# Teens in other languages **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2005, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744 "2005-04-11T04:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/21 "2005-05-02T20:19:17Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > in the Hebrew language, all the numbers from 11 to 19 have a “teen” suffix. > > And there is a neat term for kids in that age group–the “dumb-teens” . > It’s a combination of the “teen” suffix with the word that means dumb (or stupid).But that word is not always negative–it’s has connotations of "silly, innocent, not-too-bright, you’ll-grow-out-of-it, you dummy) > > Teenagers never use that term to describe themselves, of course. But it’s a neat phrase. Huh, I came in to say that! Just in case anybody cares, the term is _Tipesh-Esreh_ (all the numbers in the 11-19 range end in _Esreh_, it **almost** sounds like just another number… _Tipesh_, of course, means “dumb”) Dani ---
**Author:** ![Thrillhouse15](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@Thrillhouse15](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thrillhouse15)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/22 "2005-05-02T21:36:48Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Other than a label, I don’t think you can really say that Americans think of “teenagers” as a group. There are no special priviledges or rights that are confired on 13 year olds. You can get in to PG-13 movies. > [@Colophon](#): > > This thread raises the question of why so many languages have different word forms for 11 and 12 than those for 13 to 19. I can see that Dutch, German and English share the roots, but why Thai? What is special about 11 and 12 that lots of languages don’t count them as “teens” like 13 and over? My guess is that for a lot of cultures 12 was an important number (see: your watch). I don’t have anything to back that up, though. While it doesn’t fit with our base ten-centric world today, 12 may have been important enough milenia ago to warrant having its own name. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/23 "2005-05-02T21:52:07Z")
I don’t recall if there is any strict age limit to the term, but qingshaonian is a Mardarin term for folks who are in the “green” stage of life. Don’t take this as a textbook definition, but my recollection is that it can be used for teenagers, possibly up until the early 20s, but not so much for the 11 year olds. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/24 "2005-05-03T00:25:19Z")
> [@Thrillhouse15](#): > > You can get in to PG-13 movies. No, there’s no restriction on who can attend PG-13 movies, either with or without accompaniment. ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/25 "2005-05-03T00:51:09Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > This thread raises the question of _why_ so many languages have different word forms for 11 and 12 than those for 13 to 19. I can see that Dutch, German and English share the roots, but why Thai? What is special about 11 and 12 that lots of languages don’t count them as “teens” like 13 and over? I can’t answer that, but from wednesday on we will host a conference and I’ll meet an acquaitance who probably can. He is a linguist whose extreme interest in numeralia got him the nickname “Count von Count” (well, actually “Graf Zahl”, the German version) ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/26 "2005-05-03T11:28:51Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > … So the name for one changes after the first number, but that is consistent after that. And twenty’s “root” is not two, but some different construct. I have no idea why these are. But it’s not really the same as our eleven and twelve. … the numbering corresponds with the Chinese, and it even sounds somewhat like Cantonese, except for 1, 2 ones and the digit 5. here’s a comparison in Cantonese, very badly transliterated. 1 - Neung - yut 2 - Sawng - yee 3 - Sam - sam 4 - Sii - sei 5 - Ha - mm 6 - Hok - lok 7 - Jet - ts’ut 8 - Bhaet - bh’at 9 - Gau - gau 10 - Sip - sup 11 - Sip Et - sup yut 12 - Sip Sawng - sup yee 13 - Sip Sam - sup sam 14 - Sip Sii - sup sei … 20 - Yee Sip - yee sup 21 - Yee Sip Et - yee sup yut 22 - Yee Sip Sawng - yee sup yee there are no ‘teens’ for Chinese, just children/youths/young adults/etc. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/27 "2005-05-03T13:48:35Z")
> [@flight](#): > > Were they developed before the introduction of a base ten number system? IANAH, but I think… maybe. Up until recently Northen Europe (and likely other regions, but I’m basing this on knowledge of Germanic languages) had a mixture with base ten being or becoming the most important, but with base twelve and base 20 being evident in various forms. Words such as score (20), dozen (12), gross (144) indicate a previously less base ten biased counting system, but could arguably be just for convenience. However there’s also the uniqueness of 11 and 12, the fact that Old Norse operated with two different hundreds (short hundred 100, long hundred 120, I’ve yet to read an explanation on how you know what is meant when a text just says ‘hundred’) and the fact that Danish retains base 20 ‘tens’. And seeing as I left out the various divisions of measurments and coinage into twelfths and twentieths I think my theory stands a chance. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/28 "2005-05-03T15:28:37Z")
Sweden has adapted the(American?) concept of teenager like a duck takes to water. Not only is the numbers equivalent (and of Germanic origin), but our school system emphasises this: Junior high is three years 13-15 and HS is three years, 16-19. Since puberty tend to start around 12 (even though it’s going down in developed countries), seeing the teen years as hormone crazed and rebellous is not a far stretch. I don’t know who invented teenagers, but I think the archetypical teen was first articulated by Salinger in Catcher in the Rye. Possibly, the concept came with returning G.I.s of a great age span who needed work and society was affluent enough so kids could stay at home longer. It seems to coincide with the concept of the housewife as a stay at home mom. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/29 "2005-05-03T15:43:04Z")
