This troper is 19 now. She will look 16 the rest of her life and look like a high school student. Some teenagers don't even know she's older and guess her age to be younger. Her boyfriend still looks like he's in high school as well.

She is happy that this age thing makes bus fare cheaper.

Her current boyfriend's family is also very young looking like her own family.

The troper's mom looks in her 30's, when she is in her 40's.

This troper is almost 25 and still gets mistaken for 19 or 20. My mom was starting to look 62, but since she got her hair done she could pass for 50. Subverted with my dad. He's 62 also, looks his age, but hasn't aged a day in 13 years.

This troper is frequently mistaken for being 14-15 and is actually 18; could be genetics, my mother is in her late forties and looks late thirties, early forties and my dad is in his mid forties and looks like he's still in his thirties. She's also got a friend who is older than she is (turning 19 in July) and is constantly mistaken for being 8 or 9 – she's even been mistaken as my younger sister!

This troper is routinely mistaken for a 13-16 year old, and is also routinely hit on by older men... awwkwaard.

This troper is always mistaken to be a few years younger than he is(18)and is sometimes mistaken as a girl

Once, when I was 15 (I'm now 18), my sister and I went to the DMV to get our [=IDs=]. I wanted to start driving, so my mother asked if a Driver's Ed book was available. The lady behind the counter pointed at my TWELVE YEAR OLD sister saying that she could have it. She then pointed at me saying I'll have to wait until I was thirteen to get the book. I was FIFTEEN.

This troper is frequently mistaken for the twin sister of her cousin. Her cousin is twelve. She is sixteen and a half. This was made worse when she got her hair cut, and her cousin started growing HIS hair out, and they were mistaken for identical twins. Got better when her hair started growing out and her chest started growing.

Inverted in that this troper was hit on by a teenage boy (at least 15) when she was about nine or ten. And her dad was right there, listening, too.

He could have just been into lolis.

This troper got told he was around 18 when he was actually 25. He has no issues whatsoever talking with friends 4-5 years younger than him, and a lot of people think he's younger than he is. The joys of growth retardation (although that is only 1-2 years).

I thought my grandmother was in her 50's. Nope. Around her 80's.

Oh until turned 30 This Troper was asked for ID whenever went to buy smokes for his mom. Yes even at 29 he could pass for being under 21 years old.

Not too long ago, I, at the age of 17, handed an application for a summer volunteering position at the local historical society. The women at the counter was very confused, saying that she thought i looked fourteen, fifteen at the very oldest. Said troper is 6'3 with a soul patch, and since the age of fifteen has on occasion been mistaken for a twenty something. I told her that she is the first person in years to underestimate my age, and she told me that i had a Passing resemblence to her son, who had just turned 14.

After I had just turned 12, I went to a political forum and submitted a question to be answered. Some guy thought the little kid at the bipartisan talk was cute, and put, "Asked by a 10 year old" on the question submission sheet when I passed it up to the front. The speakers read the question out loud, and to my mortification, called out, "Who's the ten-year-old?" I stood up and protested I was 12, but after answering my question, they continued to refer to me as "the ten-year-old" throughout the entire thing. Which, if I didn't mention before, was TELEVISED. Imagine how humiliated I was.

When I attempted to buy the ''SouthPark'' movie on DVD a few years ago, I was asked by the checkout lady if I was over seventeen. I was ''twenty'' at the time. Almost three years have passed, and I still get surprised looks from people when I tell them how old I am -- they all think I'm still in high school!

Me (jinxed blackcat). I'm 19 and 6 months... I get mistaken for 14 or so.. Sometimes I'm even genderflipped from miss to sir.

This troper's mother is regularly mistaken for his sister (or, more rarely, ''girlfriend'').

The older this troper gets, the more she appreciates fitting this trope. Especially around birthdays.

This troper being 23 does not completely shave his facial hair because if I would do my hair a certain way and have all of my facial hair shaved off, I would probably look no older than 12 ro 13 years old.

Same with this troper. I still get carded for ''food samples at the supermarket''!

This troper is also older than he looks often times I was mistaken for a teenager, sometimes when buying r-rated movies I am sometimes asked to show my I.D., and I'm in my twenties, and sometimes they think my brother is older than me because he is so tall but he is two years younger than me, I often grow out my beard so I look older now.

This troper (who is sixteen years and nine months old at the time of writing) was recently told that she looked younger than that. This immediately caused me to wonder how old I looked now; for most of my life I was a HugeSchoolgirl who was generally taken to be 2-4 years older than whatever my actual age was at the time, but I stopped growing at around 14 due to my terrible sleeping habits. Height aside, my face hasn't changed noticeably since then either, so maybe I still look 14? I guess time will tell. (I think it runs in the family, too. My dad's 50 and looks about fortyish.)

I also know someone (over the internets, not in real life) who I'm pretty sure is in his mid-twenties to thirties; he looks about fifteen.

This Troper has also gone from HugeSchoolgirl to this. At 16, I could easily pass for 20. Recently, while buying wine as a birthday present for someone, I was asked to prove I'm over 18. I'm '''twenty-freaking-six'''.

My sympathies; a few years ago this troper was at the grocery store at 10am on a weekday and the cashier asked why I wasn't in school. After asking how old she thought I was ("16 or so") I had to show ID before my real age (25) was believed. At the age of 26 I was carded at the local animal shelter before being allowed into the dog room. With pigtails and sneakers, I can even squidge it down to 15. Sadly I've been passing for 16ish since the age of 12. This is why I don't leave the house without makeup!

Usually inverted with this troper (once she was asked if she came back from university to help out at the local ribfest when she was 16, and has never been asked about questionable manga books for older teens, despite one of the first series she bought being ''{{Chobits}}''...she was 14), but there have been occasions (as of recently, due to coming back for her 5th year of high school) where people assume she's younger than than 18. Oddly enough, she doesn't ''feel'' like she's 18.

A straighter example was an instance with her mother; she (mother) was visiting Chicago for a Rotary convention of sorts, and while hanging out at a local bar or restaurant, she was asked if she was there with her mother by an older man. Her mother was at least 40 at the time. The friend and fellow club member she was with wasn't even 10 years older than her.

Same troper's Ancient Civilizations teacher has a 10-year-old daughter. Many students truthfully tell her she looks to be about 25 or younger (this troper agrees with them). She jokes about giving them all A's. Actually, she (troper) has pinned several of her teachers to be younger than they are...it makes it hard when one of her English teachers surfs, snowboards, plays guitar, goes rock-climbing (and is in charge of the rock-climbing club at that), and enjoys indy and rock bands. A new substitute teacher once said he was at the school when she was going through, and she thought he was one of the students...

This troper, at 14, was confused to be his neighbour's daughter's father, helped along by how my face looked aged with stress and that we had similar hair. Later, when this troper was 16, he was confused to be a seminarian not only by his looks, but also by his speech.

This troper, to her occasional annoyance. She's been carded for buying cough syrup, which she doesn't mind... But once, while at a restaurant, she was asked if she wanted the 13-and-under kid's menu. She's ''twenty.'' If she looks twelve, then that waiter must be seeing an awful lot of well-endowed twelve-year-olds.

