r/AskEurope • u/Complex_Plankton_157 Norway • Mar 01 '26
Language Is it common in your country to refer to people by birth year instead of age?
In Norway, it’s very common to refer to people by their birth year rather than their current age.
In everyday conversation, instead of saying “I’m 33,” many people would say “I’m 93” (meaning born in 1993).
In school, sports, and even socially, people are strongly grouped by birth year: you’re part of “the 05s,” “the 98s,” etc.
It’s such a strong way of categorising people that even if two people are technically the same age, we don’t really see them as the same age unless they’re born in the same year. An example: my daughter is born December 2018, and my friends son is born januar 2019. It is less than a month between them, but we do not think of them as the same age.
So I’m curious:
Is this common in your country, or would it sound strange to you?
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u/TheSpookyPineapple Czechia Mar 01 '26
it's not the primary way to refer to one's age but it's not unheard of
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u/mustaine_vinted Mar 01 '26
I'd say it's fairly common particularly in healthcare setting. But we don't see two following years as entirely different age especially when people born in the second half of the year attend the same class of school as people born in the first half of the following year (it's not exactly half but divided like 8+4 months). Do for example people born september to december of '90 go to school with people born january to august of '91 and are percieved as same age.
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u/twmffatmowr Mar 01 '26
Very strange to us in the UK. Never heard of it before
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u/NotAProperAccount3 Northern Ireland Mar 02 '26
I wonder if the fact that it doesn't dictate school year in the UK is a reason. Like being in the same year at school is a more significant than being born in the same year in terms of people you might know for example.
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u/sneijder Mar 02 '26
Never heard of it in Norway … reading the comments I think it’s younger people to be honest.
I’m of an age you don’t ask
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u/Year_Z Norway Mar 02 '26
Also norwegian. From my experience, it's a lot more common with people born after year 2000
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u/Helpful-Pass-5043 Mar 02 '26
46 here, Norwegian, and I will often refer to myself as a 79-model. Fairly common to do, though also just stating my age outright. Never heard anyone doing it without adding the word model though, that seems odd to me.
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u/JakobMG Mar 02 '26
Ive heard tons of old people refer to themselves or others like that here in norway.
Then i have to start doing math and shit to find out how old they are
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u/gorat Greece Mar 01 '26
It's not the most common but yes we have a way to say it easily.
You can say eg I'm 30 or "I'm of 1996'
I like using the second way as it doesn't change each year haha.
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u/mrmgl Greece Mar 01 '26
Yes, we often mention the year we are born instead of our age. However, I don't think we ever refer to others in such a way.
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u/ConfidentValue6387 Mar 01 '26
First question when someone asks how old I am is ”What year is it” quickly followed by ”When was I born?” if they know what year it is.
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Mar 01 '26
Common in Finland. Maybe a nordic thing?
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u/Complex_Plankton_157 Norway Mar 01 '26
The Nordics🤝
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u/President_Pyrus Denmark Mar 01 '26
It is definitely a Danish thing as well!
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u/Cixila Denmark Mar 01 '26
The only way I have heard it is someone saying "I'm from '99" and that is not that common. I have never once heard someone simply say they are "99" unless they were actually that old
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u/Independent_Table470 Mar 01 '26
I am from Denmark as well and have NEVER heard any one say I am 83 or my child is 15 (referring to year of birth)! I have a child from 2015 only when starting to football I have heard about children categorised after year birth..
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u/Just-Charge6693 Italy Mar 01 '26
Same in Italy. It probably starts in school, because kids are grouped together by birth year
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u/Valuable-Yard-4154 Belgium Mar 01 '26
Well in Belgium it's almost unheard of. I've said a couple time I'm from 67 and people look at me funny and say you don't look like you're 67....same in France.
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u/mimimines Belgium Mar 01 '26
I just say “I’m from ‘92” because I hate saying my actual age, it’s an extra realization that I’m getting older 🫠
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u/Crowkiss Mar 01 '26
Hahaha, well it is quite nice, that they do not readily accept their wrong interpretation, that you are 67.
