How to Say ‘How tall are you?’ in Japanese
身長は何センチですか。
shinchou wa nan senchi desu ka
[SHEEN-choh wah nahn SEN-chee dess ka]
🇯🇵 In Japan: Japanese people state height in centimeters, never in feet. You'll be asked this at clinics and health checks, and sometimes casually, since asking about height isn't considered rude.
Phrase Breakdown
身長は
shinchou wa
height (as for)
身長 (shinchou) means body height, with a long 'ou' sound. は is read 'wa'.
身長は低いです。
I am short.
Words in this phrase
身長
shinchou
[SHEEN-choh]
height (of a person)
Noun for a person's body height.
弟は身長が高いです。
My younger brother is tall.
は
wa
[wah]
topic marker; as for
Marks 'today' as the topic. Written は but pronounced 'wa.'
本日はお時間をいただき、ありがとうございます。
Thank you for giving me your time today.
何センチですか。
nan senchi desu ka
how many centimeters is it?
何 (nan) means 'how many'. センチ (senchi) means centimeters. Say it as 'nan senchi desu ka'.
この机は何センチですか。
How many centimeters is this desk?
Words in this phrase
何
nan
[nahn]
how many; what number
Used to ask quantity or number.
何名様ですかと聞かれました。
I was asked, 'How many people are in your party?'
センチ
senchi
[SEN-chee]
centimeter
Short for センチメートル; a unit of length.
30センチの定規です。
It's a 30-centimeter ruler.
です
desu
[dess]
is; polite copula
A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.
少し伺いたいです。
I would like to ask a little.
か
ka
[ka]
question particle
A particle used at the end of a sentence to form a question.
それは大丈夫ですか？
Is that okay?
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