Actually, alot of THIRD GRADERS are getting large breasts now.

This troper was once at a mall by himself and decided to play at one of the Wii booths that were set up in the halls. The booth attendant asked where his parents were. He had to explain that he was 19 years old... He's now a year older and is still asked about his age by various people who think he's too young to be wandering around by himself.

This troper, now 31, still gets mistaken for younger (often ''much'' younger) by many people, to the point where they act genuinely surprised when he mentions his real age. Choice incidents include a salescritter in the printer department at Micro Center asking him if he was writing a paper (in 2006, not 1995), and one friend describing him as "will be carded for alcohol ''forever''".

This troper gets pretty much consistently mistaken for a 16-year old despite being over 20. He recently started growing a beard to look older, but currently it just makes him look like a teenager who's trying to grow a beard.

This troper has a terrible time telling age. He's ID'ed people over ''forty!''

This troper has a friend who constantly gets away with paying youth fares on the bus. Depending on how she's dressed, she can look anywhere from sixteen to ''twelve''. She's ''twenty-three''.

This troper is sixteen years old, but tops out just short of five feet and comes with a young face to boot -- some people don't even think she belongs in high school, much less as a junior. When she went to the mall with her mom, one of the women selling makeup commented she looked like she was twelve. She also said that this troper's thirty-six year-old mother looked like she was only in her late twenties, so it seems to be at least a little genetic. The first sign of all this was being mistaken as a kindergartener by a teacher when she was in the first grade -- nothing drastic, but far from the last age confusion.

This troper's mother. She looks at most in her early 40s, but the truth is she's turning 50 this year. This troper hopes that she's inherited her genes.

This troper's brother was born in 1979 and was recently asked for ID to prove he was over 21 in a restaurant. "Take it as a compliment" doesn't really cover it.

This troper gets the inverse. He is regularly mistaken for 17-18, despite being 16. If he was four inches taller, to about 5'10", he could pass for twenty.

This troper, a few years ago, was attending a surprise party for her grandfather and was enumerating the identities of guests for someone who was, for reasons unexplained, taking attendance. #QUOTE#'''Troper:''' ...and my husband just left to pick up my little sister. #QUOTE#'''Woman:''' Your husband! Oh, you're so young to be married! #QUOTE#'''Troper, confused:''' I'm twenty-five. #QUOTE#'''Woman:''' ...I thought you were sixteen.

It should be noted this apparently runs in the family. Troper's mother is fifty-one and is usually mistaken for around thirty-five.

This troper. Full. Stop. She's almost 23 but regularly gets mistaken for 15 or younger. Her mother's like this too--she's 45 but is often mistaken for being in her late 20's-early 30's. Every time the two of them go out to dinner together, this troper is given a ''kids' menu''. Said troper has developed a complex because of it, fearing that no one will take her seriously because of her appearance, and wondering what it says about the guys who are attracted to her...

UnfortunateImplications indeed....

Implications nothing. She's been hit on by two different pedophiles. It's a very legitimate concern.

This troper was surprised when she found out her lab partner at college was married and had a baby. Even the troper herself is mistaken for a 15-16 year old when she is actually 18. Her brother is a subversion, one time he was thought to be her father even though he is 6 years older than her.

This troper is a nineteen-year-old sophomore in college at the time of this writing, and I'm getting sick and tired of being asked what year of high school she's in. Once last summer, in the grocery store, my mom, my sister and I were mentioning my then-fifteen-year-old brother (we hadn't had our fall birthdays yet) and he was away at band camp. The female cashier (who was probably in her mid-to-late fifties) asked, "So he's the oldest?" We had mentioned his age, so I was thinking, "Just how old do I look to you, lady?" I will concede that when my hair is in braided pigtails, I could pass for a somewhat mature 13-14-year-old (but my hair was down during that specific incident).

Looking young also seems to run in said troper's family, since my dad is 52 and gets mistaken for being in his early 40s--and once, at Six Flags, while he was 41, one of those "Guess Your Age/Weight/Birth Month?" ladies mistook him for 28. And when my mother turned 50 last year, she asked her students to guess how old she was, and most of them guess early 40s and someone guess 35 (which made her quite happy).

The twenty-something youth director at this troper's church has been mistaken for a middle-schooler on multiple occasions. Once at a high school football game, a teacher told her to go back to the middle school section. Another time, a cashier at the local Walgreens wouldn't let her in to the store because apparently only a certain amount of unaccompanied middle-schoolers are allowed in at a time.

This troper still gets carded for 15+ things. He'll be 19 in a month.

I'm 35 and still get carded but I could get into clubs at 16.

At this troper's last job, the dress code forbade him from having a beard, but he was able to keep his mustache. Most people thought he was around 30 years old. He's 22. Now he's been able to grow his beard back, and people mistake him for 40. He's also never been carded in his life, which allowed him to play pool at a local bar at 16.

A Main/BerserkButton for this troper, especially when people tell her that she'll enjoy it when she's older. She's currently 23 and is frequently asked if she's in high school. A couple of years ago, while buying admission to a museum, she was informed that "12 and under are free." If you say so, lady.

This 33yr old troper had a rather pleasant surprise from her fellow castmates during the last show she was cast in. Both the high school actors and the actors over forty thought she was barely in her 20's (even when she was talking about celebrating her 3rd anniversary).

Two years later at the SAME theatre company with different castmates, she's still getting the "You look too young to be married" comments.

This editor has made a game out of this trope in real life; when I ask people,"Go on,guess my age" they ''never'' get it right. I've gotten anything from 19 years old to 26 -- it's hilarious. currently '''30'''. It backfired recently when I was carded by a humourless bouncer:"That [Student I.D.] won't do. Driver's license or passport please." "I don't have a driver's license. Dammit,I'm years old!" "You're [[spoiler:thirty? Why didn't you say so?" *stands aside*

Am I the only one who read the Bouncer's voice as a Turian in my head?

This troper faced this with a workmate the other day. They saw me parking my car and commented that they're surprised; they didn't realise I was seventeen (the age you can get a license) already. I was ''almost twenty''.

One of this troper's crushes is 21, but appears to be 10. Another one appears to be 13, but is actually 20. Guess what? This troper is a Lolicon.

Played straight ''and'' inverted with this troper. Often I get people who ask what year in high school I am, forgetting that I'm already in college. Other times, because of the facial hair, people think I'm already twenty-something when I'm still just [[spoiler:19]] years old.

When this troper was 18, he had to re-take freshman English. No one in the class thought he was any older than 15, and his teacher for that class nearly pulled him out of the senior photo just before a very awkward conversation. Now 20 years old, he often is able to pay less for movie tickets by passing for a minor, and gets regularly mistaken for being 16.

This troper was once mistaken for 15-16, at 24. And got carded, buying booze, two months ago--age 30. w00t.

This troper's friend is seventeen and in her last year of high school, and there are many people who think she looks ''ten''. There are also at least two teachers in this troper's high school who are mistaken for being in their late 30s or early 40s when they're actually fifty-something.

This troper, having fairly recently turned 20, was met with surprise when she mentioned being excited about voting in the 2008 election-- everyone apparently assumed she was too young to vote. She has a general tendency to be mistaken for someone four or five years younger.

