than I.
>

You can also use them by themselves.

>   * 花子さんには年下の[旦那]{だん・な}さんがいる。 → Hanako has a younger husband.
>   * 翔平は兄弟の中で一番年上だ。 → Shōhei is the oldest of his siblings.
>
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-06T03:52:37.800
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2015-08-06T04:04:16.280
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answer
In addition to istrasci's answer, a version that is often used in
introductions and the like is xxつ[上]{うえ}の[person] and xxつ[下]{した}の[person]

> ５つ下の妹。 Younger sister five years younger
>
> ２つ上の彼女 Girlfriend two years older
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-06T10:49:23.917
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2015-08-06T10:49:23.917
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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