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?
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2011-08-19T08:43:38.113
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word-choice words politeness ellipsis
Polite Way to Ask "How old are you?" : 何歳 , いくつ ,年齢 , ご年
> 幾つですか？

いくつ is not normally spelled with kanji. Also, this is actually asking, ‘How
many?’ To ask for someone's age, you should use the honorific form: **お**
いくつですか。 This is the standard way.

> 何歳ですか？

This is direct, but still in the polite form.

> 年齢は？

This is direct and also informal. I can't imagine many situations where this
would be appropriate. Maybe if you're asking a child what their age is.

> ご年は？

I can't say I've ever seen this before...
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2011-08-19T09:52:10.127
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2011-08-19T14:13:01.517
2011-08-19T14:13:01.517
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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？.
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2011-08-20T04:42:44.660
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