This troper's paternal grandparents once got stopped by the police while traveling because they mistook my grandfather for a pedophile kidnapper and my grandmother for his victim. My granny was in her mid to late twenties at the time (and my grandfather five years older.) Her mother was also once almost arrested due to being mistaken for a teenage runaway while traveling in college. As this troper has inherited these genes from both sides of the family and is 5'0, it should come as no surprise that she is 18 and is generally mistaken for anywhere between 12 and 16. On the first day of senior year, someone asked if she was a freshman.

This troper, a college student, was observing a sixth grade classroom and mistaken for part of the class. By the class.

Due to his skinny build, somewhat short height, kinda dorky haircut and a childish looking face This 15 year old troper is in grade ten and is mistaken for being a niner. Also when the youth prices at movies theaters are 13 and below I can pass off as being 13 as well.

This troper, while twenty-four, is frequently thought to be sixteen or seventeen. Following just as frequently are thoughts of her being fourteen, including one single guess of thirteen. Apparently, this runs in the family as my grandmother was once mistaken for my mother's sister when they were both much younger. Her mother was also asked well into her thirties for ID. Of course, because of her maturity, throughout elementary school she was often thought two-to-three years older. This is the first-born kid whose mother couldn't find the kindergarten room because they all looked like second graders to her, I was ''tiny'' due to growth problems. Thus, this troper was dumbstruck the time she was once mistaken for her five-years-younger sisters' mother. Conversely, her sister is of the Younger Than She looks and had once been drooled over by a college friend before he learned her true age.

This troper recently learned that one of the guys a friend of his at college hangs out with is ''not'' a student here. He's part of the musician crowd around campus, but he's a professional, not a hobbyist. I assumed he was 21-22 years old, an impression he actually prefers to cultivate, since it makes it seem less weird that he spends most of his time hanging out with college students, but he's actually 38.

This troper is 20 years old. It doesn't help that her parents have this same ability as her mother is 40 and looks 30 and her father is 45 who looks 35. There have been times that people were absolutely floored when she tells them her age, and they always reply with, "Oh, I thought you were 12 years old! You'll definitely appreciated when you're much older!" God forbid when she helps out her mother with grading papers at the middle school.

This troper is 18 but guess ranges for his age are in the 14-16 range. It does not help that he is 5'4" and has a very skinny conformation.

Said troper also managed to pass for 12-13 at age 15.

Said troper's grandparents look about 60, they are 80+ .

Said troper's aunt looks 10-25. She's in her early 30s.

This troper has a friend who until recently would often be mistaken for a middle-schooler. In fact, when I first met her, I thought she was like me at the time a high-school freshman. She was a sohpomore. If it wasn't for the fact that almost everyone in the school knows who she is, they'd be still making the same mistake. On the other hand, this is inverted with me. For some reason people never card me when going out.

This troper is short and flat chested, and she never wears make-up or heels. During her first week in a new college class, she was regularly mistaken for being too young for college, with guesses varying from 10(!) to 14. She was 19 at the time. Now she's 21 and is usually mistaken for being between 14 and 16.

This troper is a junior in High School who is often mistaken for a freshman or younger, but there's also a guy he knows that is almost a full year older than he is who looks sounds AND acts like a 6th or 7th grader. The guy is quite famous around the school because of it. However there is a another student this troper has seen around, whom at this point is a sophomore who looks no older than A 4TH GRADER! I am not making this up!

This troper's family has this in spades. Both parents look ten to twenty years younger than they are, meanwhile this troper apparently got mistaken for middle school while she was talking about biology and diseases with a pair of six-year-olds.

This troper grew his facial hair specifically to avert this trope. In eighth grade a student mistook him for a sixth-grader, in restaurants he was offered the kids' menu ''even after the mustache started coming in,'' and in his senior year of high school he was told that if he shaved he could pass for twelve.

This troper got carded for an R-rated movie at 22, and still looks several years younger than his real age of 28 despite a mix of sinus trouble and an interesting life giving him very tired-looking eyes. So does his thirty-year-old roommate. Both, though, invert this when they don't shave, to the point that he jokes about "cutting off ten years." And he prefers the former to the latter. He is way too young to be almost 30, damnit.

The common consensus among those she's asked and those who have been shocked by her real age is that this twenty-one-year-old troper looks twelve. Her first time voting, she caused quite a stir at a polling place, resulting in a man asking another, "What's voting age, 'cause that girl looks twelve!" She took advantage of "eleven and under get in free" rules until she was fifteen, and only stopped because she felt bad doing it. Disturbingly enough, she is a fanboy magnet and has men follow her around in stores. Most are in their mid-twenties, but some have been at least fifty.

When this troper was in the eleventh grade (16-17 years old), one of the gym teachers asked him if he was visiting an older sibling. When he replied that he was a student, the teacher told him that he could have passed for a ten year old. He anticipates being carded until his hair starts graying.

This troper was born in 1990. Being 5'0" with a slim build, soft voice, and rounded face means that she generally passes for about twelve-ish without glasses, makeup, or title drops of books that most twelve-year-olds wouldn't even ''comprehend'', let alone talk about.

This troper is round-faced, a bit boyish, never wears makeup, and just, for some reason, looks significantly younger than her actual age of eighteen. She recently went door-to-door canvassing voters for the Obama campaign and wasn't too surprised to be asked whether she's even old enough to vote. But when she was asked if the 24-year-old woman she was working with was her mother, well... she was pretty much dumbstruck with embarrassment. Probably comes with a side of YoungerThanTheyLook on the other woman's part.

This troper, a teacher in high school, was shouted at on the first day of school for using the staff's entrance. Quite recently, she was also accused by another teacher of entering a classroom without waiting for the teacher. The straw that broke the camel's back, though, was when a student working in the school, i.e. younger than her, entered the class to hand out papers and asked this troper to "please sit down and where is your teacher anyway?" Needless to say this makes gaining respect from her pupils difficult.

This troper has a weird double-case of this. When people hear me speak, they think I'm in my thirties. When people see me (and I've shaved lately) I apparently look about fourteen. Will be turning twenty this May.

When this troper recently turned eighteen, his father thought it would be cool for his newly grown-up son to buy him a pack of cigarettes. I went to the store WITH MY I.D. which has one of those HOLOGRAMS designed to prevent fake I.D.'s and the clerk still refused to sell me cigarettes (she actually asserted that I was 15 or 16 and that I couldn't possibly be 18). I don't even smoke, they were for my father. I was so peeved.

This troper pretty much stop growing after she hit 14, so despite being 20, she still looks like she'd rather fit in high school. Granted, she's small in both height and weight, has a baby face, and has a really young voice. Oddly enough, back in high school, the troper managed to do the inverse when she went to buy lunch and was asked if she had a a business discount. That might be due to the fact she was wearing business-y clothes at that time.

This troper knew a guy in one of her classes at college whom she initially thought to be the pinnacle of Millenial nerd--he had a "geek beard," wore a kilt for the heck of it, loved anime and manga (along with comics in general), was snarky, net-savvy, and had a KimPossible ringtone on his cell phone. Then, one day, a a before-class conversation turned to the topic of SesameStreet. He said, fondly, "I'll always love that show -- I'm the same age as it." SesameStreet came out in 1969.

