十 数 年(じゅうすうねん)

じゅうすうねん

noun

ten-odd years; a dozen or so years

1. ten-odd years; somewhere between ten and twenty years

An approximate span of more than ten but fewer than twenty years. The 数(すう) in the middle is what makes the figure vague; the same slot works with other counters, as in 十数人(じゅうすうにん) (ten-odd people).

十数年(じゅうすうねん)前(まえ)のことだ。

That was ten-odd years ago.

この店(みせ)は十数年(じゅうすうねん)続(つづ)いている。

This shop has been going for over ten years.

十数年(じゅうすうねん)ぶりに故郷(こきょう)に帰(かえ)り、町(まち)の変(か)わりように驚(おどろ)いた。

I returned to my hometown for the first time in ten-odd years and was startled by how much it had changed.

The 数(すう) slot creates an approximate figure in the teens; the pattern extends to other counters.

Common expressions

十数年(じゅうすうねん)前(まえ): ten-odd years ago
十数年(じゅうすうねん)ぶり: for the first time in ten-odd years
十数人(じゅうすうにん): ten-odd people
十数回(じゅうすうかい): ten-odd times

Similar words

数十年(すうじゅうねん): several decades — the same characters in the other order, but far longer (roughly 20–90 years)
何十年(なんじゅうねん): decades — vaguer and often emotional, as in "for decades now"

Related Words

Compare: 数十年(すうじゅうねん) (several decades)

Compare: 何十年(なんじゅうねん) (decades)

general

Added 2026.8.15 21:20 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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