> [@The Gaspode](#): > > I don’t know who invented teenagers, Not invented, discovered. By moms and dads in the cabbage patch. [The online etymology](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=t&p=4) says “teenager” dates from 1941 ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/30 "2005-05-03T16:41:25Z")
Just to throw another country in the mix - in Korea they do like Japan does. More classification by school age. There isn’t an equivalent teens either; numbers go 1 through 10, then 10-1, 10-2, 10-3… 20-1, 20-2, 20-3… etc. So for ages it’d be: 1 - hanna 2 - duel 3 - sait 4 - nait 5 - dasut 6 - yussut 7 - ilgpop 8 - yuddul 9 - ahhope 10 - yul 11 - yul-hanna 12 - yul-duel . . . then it gets kind of weird with what number they use for 20, 30, 40, etc. The other counting system makes more sense (instead of a separate number for 20, it’s two-ten), but it’s not used for telling how old people are. Well, it’s not technically used, but it does get used because it’s much easier, particularly when you get to the higher ages. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/31 "2005-05-03T19:04:16Z")
And of course, in Westron, the common speech of Middle Earth, the hobbits used the term “tweens” to describe “the irresponsible twenties between childhood and coming of age at thirty-three.” ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/32 "2005-05-03T19:09:11Z")
French has separate words for 11-16 (onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze, seize) and compounds for 17-19 (dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf). As far as I can tell, French-speaking young people certainly think of themselves as being neither children nor adults. The word I’ve usually seen for “teenager” is _un/e ado_ (an adolescent) or _un/e jeune_ (a young person). (For that matter, I always took “adolescent” to be the fancy word for “teenager” anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![ZeroGyro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47774/32.png) [@ZeroGyro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZeroGyro)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/33 "2005-05-03T19:20:10Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > In Spanish 11 through 15 have somewhat special names (though they do have a pattern) before going to the “teen” pattern (well the “dice y \_\_\_” pattern). Just wanted to correct something. The pattern is “ **diez** y \_\_\_”. Dice means “says.” ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/34 "2005-05-04T06:59:52Z")
Welsh has two number systems - not including ordinals - anyway the system, sometimes labelled ‘traditional’, which is used for times and ages adds onto ten for eleven to fifteen - un ar ddeg deuddeg tri ar ddeg pedwar ar ddeg pymptheg (12 & 15 look different because of contraction/mutation but the root is the same.) Then adds onto fifteeen - un ar bymtheg 16 dau ar bymtheg 17 daunaw 18 (literally two nines, I have no idea why this one is different) pedwar ar bymhteg 19 Maybe in days of yore you measured age from important stages in your life and 15 was one of those important stages. To go back to the concept of ‘teeanager’ - in modern Welsh there is ‘arddegau’ (‘on ten’) but it is a recent invention (to try and prevent the spread of Wenglish), not appearing in a dictionary from 60 years ago for example, traditionally the word used to talk about teenagers translates as ‘youth’. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/35 "2005-05-04T11:37:19Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > In Spanish 11 through 15 have somewhat special names (though they do have a pattern) before going to the “teen” pattern (well the “dice y \_\_\_” pattern). Portuguese follows this same pattern: onze, doze, treize, catorze/quatorze, qinze, dezesseis, dezessete, dezoito, dezenove Hence, like many other languages described here, they are simply known as adolescents. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/36 "2005-05-04T11:45:58Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > No, there’s no restriction on who can attend PG-13 movies, either with or without accompaniment. Huh? The restriction is 13 yrs old isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/37 "2005-05-04T12:36:59Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Huh? The restriction is 13 yrs old isn’t it? No, from the [MPAA site](http://www.mpaa.org/movieratings/): > [@](#): > > G = General Audiences > PG = Parental Guidance Suggested - Some Material May Not Be Suitable for Children > PG-13 = Parents Strongly Cautioned - Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13 > R = Restricted - Under 17 Requires Accompanying Parent or Guardian > NC-17 = No One 17 and Under Admitted So the only actual restrictions are on R and NC-17. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/38 "2005-05-04T12:43:43Z")
Ok, sorry. It is different here. An R13 rating means you have to be 13 or older to get in. I have NO clue why we have R13 and then R16 though. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/39 "2005-05-04T13:09:32Z")
> [@calm kiwi](#): > > Ok, sorry. It is different here. An R13 rating means you have to be 13 or older to get in. > > I have NO clue why we have R13 and then R16 though. Hey, I remember in Germany trying to take my daughter to a Disney movie (I forget which one) but she couldn’t go in because there was some implied violence and she wasn’t six years old yet. Disney would go broke here if five year olds couldn’t watch their stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744/40 "2005-05-04T13:53:41Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > Portuguese follows this same pattern: > > onze, doze, treize, catorze/quatorze, qinze, dezesseis, dezessete, dezoito, dezenove > > Hence, like many other languages described here, they are simply known as adolescents. Well, Portuguese, like Spanish and French, is one of the Romantic languages, isn’t it? I’d be willing to bet good money that Italian is similar in it’s treatment of adolescents and the numbers between 10 and 20. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/teens-in-other-languages/298744.md?page=3)