This troper, while graduating from high school, was told by her classmates that they were surprised that they let her drive and graduate considering how old she was. When she told them she was 18, they were shocked; they had all thought she was 13 or 14. She had to show them her driver's license to prove it. And she still has problems even years later. Luckily, all she has to do is wear a tight shirt, though that only brings up the age to a well-endowed 16...

This troper was once told "You look 16. In a good way." when he was about 21, and got carded a few times going into pubs when he was 22. (The drinking age here is 18.)

What gives away this troper's age is when she begins to talk about her assignments, which tend to be things like sociology. Until then, she gets mistaken for middle or high school. She is 20 years old, almost 21.

This troper's martial-arts class was once told do three sets of push-ups, counting up to our ages each time (this troper's: 16). When everyone was finished another student told her he had thought she was only 14. She's also so small that she's had quite a few experiences with YoungerThanTheyLook companions.

At age 20-something, This Troper was asked by a cashier to show him her ID if she wanted to buy some wine. LOL.

This troper mistook his friend's sister for 16 or 17. She's twenty-four.

Some times when this troper who is in his early 20's buys r-rated movies or uses a credit card is asked for I.D. because I look more like I'm about 16 or 17.

Also my younger cousin is currently 18 but she looks more like she's about 13 or 14.

This troper gets this a lot -- 4'8" or so at 20 years -- and is convinced she sounds like a five year old half the time. At the time of writing, when she went to her old high school to speak to a class as a college Peer Leader, the secretary pretty much asked if I was here for a late slip. "I don't go to this school anymore...T_T"

This troper looks about four to five years younger than she really is. It happens repeatedly when I meet a new person. They think that I look like I shouldn't be nearly so cynical and sarcastic for my age. Cue the BigReveal.

This troper is 23. According to most people she looks "about 16". This is made even stranger by the fact that she also looked "about 16" ten years ago.

Many little dogs would also be a real-life example of this trope. This troper has seen pictures of Pomeranians that are 10-plus years old and she thinks they still look like they would be younger dogs or puppies if their age wasn't known. Also, her own Pomeranian is 3 as of this posting (full-grown adult dog) and people often think the dog is a puppy. This troper has also been told that she looks younger than her real age, too, so she's a good pair with her Pom.

I'm a subversion - I have facial hair and really hairy arms. And I'm 15. But my brother is straight-up, people mistake him for 8.He's 12.

My nana once tried to use her senior citizen discount at the movie theater. Even when they saw her driver's license, the ticket sellers were skeptical. She's in her 70s, and she looks to be a well-preserved 50. Apparently, this is genetic; my mom has honestly been mistaken for my older sister before.

I am constantly being mistaken for a high school student, despite being almost 26 at the time of this writing.

This Troper is frequently handed Kiddie meal menus (some which say on them for 3-10 year olds). One day she just snapped and told the waiter 'I am ''thirteen'' I do NOT want a kiddie meal menu and I do NOT want a packet of crayons and a colouring book! What I ''do'' want is a margherita pizza and a coke.'

Was that at Pizza Hut? They did that to me too when I took my little sisters out >-< but I'm Younger Than I Look, soooo...

No, it was at a nice Italian resturant when me and my family were on holiday in Manchester. Pizza Hut seem to acknowladge that I'm not ten, though they keep giving me balloons.

When this Troper's Grandmother (who is 4'10" and less than 100 pounds) went to the hospital to give birth to this Troper's mother, she was told that children aren't allowed. Apparently the nurse who said that hadn't noticed that she was extremely pregnant. She was about 25 or 26 at the time.

This Tropette goes from playing straight to aversion, depending on what she's wearing. She was once mistaken for a 12 years old kid, despite being 18 at that time. And mistaken for a 21 years old, too, in the same year.

This troper is a five-foot tall {{Pettanko}} with a very small shoe size. Even though she acts pretty maturely, she still shocks people when she says she's eighteen and in her first year at university.

Tropers/DesertDragon here. My ex-boyfriend had a very boyish face (all attempts at growing facial hair failed badly) and a high-pitched voice, but was three years older than me. Since I myself am ''younger'' than I look, when we started dating, people would look at me like ''I'' was the cradle robber even though I was 19 to his 22.

this troper (who is 29 now) regularly goes to anime conventions with her oldest niece, who is 12 years younger than her - and regularly gets people assuming we're sisters only 2 or 3 years apart. she's also had a cashier try to take her drivers license from her when buying alcohol, as they said it had to be fake. thankfully the cashier one register over remembered me from high school and informed them I actually was in my late 20's.

this troper's dad and older brother also fit the trope. her dad is in his early 70's and regularly gets people assuming he's in his 50's still. her brother got regularly carded for cigarettes until about two years ago, and he's 11 years older than her.

I've got three cousins who look like college students (their very casual way of dressing doesn't help). They're all twelve years older then me, which puts them in their late thirties. My roommates and I were once asked if we were high school seniors at Six Flags Magic Mountain; we're all in our mid- to late-twenties. My paternal grandmother (this is probably just my perception) looks like a very robust 70-year-old; she's going to be ninety-one this year. Likewise my late maternal great grandfather looked like a healthy 80-year-old when he passed away at 101.

This Troper has a big problem with this - guess estimations of her actual age have varied between thirteen at youngest and seventeen at oldest - and nobody's ''ever'' gotten it right. She's twenty two. The fact that several of her all age karate classes have many younger kids in them (all of whom always seem to make a big, astonished deal out of uncovering her real age) doesn't help and she has to go through a big production every time she gets asked her age, or tries to purchase craft knives and/or alcohol.

Back when I was about 11-12 years old, my family and I went to a fancy dinner. There was a woman who shared the table with us and asked me how old I was, guessing that I was ''7 or 8''. I literally had a jawdrop moment before telling her I was actually 11-12. The woman became embarrassed before saying, "You'll look very nice when you're 16." Unfortunately, I look my age now.

This troper is 26 and has had people explicitly say that they thought I was (as low as) 18 until I told them otherwise. To this day, I have never failed to be carded for renting rated-R movies. And once, I was carded for renting a PG-13 movie! The idea of a 26-year-old being thought not old enough to check out something attainable by a seventh-grader temporarily blew my mind.

This 23-year-old troper gets confused for being eighteen years old or under. Also, his Eurasian (now ex-) girlfriend was a 31-year-old woman, who also looked around about eighteen still got carded for buying cigarettes. Needless to say, it would have looked awkward. Also, this troper once got a photo from a 21-year-old young woman (a pen pal) in China. She looked...well, thankfully she was fully-clothed otherwise he would have a nervous breakdown - that woman was this trope, looking like a fifteen-year-old girl. Also, this troper's parents fit the bill, looking about their mid-late 30s when they're in their early 50s.

I'm in late high school, but the woman I babysit for always guesses my age as 13. Whenever I tell her my real age, she tells me that when I'm older, I'll be glad to be mistaken for a younger age. I'm not sure it works that way, but even if it does, I'm driving, I don't want a cop thinking I'm 13. Also, in a possible case of {{older than they look}} or {{younger than they look}}, people often think my sister (2.5 years younger than me) is my twin.