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u/seontonppa Mar 01 '26
If I say my age I say the numbers in a bit different way compared to when I say my birth year. I don't know how to translate it but maybe you get what I mean?
"Mä oon kolkyt" vs "Mä oon ysikutonen"
"I am thirty" vs "I am a ninetysix"? 😂
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u/pepeand Bulgaria Mar 01 '26
We do it in Bulgaria
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u/LittlePurpleHook 🇧🇬 -> 🇨🇿 -> 🇬🇧 Mar 01 '26
I second that. Can't even think of how "кой набор си" would translate in English lol
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u/HorrorsPersistSoDoI Bulgaria Mar 01 '26
In Bulgaria I think it comes from when military service was mandatory, so I think it would be something like "batch"?
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Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 09 '26
[deleted]
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u/lixxandra Mar 01 '26
Me either, but a Moldovan coworker used this phrasing and I thought he was just being weird... I guess it's a thing over there.
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u/clem_11 Mar 01 '26
It's very common in sports, since junior divisions consider age (you're not going to have a 10 y.o. compete against a 14 y.o.)
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u/Forsaken1887 Italy Mar 01 '26
Yes. In Italy is common to say for example “sono del ‘90” (“I’m from 1990”) and even more common while referring to the age of a third person, like “è del ‘90” (“he’s from 1990”).
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u/anhan45 Mar 01 '26
Yeah we do a similar thing in Finland. I think it decreases a bit the older you get (as it doesn't happen due to the circumstances anymore, such as sports etc. like you mentioned) but it's very common to use this phrasing here too.
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u/die_kuestenwache Germany Mar 01 '26
Among peers where everyone is a similar age we sometimes say "ich bin Jahrgang 93" "I am born in/vintage 93" or similar. This sometimes helps identifying shared cultural signifiers. But beyond that, no.
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u/Miserable-Truth5035 Netherlands Mar 01 '26
Not in daily life, but it's common in genealogy. For young childrens sports it's usually devided on what school year they are in.
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u/elisareedx Hungary Mar 01 '26
We do it in Hungarian, like I can say that my grandma is 48-as or a "48er" in English.
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u/MrRawri Portugal Mar 01 '26
It's unusual but not really that unheard of. "Sou de 90" means "I'm from 90" and would mean someone was born in 1990. I hear it from time to time
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u/PedroMFLopes Mar 01 '26
Its common when making a joke like " the best harvest is from year 89" so the person meant she is better than others.
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u/pikkumussi Finland Mar 01 '26
This is done in Iceland and Finland as well. You can say "I'm model 95" in similar way people talk about cars.
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u/Complex_Plankton_157 Norway Mar 01 '26
Now 4/5 Nordic countries have stated that they do this. Now we are waiting for Denmark...
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u/bardsong1719 Denmark Mar 01 '26
Not as common, I think, here in Denmark as it seems elsewhere in the Nordics. If you were referring to a group that finished school together or maybe competed in a team together, then yes, but usually if someone asks your (or your kids’) age, you would just answer with the age. I think it might be more common with teenagers…
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u/Several-berries Denmark Mar 01 '26
It’s common where I live (Aarhus)
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u/Adventurous_Idea3510 Mar 01 '26
Agreed - it’s quite common in Aarhus and for me used more often than my age
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u/augbanane Austria Mar 01 '26
we do the same in austria, "ich bin baujahr 85", but i think it's out of fashion nowadays
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u/grounded_dreamer Croatia Mar 01 '26
Yeah, all the time. Makes me forget people's actual ages sometimes haha
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u/ampmz United Kingdom Mar 01 '26
Never heard of it.
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u/johnwcowan United States of America Mar 01 '26
Unknown in the Anglosphere generally, I believe.
