歳 — “Year-end / Age / Occasion / Opportunity” in Japanese

Master (高手)さい, せい, とし, とせ, よわい

Radical ⽌ · radical 77 The building block this kanji is filed under

“Year-end / Age / Occasion / Opportunity” in Japanese is 歳, read sai, sei, toshi (さい, せい, とし, とせ, よわい). It is a Jōyō kanji taught in Japanese secondary school (junior & senior high) — the 高手 · Master tier beyond the grade 1–6 Kyōiku set, and appears in words such as 何歳 (how old).

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What does 歳 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	歳
Meaning	Year-end / Age / Occasion / Opportunity
Readings	さい, せい, とし, とせ, よわい
Grade	Master (高手 · secondary school)
Curriculum	Jōyō kanji · Japanese secondary school (JLPT N1–N2)
Example	何歳 (how old)

How to read 歳

歳 is read sai (さい) or sei (せい) or toshi (とし) or tose (とせ) or yowai (よわい) depending on the word.

Words with 歳

何歳

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Kanji read the same way as 歳

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Updated: 2026-08-28