This troper works with people in their late teens/early twenties on a daily basis and is always, without question, spoken to as a peer. When the true age is found out--thirty-nine--she is met with screams of 'No way!' followed by 'Let me see your driver's license!' followed by 'Too cool. I thought you were MAYBE twenty-four.' Good genes for the win.

This troper has a friend in the yo-yo club who looks sixteen. He's twenty-nine. It does NOT help that EvenTheGuysWantHim.

This 16 year old troper (4'11") and her twin sister (5'1") went to a restaurant with their friend, who is the same age and 5'10". The waiter looked at this troper and her sister and immediately asked if they wanted two children's menus. The same thing happened three days later at the same restaurant. No one asked their friend if she wanted a children's menu.

This troper's Learning Support teacher was talking about getting ready to retire. This shocked me, because she didn't look a day over thirty-five.

This troper (19) can easily pass for someone who's 15 or 16, but that's nothing compared to her aunt and grandma. Her aunt, who's 45, often gets mistaken for someone ten years younger, and her grandma, who's in her seventies, gets mistaken for someone who's 55 at most (mostly because she's very slender and barely has any grey hair). In fact, a common misconception is this troper and her aunt being sisters, and her grandma being their mother.

This troper and his work experience supervisor got mistaken for six-form students once. Inverted for this troper, as he's 15, and six-formers are from 17-18, but played straight for my supervisor, who was in her early twenties.

This troper's great-grandfather didn't start going gray until two years before he died. He lived to be 98.

Heh, my half-sister who is...27, 28? Nearly got given a kid's meal at a resturant recently. She was sitting at the same end of the table as my younger sisters and I so I guess she got grouped with the little ones...I didn't, though. Younger Than I Look - at 14 I was mistaken for a university student on holiday (about 19) and at 17, I have to produce my student card for everything. Stupid face -.-

This 20-year-old college-attending troper has been told by some friends that he could pass for a high school student.

This troper's mother was born in 1959. She looks about thirty-five.

I'm 25, but most people think I'm in my late teens. Oddly, I don't think it's just appearance, as I often don't get I.Ded for Alcohol and the like (most places ID anyone who looks under 25) yet it's more common with those who I've had closer contact with. On the other hand, most people who know me regard me as mentally much older than I am (unless they know me enough to have caught me in angsty teen mode).

This Troper usually looks her age or older, but just recently told a hairdresser at Great Clips that she was 16 (Her real age), and got the response "No, really! I thought you were about thirteen."

In order not to be subject to this, I (a male) grew my hair out to halfway down my back after leaving school - which only resulted in numerous people *mistaking me for a girl* .

When this troper's grandmother had this problem. Said grandmother was in her twenties, working, and living on her own. She was picked up by truant officers almost every other week, asking why she wasn't in school. She got so fed up with explaining she was an adult when the officer asked for her parents' address she gave it to them. The officer would drive her to her mother's house. Where my grandmother did not live. Her mother would say something to the effect of, "She's got her own house."

My parents are in their mid-forties and they're often told they look around 35; I'm 17 and I get everything from 13 to 20. Even my dog is older than she looks – she's 4 years old and people go all "d'awwww, puppy" when I'm walking her.

Troper Brainpaint has many different tales relating to both herself and her family. Sometimes she still occasionally requires assistance when purchasing video games from one of her parents. When aged 18 and in her second college she was frequently mistaken for between 14 and 16 and upon telling her classmates her age there was a chorus of whoas. She is supposed to look so young that kids sometimes get confused about whether she's the same age as them but fatter. Interestingly she looked older when she was younger and was mistaken for a middle aged woman when she was 15 and was getting wolf whistles from men in their mid-20s while she was only just turned 12.

The troper's parents are also victims to slow ageing. Both of them are around their early 50s and yet they are occasionally mistaken for being somewhere between 35 and 40... Although, when you compare them against people of the ages they are presumed to be, they look even younger than they do. The troper's father at the time of this entry still has his natural hair colour at age 49 and is only just starting to get the occasional grey. (Update) In September 09 the troper's dad collapsed during the showing of a 3D movie. To let the paramedics in they stopped the movie and turned on the lights and when quizzed over the intercom about his age, they STILL said "About 30.". Facepalms happened. It is unknown how many, but at least one was performed.

(BP) That's funny. Because this troper's dad also has had only a few greys and he's 49. He confused his employer for a short while before the subject was laid to rest when he corrected him. He's pushing estimates of early 30s sometimes. Which is funny because his younger half-brother was already grey 10 years ago (The last time she saw him). The troper's older cousin is around the same age as him and she looks older than both her parents.

This troper is usually mistaken for someone about 18-19 years old- a college freshman. He's actually a grad student, age 27.

DialgaX's ''entire'' family is like this.

Aunt: mid 30s; looks to be between 18 and mid 20s

Maternal grandparents: early 80s; looks to between early 70s

DialgaX: 18; looks to be about 14-16. Got asked if he wanted a kid's menu at a Florida restaurant (can be assumed he was mistaken to be under 13).

This troper's girlfriend is exactly like star}} Kanata. She's 20 years old, but due to some developmental issues (premature birth, hormonal deficiencies, numerous leg surgeries.) she doesn't look a day over 13 years old at oldest, and she usually looks about 11. She will most likely look like this well into her forties. I can only imagine the issues this will cause in public in a few years. In my twenties, they'd assume I'm a pedophile, in my thirties, they'd assume she's me daughter.

Inverted with and played straight for This Troper. Im a senior in high school and 17 but most of my fellow students that don't know me think I'm a substitute teacher. It's hilarious. Even in freshman year, at 15, students were surprised to yearn that i wasnt graduating that year. However, if i do my hair right and i dressed in jeans and a tee instead of my normal glam, I can get in movies with the child discount!

This troper is commonly mistaken for being some sort of 15 or 16-year old prodigy. He's 19 at this time of writing. This makes it really freakin' inconvenient whenever he goes to have a chat with several of his old high-school teachers. Really freakin' inconvenient. No, the Fu Manchu look he's going for doesn't seem to register with some of the people he's met. He sees his upcoming stint as a student teacher to be extremely inconvenient.

Tropers/MaryLeathert is now 21, but about a month ago went swimming and still got the childrens' ticket (for under 17 year olds). And when in a mixed-age group (like my local anime club) gets a lot of "I didn't realize you were already a university student, I thought you're in high school". It's probably because I'm somewhat short, relatively flat and don't use any make-up. My clothes are also very generic (pants and t-shirts/colleges) mostly.

My 40-year-old mother often gets carded when ordering alcohol, and people have thought she was my sister before. A few years back she was having her 38th birthday at a restaurant, and an older guy asked how old she was turning. I told him, and he kept wondering if I was saying 28.

This Troper heals quickly, so his face shows little sign of aging. The only thing that can make him look all of his eighteen years is not shaving, and wearing his hair shaggy. When he doesn't do both of these, he is commonly mistaken for a twelve-year-old. (It doesn't help that my physical build isn't exactly uber-masculine.) In addition, a girl he knows (and sort of likes) is barely 4'11" and looks 13, but is actually less than a year younger than I am. Exact quote: ->me: I think (tinygirl) is one of the hottest girls I've ever seen. ->friend: I think that makes you a pedophile.