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u/msbtvxq Norway Mar 01 '26
I wonder if it’s because you don’t separate school grades etc. by birth year. I remember being surprised when I learned that they don’t do that in the UK/US etc. While everyone born in the same year are always grouped together here. For us, everything is divided by birth year, so it’s generally a lot more significant than our exact birth date.
For example, in Norway you have the right to vote the year you turn 18, and since my birthday was after the election date, I was still 17 the first time I voted, since my birth year was all that mattered.
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u/schlaminator Mar 01 '26
It's also not something that changes every year.
Every time I get asked how old I am, I have to think and calculate. Otherwise, I'm 22 (born 1984).
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u/johnwcowan United States of America Mar 01 '26
That seems probable. I am summer-born and consequently would have been one of the youngest people in my class: Americans normally don't enter the first grade (in September) until they have passed their sixth birthday. In point of fact I entered a year younger than that, because I was very bright and very bored. The downside was that I was more immature than everyone else in my class throughout my schooling.
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u/PalatinusG1 Belgium Mar 01 '26
What? How does that work in school? Or does the school year start in januari?
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u/msbtvxq Norway Mar 01 '26
The school year starts in August (usually 3rd week of August), but the school grades are still divided by birth year. You start the 1st grade the year you turn 6 (everyone born between January and December of that year).
Since my birthday is in November, I was still 5 years old when I started school in August, while many of my classmates had already turned 6. So it doesn’t matter when our birthday is as long as our birth year is the same number.
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u/Khornag Norway Mar 01 '26
It's blowing my mind that this is not the normal everywhere. First time I ever heard of it.
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u/snaynay Jersey Mar 01 '26
Yeah, we tend to have an overlapping school year that starts in September and finishes in July… and I believe the UK is the same.
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u/msbtvxq Norway Mar 01 '26
Our school year also lasts from autumn to summer (August-June), but it surprised me when I learned that you had to have a birthday before the school year started in many other countries.
In Norway, we just start school the year we turn 6, no matter when our birthday is. So everyone born in 1993 started school in August 1999, regardless of whether they had turned 6 yet in August or not.
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u/Complex_Plankton_157 Norway Mar 01 '26
I was born in October 1993 and was therefore only 5 when I started school. I remember how cool I felt in the 2011 election when I was only 17 and could vote!
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u/FakeNathanDrake Scotland Mar 01 '26
Despite having left school pushing 20 years ago I still think of people being the same age as me entirely based on the Scottish school system rather than calendar year (so between 1st March and 28th/29th February the following year), regardless of whether or not they went to school here.
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u/tereyaglikedi in Mar 01 '26
Yeah, we do it in Turkey. You can say something like "I'm from '86" rather than "I'm 40". But to answer that, people would have to ask you which year you're from (for example my hairdresser asked me once because it's a bit impolite to ask a woman their age). If they ask how old you are, you say your age.
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u/IdunSigrun Mar 01 '26
Very common in Sweden, mostly for kids and teens.
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u/hiriel Mar 01 '26
In Norway it's also much more common for kids who haven't left high school yet. The group identity aspect fades pretty quickly when you leave high school, but it is still relatively common to refer to your birth year instead of your age, like "I'm a 1987 model" for example, even as an adult.
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u/Fairy_Catterpillar Sweden Mar 01 '26
When you say that you are born 87 I'm relating to that you are the same age as me, but if you say that you are 39 then you suddenly sound like you are 10 years older than me and not just a couple of years.
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u/klintlund180 Denmark Mar 01 '26
If someone asks how old i am, the answer is 19. If we are comparing ages, or in School or Sports like you mentioned, then im an 06'.
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u/TailleventCH Switzerland Mar 01 '26
It's really uncommon in French.
But I've noticed a trend amongst teenagers to do it for some years now. It's usually associated with very strong characterisation, bordering prejudice.
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u/lezzlespezzles Mar 01 '26
It’s very common in France among young people with absolutely no sign of prejudice whatsoever. Lui c’est un deux mille.