Sixteen year old girl. Regularly gets mistaken for eleven or twelve. Partially because she's short and genuinely quite young looking, but also because she wears clothes that are fairly young (bright, loose fitting, not very trendy) and little to no makeup due to the fact that she looks dreadful in it. She tried to buy Transformers (a 12 cert) the other day; she only just BARELY got sold it. Not that it annoys her, really; it's kind of funny after a while.

This (20-year-old) troper came across a couple girls (one of which he had a feeling he had seen before) who he suspected to be 16 or 17. On getting to meet them, they told him they were 2nd-year university students, making them at least 18 years old. ''Phew.''

My sister substitute teaches, often in high schools. Naturally, it must be a tad awkward when the other teachers try to stop her from using the staff restroom, not knowing that she's not actually a student.

Though I partially blame that on DawsonCasting.

Many people at this troper's school look like they're two-three grades younger than they really are. Of special note is a boy who looks like a kindergartner, but is in the fifth grade.

This troper has been mistaken for both Older Than She Looks '''and''' Younger Than She Looks. When she was 16, a cute waiter in Seattle flirted with her, thinking she was in her 20s. Unfortunately, I had to correct him. Now she's 22 and hasn't grown much since her teen years (except for her waistline *grumble* ), and she gets mistaken for a teenager quite often. It probably doesn't help that her attitude towards life fluctuates between that of a happy-go-lucky child, an angsty teenager, and (somehow) a world-weary middle-aged person.

Back when I was being a substitue teacher at a Junior High School, I was standing in the lunch lines. The lunch lines are both for students and teachers. While I was waiting in the line, a Junior High student asked me, "Are you new here?" I replied, "I hope so, I'm a substitute teacher." The other students jumped back and the student that asked me the question pointed to a nearby girl and said, "She made me ask." I was in my early twenties at the time.

Recently we met one of my brother's friend's roommates he appeared to be in his mid teens but he was actually 25.

This troper used to be mistaken for being under 16, right up until he was 20. Thankfully, growing what sort of passes for a beard (damn lack of facial hair) stopped that.

It is currently impossible for me (23 going on 24 as of writing this) to buy any sort of alcholic beverage, due to a combination of looking like a high school student and not actually having any sort of ID.

This troper, at 21, has been told she looks anywhere from 12-17, due to both her personality and dress. Her love of wearing pigtails probably doesn't help.

Fun story: I bought a bottle of hard liquor, and got carded. I handed over my license, and the cashier called other employees, including a manager, over to verify that I hadn't faked the ID.

The scene: This troper is in line at the convenience store, at 11am on a Monday. Nosy busybody behind me asks: "Where are you going after this?" Me: "What do you mean?" NBB: "Where are you going?" Me: "What do you mean, where am I going?" NBB: "You're going to school, ''right?''" Me: "...I'm 29 years old; I've been out of high school for a while. But, hey, thanks."

A few years later, this same troper was mistaken for a college student. It's the geeky lifestyle. I age well.

Not two weeks ago, this troper got carded for Moon. It's rated 15. I'm 21. FML.

This troper is 17. She isn't short, but she is flat-chested and has a young face. She's been mistaken for a freshmen twice in the first half of junior year alone by other freshmen and by ''kids that she knows''. Most people assume she's much younger than her twin sister, who could pass for a college student.

This troper's college roommate is 19 but barely reaches 5 feet in height. Just last month she went out to eat with her parents and was given a kid's menu. Needless to say this troper gives her a hard time about it.

This troper had an English teacher in high school that could easily pass as a student there.

This editor is usually estimated to be around 18-19 years of age. He is in fact 23. On a somewhat related note when this editor's grandfather was hospitalized some time ago the doctors concluded that at the age of 70-something he had a body of a healthy 60-year-old. Nice one, that.

This troper joined the US Army right out of high school, retired after a 24-year career, and has been working for almost 3 years in a military support office. He frequently gets asked if he spent any time in the military because he looks like he's in his mid-30s.

This troper is currently 30 and has had it for about half of his life:

When he was 15, an old woman in a gym asked him if he "already finished elementary school".

When he was a senior in high school, another senior (different class) mistook him for a freshman.

When he was 20, he had a quite weird conversation about school with a distant relative of his, who assumed he was 15.

Two months after he turned 30, he went to a retrocomputing exhibition and started talking to an exhibitor, who was surprised by his knowledge of emulators and virtual reality peripherals. At the end of the conversation, this troper was asked his age and he replied truthfully. The exhibitor said "Oh, really? I thought you were 20!" Here is a photograph from said exhibition, taken when this troper (longish hair, black shirt, mouse in his hand) was playing Quake 3 on a Mac Mini.

Five months later, he was referred to as a "kid" by a group of kids he was playing SplinterCell Conviction with, at the local Gamestop.

Three months later, same Gamestop. This troper was showing off his l33t sk1llz at PrinceOfPersia: The Forgotten Sands to some middle school kids. One of them starts a friendly conversation and finally asks: "How old are you?" This troper replies truthfully. Cue JawDrop from the kid.

This Troper was mistaken for being fifteen just a couple of months after turning twenty-one.

This Troper's best friend is 39 years old. Troper is 16 (both female.) There must be some law that always, every single time we're somewhere together, someone will ask how old we are... and guess we must be both around 20, 21. TheReveal often makes for a pretty nice MindScrew.

This Troper is almost 20, and was recently asked by a gate attendant at the airport if she was an unaccompanied minor on the flight- for those not in the know, that means you'd have to be under 16. Funnily enough, she used to fly as an UM all the time and almost said yes because of it.

This troper, age 32, can subvert or play this trope straight based entirely on the state of his facial hair and whether he's wearing a hat. Clean-shaven and with a cap on, he's frequently mistaken for 22-23; just add goatee and remove hat to reveal the thinning (THINNING, not balding, can I make that clear?) hair you'd expect from a guy in his thirties and boom! Pegged for 35. Since the goatee makes me more awesome by default, most folks split the difference if they see the hat and I get figured for about 27.

This troper, aged 16, is frequently mistaken for being 12 or 13, due to her short stature (5'0) and young face, as well as the fact that she never wears make-up and is usually dressed in baggy t-shirts. However, when she wears tight fitting shirts or band shirts (Iron Maiden, Tygers of Pan Tang, etc.) she often gets mistaken for a young-looking twenty year old. She understands how form-fitting shirts woudl lead people to assume her to be older, yet fails to understand how the band shirts maker her look any older. It seems to run in the family, too, with her mother having been carded multiple times when she was in her late fourties,and her almost 90 year old grandmother often being mistaken for being only 60 or so, helped by the fact that her grandmother's hair is jet black with only a few gray hairs despite not using any dye.

This troper, 21, STILL gets stopped every once in a blue moon by security guards, store employees, and overall concerned mothers who ask me what school I'm skipping. I graduated high school 3 years ago. It's not that I'm short, I'm just flat-chested and apparently have a baby face. It feels like I have to cake on Tammy Baker-esque proportions of makeup to look my age. I've had my ID rejected when trying to buy R-Rated movies and movie tickets. I know this lovely little trait will be handy when I'm much older, but it sucks being old enough to drink AND vote, and have no one take you seriously because you don't even look old enough to drive.

This Troper was one carded when her MOTHER was buying an R rated movie for her FATHER

What?

My cousin, who is in her early thirties, forgot her driver's license in the car and no matter how much she tried to convince the bouncer to let her in, he thought she was underage.

This Troper, 32, is frequently mistaken for 25 or younger when he puts his Red Sox cap on...and thinks anyone who cards him for alcohol or at the casino is the salt of the earth. Unfortunately, taking off the hat has the opposite effect, as his slight thinning hair (SLIGHT, I said! SLIGHT!) makes him look closer to 40.

This Troper, 23, is usually believed to be around 20 years, but his little sister's case is even more extreme: at 20 years old, she's forbidden access even in higschools because she looks younger than 15.

This 21 year old Troper has twice in the space of two months been mistaken for being 15 by seperate people over a hundered miles apart. At a church near home, he was mistaken for being much younger by an elderly woman. Back at college, he was mistaken by someone possibly younger than him on campus.

this troper is 16 but looks like a 12-13 yearold.

This Troper thought her guitar teacher was, at the oldest, in his early 30s. Nope, he's 45. The Troper almost wished she'd had a mouthful of soda or something so she could SpitTake when he let his age slip. And yet, she still considers him one of her {{Nakama}}.

This Troper's mother's side tend to look anywhere from ten to twenty years younger than we are, up until about our 70's. Then it's about five. Recently, she was asked when she was graduating from High School. She's 31. (I think it's the lack of any facial lines, including nasolabial folds.)

This troper is 19, and works at a school, where she was mistaken for an 11 year old. I dont think i look 11 though, most people think i am about 15. My friend is 22 and looks about 17, and is mistaken for being younger than he looks, cause he acts about 12.

It happens to ThisTroper all the time: when he grew a beard, people told his sister that they had seen her "older brother" walking around. At a book store, someone asked if I was already married (sadly, it wasn't Yomiko Readman). Once, at a job fair ThisTroper's mother went to, ThisTroper was confused for a teacher by another teacher (note that ThisTroper was sporting a kickass beard then). This lead into a conversation of just how young the troper was (18), and his college exploits (entered at 16). The teacher told this troper, "Tell your mother she's raisd a son to be proud of."

I tend to get asked what grade I'm in. I'm a university graduate and in my twenties. Therefore, anyone who looks my age and is attracted to me is a CakeEater. Anyone who actually is my age and is attracted to me is a LoliCon. Yay.

I'm terrified that this trope could happen to me (even though it never has as of now), so I go out of my way to avert it by dressing and styling my hair like a lawyer. "In character," I go up to 30, but with jeans and a T-shirt, I go down to 14. Incidentally, I'm seventeen.

I am 18 (almost nineteen as of this edit) and I am constantly thought to be between the ages of 12 and 15. It gets old seeing the shocked look on people's faces when I reveal my age.

I'm now 19 (at the time of this writing, and just the other day I was told that I look ''12''. Another person, when hearing I was 19, refused to believe me until I showed him my ID.

One day, two girls came to this troper's apartment. They were recruiting money for something and asked her to donate. Then they added kindly: "You can ask your mommy if you don't have money". Those girls looked about 15. This troper is 21, and that was HER apartment.

This troper, 18, has a baby face, stands at exactly 5 feet, and weighs 94 pounds. The movie theatre staff still refuses to let her into R-rated movies alone. Occasionally she's asked if she wants ''crayons'' with her ''kiddie menu''.

I'm 22 and nine months at the time of typing, but am frequently mistaken for an 11-12 year old - I am 5'1" and 86 lbs. One time my aunt and I were on an airplane and the flight attendant asked me if I wanted a '''coloring book'''. I just looked at her; my aunt had to speak up: "Ma'am, she's '''21''' years old!" My family actually uses this to their advantage and they have me pass as an 11-year-old whenever we go to the buffet. I just have to make sure my tattoo is covered up, hurhur. And whenever I fly by myself the flight attendants always give me triple snacks. Hehehehe.

This troper has a few friends and relatives who look younger then they are (they're mostly Asian-American), but the prize goes to a male cousin who had RapunzelHair (it was usually tied in a big knot) and a beard who looked like a college student. He recently cut his hair and shaved his beard and now looks ''even younger'' (I almost had a flashback to TheEighties). The man is '''''forty!'''''

I'd also like to nominate myself; at Six Flags someone asked me and my friends what year were were in high school; at the time our group was two 26-year-olds and two-28-year olds (this troper is currently 27).

ThisTroper is always mistaken for about 4-5 years younger than she really is though she has been mistaken for a high schooler at times. She's 25 years old and has been carded the few times she's bought alcohol. However, with the age guessing games at carnivals, she always wins big because they always get it wrong. It also doesn't help that she dresses like a boy, loves childish video games, and has endless energy in a lot of situations. This runs in her family too with the women. The best story was from a family gathering that my brother's friend happened to go to. He was taken with one of my cousins and afterwards was asking my brother "So, you think I have a chance with X?" and my brother started to laugh. This cousin of mine is 43 years old, married, and with 3 kids! Her husband had the kids for the night while she went to this gathering (long story)

This troper's best friend fits this trope very well. He's one year older than the troper, and looks like he's one ot two years younger. This troper actually forgot the fact until her friend's birthday (yes, I did the math just to be sure).

This Troper is fourteen years old, but since she's 4'7", chubby, and immature mannerisms, her grandma thought that she was in 6th grade (12 years old), and a lot of people questions her age. A lot of her friends who are months younger than her look older than her as well (probably because their taller). This seems to take influence to her voice as well... Her 17-year-old sister experienced this as well, but well more expressed.

Mira-chan and her friend G-chan, both fourteen-year-old incoming high school juniors, subvert this trope nicely. G-chan is TheNapoleon of the class, thus her height is constantly joked about, but when people get serious about describing her, they say her face looks too mature for her to be mistaken as an elementary student. Meanwhile, Mira-chan is taller than G-chan, but her innocent and childlike face has led people to say she looks twelve.

This troper, a five-foot-one, seventeen-year-old high school junior, went to the freshman campus' library to check out a book. The librarian remembers everybody, and we began to chat. I say I still resemble a freshman, but she trumps me by saying I look like a middle schooler. Wow. Other than that incident, I've been mistaken for a freshman numerous times.

A science teacher of this same troper was once stopped in the hallway for being mistaken as a student out during class. She trumped herself by telling us about a teacher who was also stopped for the same thing, but she didn't have her teacher ID to prove she was a teacher and was escorted all the way to the main office by a security guard. My current chemistry teacher can be lost among the sea of class students if he's sitting or kneeling down beside a desk.

In my brother's band two members look a lot younger than their actual ages one is 23 but he looks 10 years younger than that and another is 26 but he looks 17.