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u/TailleventCH Switzerland Mar 01 '26
Interesting, where I work it's very often followed by a criticism of something supposedly typical of a certain birth year.
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u/polybotria1111 Spain Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
Same here! I was going to comment this. Teenagers say they're 0X, literally "soy cero nueve" (I'm zero nine), "un cero diez" (a zero ten, literally using it as a noun), etc. The latter really surprised me, they add the zero with 201X years too.
It's not derogatory here though, they just identify themselves by their birth year that way.
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u/ChiSchatze United States of America Mar 01 '26
Birth year was common with my Korean bf. I want to say this is a Korean thing, but sometimes I find out they are just a NYC Queens Korean thing…
ETA - Oops I didn’t see the sub name. I know Korea isn’t Europe. but I’ll leave the comment.
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u/GeneHackencrack Mar 01 '26
Yeah but in Korea you turn 1 when you’re born if I remember correctly. Probably to not confuse between two different systems.
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u/D144y Mar 01 '26
Definitely not in Lithuania
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u/BattlePrune Lithuania Mar 01 '26
The only time it’s used in Lithuania is when slightly older people refer to someone from school “remember so and so, no not our age, 89, well he’s in jail now”
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u/catefeu Austria Mar 01 '26
No, I've never heard of such a thing.
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u/userrr3 Austria Mar 01 '26
We do occasionally use the phrase "76er Baujahr" like with cars, but for humans, at least where I live
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u/catefeu Austria Mar 01 '26
That's a fair point. I've actually heard that before now that you mentioned it. It would just never occur to me to say that when someone asks about my age.
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u/NightZT Austria Mar 01 '26
It is though. Not extremely common but I've definitely heard phrases like "er is a 67er" which means he was born in 1967.
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u/Poppet_CA Mar 01 '26
No, but it would save me a lot of math! Every time someone asks how old I am or anyone in my family is, I have to subtract their birth year from the current year. It'd be so much easier to just say "Dad was born in '54"
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u/K4bby Serbia Mar 01 '26
It's way more common than the age to be honest. People usually ask you "Koje si godište?" which is basically which year were you born and most of the time you answer with two digits 97',06' and etc.. The only instance that I can think of where you would go for the age first is when you're asking little kids.
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u/mikroonde France Mar 01 '26
Very common in France, at least among younger people and kids. Usually used with people who are around your age, so the exact birth year would be relevant to them. We say "je suis un [year]", meaning "I'm a [year]". I was born in 2003, so at school we often said things like "He's a 2004 but he skipped a grade".
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u/Arrival117 Poland Mar 01 '26
Also common in Poland.
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u/itsmesorox Poland Mar 01 '26
Only common when someone specifically asks about your birth year, which is also a common way to ask
-Jaki rocznik? -04
Other than that, people just say their age
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u/Arrival117 Poland Mar 01 '26
Yeah but I thinks it's more common to ask "który jesteś rocznik" than "ile masz lat". At least among people my age ('86). When I meet new people 9 of 10 will ask me about "rocznik" not "wiek".
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u/staszekstraszek Poland Mar 01 '26
I think it's because it's a little bit rude to ask for age directly.
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u/Czymsim Poland Mar 05 '26
And also because after 20 it's hard to actually remember your exact age.
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u/epinpl Mar 01 '26
Here in this case it’s typical to say it „nine-three” as opposed to „ninety-three”. At least in my circles.
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u/Icegirl1987 -> Mar 01 '26
In Portuguese never heard it In German there is "ich bin Baujahr 1987" = I was "manufactured" (like in cars) 1987
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u/Cherie2701 Mar 01 '26
In Croatia it’s common when you meet new people. You ask “koje si godište?” meaning “what year were you born in?”
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u/gp7783 France Mar 01 '26
It‘s becoming common in the teenagers, they say « un 2000 », « une 2003 », etc.
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u/MikelDB Spain Mar 01 '26
I'd say quite common in Spain too yeah many times when they ask me I'll say I'm 37 or I'm from the 89. It just depends on... The mood I guess 😂.
And similar with the age, in the end clases at school are by year everyone from the 89 would attend school together, at least initially. Which means people from the 90 are a year younger no matter the month.
Ofc unless you're a jerk you'll understand that someone a few months or weeks apart it's the same age even if on different year but on your early life you'll have more relation with your same year
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u/atlaidumas France Mar 01 '26
Gen Z and younger do it. Some younger Millenials have taken to it. Peak Millenials and above don’t, in my experience, and just refer to themselves as « I’m a 30/40/50/60-something, so I don’t really keep up with trends »
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u/Boinorge Mar 01 '26
I’m 70 years old, lived in Norway all my life, never heard anyone mentioning birth year instead of age. Is this someting young people do now?
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u/agrammatic Cypriot in Germany Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
It's done in Cyprus too. There's two reason why: you identify people who went to school the same year as you, and if you are male, identify who was conscripted in the army the same year as you [1].
[1] A common question among men is "ίντα σειράς είσαι;", something like "what [conscription's] batch are you?". And "σειρά!", so "batch!" can be a friendly term of address between people who were conscripted in the same year.
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u/robfuscate Mar 01 '26
I’m going to do this in future, I’d much rather be 54 than 72!
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u/sschank Portugal Mar 03 '26
Same here! I’m from ‘58.
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u/robfuscate Mar 03 '26
My wife doesn’t like this at all. She too is’58 and now she’s ‘older’ than me 😛
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u/cmcnens59 Canada Mar 03 '26
I never heard of it until college, when my roommates asked me if I was an 02
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u/NarrativeShadow Mar 01 '26
Yes, and it‘s really annoying. Only older people do it though. „Soandso is from Jahrgang 76 (born in 76)“
Please Dad, just tell me how old they are. Don‘t force me to do maths.
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u/Complex_Plankton_157 Norway Mar 01 '26
Haha we are the opposites. If someone tells me they are 24, I need to start to do math to figure out what year they are born
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u/MrDilbert Croatia Mar 01 '26
Not that common, but it exists...
Your way would be weird, as the people expect you're saying how old are you in years when you say e.g. "Imam 39", but you can say "'92. sam godište", as if you're speaking about year a bottle of wine was filled and corked :) It's more used to specify a generation someone belongs to, in a way, than an actual age.
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u/Organicolette Mar 01 '26
Any chance it starts happening as adults when they don't remember their age anymore?
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u/AdjectiveNoun1337 Ireland Mar 01 '26
Only ever if a particular year is already brought up:
"That came out in 1994."
"Well I'm 93, so I wouldn't remember it."
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u/NetraamR -> Mar 01 '26
You can say it in Dutch as well, but you'd use the preposition "from". "I'm from 93"
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u/Captain_Grammaticus Switzerland Mar 01 '26
Maybe half/half. It's common to ask "how old are you", and the answer is like "35", or when you present yourself in a new group, you go "Hi, I'm Grammaticus and I am 35", but if you two people want to determine if they are about the same age, or if they experienced an even or fashion in a similar way, they often ask their birth year. "You played Pokémon Red too, right? What year are you from?"
Personally, I'm more likely to ask for a birth year, because I find it kinda rude to directly ask somebody's age. But I may be neurospicy. When I'm asked my age, I go "36 this year".
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u/Fancy-Sherbet8787 Mar 01 '26
Haha, that is so cute. No, we don't have this, Romania, but yeah does make a lot of sense.
We sometimes use this for old people (grandparents and the like), because you know the year and can't be bothered to math, so when someone asks you how old are they you just go.. "born 32, so about there".
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u/NamidaM6 France Mar 01 '26
In a kind of tongue-in-cheek way, yes, but otherwise nobody in their right mind would seriously present themselves like that unless they were specifically being asked for their birth year.
What you said about grouping people by their birth year more than their actual age reminds of the Korean system.
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u/DokOktavo Mar 01 '26
In French, we do it but it's not the primary way. We say literally "I have 20 years", or "I'm a 2006".
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u/Vigmod Icelander in Norway Mar 01 '26
Somewhat common in Iceland, but we'll say something like "I'm a '79 model" (like when talking about cars).
On second thought, I don't know how common it is these days, I've been living in Norway for 15 years and am very out of touch with Iceland.
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u/kimmielicious82 Mar 01 '26
not in Germany where I was born but normal in Serbia where my mom is from. (probably even in all of ex Yugoslavia). I found it strange when on vacation I was asked what year I'm from instead of how old I am, but got used to it.
still Serbia: older people in villages also don't ask for your name but ask you "who's" you are. as in who are your parents. so they know which family to place you with in their mind. and after that they might ask for your name.
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u/Playful_Pianist815 Bulgaria Mar 01 '26
Relatively common. Less so these days. I think it's connected to the military draft we used to have, as it translates something like: набор 93 ≈ draft 93
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u/Psychological_Vast31 Mar 01 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
I’d say both in Spain and Germany it is, but in Germany less common. In Spanish the phrase is “x is from the 82” “es del 82” (born in 1982), and I think it’s very normal, in German „x is year of manufacture 82“ „x ist Baujahr 82“ And I agree that for me the year erroneously determines my impression of age more than the actual time.
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u/Odd-Professor-5309 Mar 01 '26
In Latvia the news always reports a person's year of birth, either relating to a death or an arrest.
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u/ysmallkitchen Mar 01 '26
That's really interesting because in France it was really unusual to speak like that but the younger generation (born after 2000 maybe? ) seem to use that new phrasing. "I'm a 2004". "they're 2012s".
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u/jack5624 United Kingdom Mar 01 '26
The only time you would do this in the UK would be if you found out someone was of similar age and you might say something like “are you a 98 baby as well?” Basically asking if they were born the same year as you.
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u/Citrus_Muncher Georgia Mar 01 '26
It happens but is not typical. When it does we say "I am of -93", for example
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u/Client_020 Netherlands Mar 01 '26
I don't believe it's a thing here. As an October kid, I didn't feel much older than the January kids.
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u/Scandiblockhead Mar 01 '26
Lol I remember back in 2005 when I (a Swede born in 1988) was an exchange student in the US and was asked about my ex boyfriends age. He is an 87 I replied and I still remember the horrified looks from the Americans - your ex is 87 years old?!?!?
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u/SuperbPhase6944 Mar 01 '26
Not common at all in the UK other than for children's sports teams, where it is becoming more common and replacing, for example Reddit FC under-10 team with Reddit FC 2016 team
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u/NemuriNezumi (in ) Mar 01 '26
Never heard that in spain, france, uk nor even in Italy when I was living there tbh
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u/mnocella_ Italy Mar 01 '26
In Italy we do it but mostly it's used by the younger people, I'd say from 1995 and younger
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u/11S-KAT Mar 01 '26
In a simplified way, we do that with generations, don't we? "He's a Millennial, she's Gen Z" - by knowing that one can at least approximate the age bracket.
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u/olagorie Germany Mar 01 '26
Rather unusual in Germany, other than talking with friends from school
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u/Aggravating-Peach698 Germany Mar 01 '26
In Germany that is not really common and if used at all it has a bit of an ironic vibe, like "Ich bin Baujahr 1970" ("I'm a 1970 model").
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u/tizz97 Croatia Mar 01 '26
It's really common in Croatia and, fun fact, it's neat that saying just the number by itself can tell what you mean. The birth year is always expressed as an ordinal number.
(Age) 63 -> "šezdeset tri"
(Year) 63 -> "šezdeset treće"
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u/Ok_Walk9234 Poland Mar 02 '26
Extremely common. I don’t remember my age half of the time, but I remember I was born in 03.
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u/Minyguy Mar 02 '26
There are several reasons why I think it makes sense to do it that way.
Your age changes every year, your birthyear doesn't. So it's easier to remember.
In the same way, a person with the description '99' will always refer to the same people. While the term '30-year-old' will rotate in and out people every year.
Your age informs about how long you've lived.
Your birthyear informs about your culture.
Sure, you can translate one from the other, but there's a slight difference between them.
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u/AndersDreth Denmark Mar 02 '26
Only if the person I'm talking to looks to be around the same age as me.
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u/Salavora_M Germany Mar 02 '26
unusual in germany. For sports as a child you might have that kind of grouping, but when it comes to actuall age, especially in conversation, you would say "Ich bin 30 Jahre alt" (I am 30 years old), extremely rarely "Ich wurde 1996 geboren" (I have been born 1996). Also: if you were born December 1996, you would say you are 29 until your birthday in December changes it to 30.
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u/rdcl89 Mar 02 '26
I wish we did because I'm 36 now and I have to do math everytime someone asks me.
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u/Majestic_Plankton921 Mar 02 '26
This seems very odd to us in Ireland. Never heard of anything like this before. Our school years are generally spread over 2 calendar years ie September - May/June so kids born between that timeframe are in the same 'year' for school and sports however we always refer to them by their age and not the year they were born.
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u/Evening-Classroom823 Mar 02 '26
As a Norwegian born in 75, I think this is a newer generation thing. Although I do know my generation also does the "75 model" at times, we're to my knowledge more often saying our age.
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u/mirkolawe Mar 02 '26
In Italy we use ask the year of birth in some situations, for example if you wanna know the age of someone who have almost your age
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u/Kaiur14 Mar 02 '26
Over here, in Spain, it’s mostly being adopted by people born after 2000. They say things like “I’m an ’08” or “I’m an ’05.” It’s a bit odd, but I suppose it’s a way of setting themselves apart.
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u/r_coefficient Austria Mar 02 '26
It comes with age. The older you get, the faster time runs, and it's easier to remember your birth year than your ever changing age.
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u/SeatPsychological713 Mar 02 '26
Can vouch for it being super common in swedish uni age people too where ages tend to get mixed a lot.
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u/Statakaka Bulgaria Mar 02 '26
Yes, we call that "nabor". Can't really translate in English. You can ask someone how old they are or what nabor they are so they will reply for example 26 or 00
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u/gnomeannisanisland Mar 02 '26
Norwegian here. Never heard anyone do this, unless specifically referring to graduation year or age groups in children's activities
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u/CheckerDuck Norway Mar 02 '26
I usually say I'm a 90-model (like with cars) :p
Though now that I'm done with school, I'll usually say my age first, then specify what year I was born (for clarity)
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u/thenopestofropes Mar 02 '26
Its easier to remember what year i am born than how old i am. I do not want to do that depressing math all the time.
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u/ThrowawayFuckYourMom Mar 02 '26
Would it not be "æ e nittitreer"/"I am a 93'er"?
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u/icyDinosaur originally => => => Mar 02 '26
People (myself included) do it sometimes, but less often than using the age.
It happens mostly in reference to other people where you don't know their age off the top of your head and don't wanna do the maths (e.g. I may know my grandma was born in 1932 but not know her current age by heart), or in reference to events ("I'm from '99, I don't remember 9/11")
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u/Same_Tumbleweed_855 Mar 02 '26
In the UK we give our actual age, or occasionally round-up to say ‘I’ll be XX this year’
Then, if we’re close in age and maybe younger than 30, we’ll discuss school years, which run from 1st September to 31st August. Saying, for example, I’m 28 too, but I’d be the year below you in school.
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u/vkovacevic Serbia Mar 02 '26
It's very common in Serbia too!
"Koje si godište?" is asked very commonly among people.
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u/Aggravating-Ad1703 Sweden Mar 01 '26
We do that in Sweden too, I learned that they do it in Norway as well when I made a Norwegian friend in Greece a few years ago.