This troper was refused service in a restaurant aged 20 because they didn't serve under thirteens without an adult. I was also training a group of adults last year (aged 25) when one of the group, after complimenting me on being very knowledgeable, asked if I was, 'what, Sixteen? Seventeen?'

Recently my best friend's auntie was refused service at a pub for appearing to be underage. Here, the legal drinking age is eighteen. She's fifty-two.

This troper has the worst of all. If he grows the beard everybody assumes he's like 35 and calls him "sir". If he shaves, everybody assumes he's like 15 and calls him "boy". The worst part of all is finding a woman that is in either of those things.

This Troper has had this now and then, also. One time at astronomy club, one of her dad's friends was talking to her about the astronomy club's website, and went on to discuss the junior section, noting there'd be stuff for folks like her to do. Her Dad intervened at this point, and pointed out to the guy that this troper is, in fact, 23 years old, and not in her mid teens. Cue stunned, "you are ''not''!" and hilarity from all parties involved in the conversation.

This Troper is told that she looks about twelve...despite being seventeen.

At 19, I once tried to order a ''coffee'' and got a very surprised look from the woman in the espresso stand. "Are you old enough to drink coffee?" she asked. "How old do you think I am?" I asked back - She thought I was twelve or thirteen. People were still staring holes in my ID when I was twenty-three, but going on hormones for a partial gender transition (long story, no, short story, no, nevermind) and adopting a lifestyle involving more sleep deprivation has induced large dark circles under my eyes that mean people will usually guess my age (26 at the time of this writing) accurately these days. It's a relief. At the age of twenty I ''actually got carded by the police'' for... making out with my partner in an airport. Since this was after 9/11, it was a rather humiliating way to nearly have a heart attack.

This troper just turned 18. Most people tend to guess 12 or 13 as my age; one person even guessed as young as 10!!. When I was in my sophomore year of high school, a cashier at a gas station laughed at me when I told him I was 16 years old. He did so because he truly didn't believe me. I still get kids' menus at restaurants. No, they don't ask if I want one. They just give them to me. Needless to say, hardly anyone can believe I'll be attending college this fall.

This troper is 19, going on 20 but she often gets mistaken for being 15 or 16. It doesn't help that she doesn't wear makeup very often and is short. The only reason she doesn't get mistaken for younger still is for a, well, obvious reason.

This troper has been mistaken for a fifth grader before- and that was back when she was a senior in high school. Granted, I ''was'' walking by an elementary school at the time while it was being let out (it was on the way to the bus station where I caught my bus), but ''still''. She also always dreads high school field trip day at a certain location in her city where there are shops and some exhibits, because she will often get mistaken for one of the students- ''even if they're in uniform''.

Happens to this troper ''alllll'' the time. When she was 12, someone asked if I was 9/8/''7''. After being a bit shocked, I told her how old I really was. With predictable results.

Probably a more extreme example would be this same troper's brother, who is mistaken for being a sophomore in high school when actually he graduated from college recently. Doesn't help that he is a bit quiet and childish. This troper started joking that her brother should intern at her school, just because he looks so much around the same age as her, and everyone would be fine with a "new student".

My mother is in her forties, but somehow looks like she's in her late twenties. This usually gets her confused as my older siblings' sister.

This troper is 21, and he has relatives who have guessed that he is only 18 or 19. A more extreme example is someone who thought he was ''sixteen'', and had to confirm with him several times if he was really 21.

I'm 31 and often get told I look like I just got my bachelor's degree (so about 22 - 23). My mom's even more impressive; at 64 she's been mistaken for anywhere from 51 - 53 years old. My grandmother (her mother) was much the same in that she looked like she was in her sixties when she was fighting Alzheimer's (so the last seven years of her life) and barely looked 70 when she passed away... at the age of 82. This troper's mom was assumed to have been a teen mom by one of this troper's middle school teachers. The teacher was 46. My mom was 47.

This troper's father went to the hospital, because he's a bit on the larger side and was having chest pain. The doctors decided to keep him a day or two, and the nurse announced his daughter had come to visit him. He was a little surprised when my mother walked in. By herself. They are both in their fifties, and he is only three years older than her. It's the Asian genes...

This troper and her siblings are all fairly short, so we're usually mistaken to be twelve or younger (though we're all teenagers). One of this troper's friends started jokingly referring to her as a freshman because of this. Unfortunately, one of her other friends thought she actually was a freshman due to this. Hilarity ensued.

According to a friend of my mother's (who, admittedly, had just retired and her eyesight was perhaps less-than-spectacular) eighteen-year-old me is 12. I've always been kind of small and young-looking, but...

This Tropette is 14 years old. I am often mistaken for 10 or 12 by people who refuse to beleive I'm in high school.

I'm 27 next month, and a stranger asked me what year I will graduate high school.

This troper is often misstaken for a middle school student(13-15), when she's accually in her second year of highschool.(17) Subverted when peaople calling her mother buiness, whitch she runs at home, and think that I work there. Her mom takes advantages of her young looks to get her a children discout. 15 is my limit, 13 is hers.

I'm 23, but I've been mistaken from anything from 15 to 18. Mostly I get 17. The worst was when I was in Sydney with my Dad and stepmum and a bus driver thought I was 13 and qualified for a child fare. I was 20 at the time! I have a 17 year old friend, and she looks older then I do - people have frequently mistook her for the older one and me for the younger, despite the five year age gap. An ex boyfriend thought I was 16 when we first met (I was 21 and the same age as him...) and in a bara guy also thought I was 16 (I just said "if I'm 16, how did I get into the bar?"). And in school, when I was in my seventh form year, another student mistook me for a third former - third formers are usually 13 or 14 years old.

I am currently 17. I'm 5'3", around 110ish pounds, no boobs, very long curly hair, and I have a tendency to wear baggy clothes. The result? Most people assume I'm anywhere from 12-14. My brother is 14 and we're automatically labeled "twins". I actually carry my driver's license around just to prove my age....the funniest incident involved security at my old middle school. They thought I was a student late to class (was there to see an old teacher) and they were about to haul me down to the office. I was a junior in high school ><

This troper encountered this while attempting to check out an R-rated movie at the library. The librarian looked at the movie, turned to my mother (who was with me) and asked if it was alright for me to check it out. My mother said yes but got understandably confused. I informed the librarian that I was 18.

This troper's friends began cackling at the sight of her ID, as it apparently made her look like a nine year old, despite being 14 when the picture was taken. She had to repeat several times 'no, seriously, only last september!' several times.

One day a junior high student knocked on this troper's door and asked for a donation for some charity organization. As I was looking for coins, the girl said gently: "Is your mom home, sweetie? Why don't you call her?" I asked her how old she was. She was 14. I was 21 at the time. It was both hilarious and offensive.

This troper (18) has a lot of trouble because, mainly, she has a baby face. Once, I was getting registered in a library with my aunt when the worker said something like "perharps the girl would prefer the kid's library instead". God, if punching people wasn't banned...

This troper is 18. It appears that she stopped aging the moment she turned 11. When she was 16, she mentioned her age to a younger girl and almost gave the poor thing a heart attack, followed by a flustered reaction of "My big sister is 2 years younger and looks way older than you do!" She's even been ID'd for (UK) ''12-rated'' movies a couple of times before! There is one advantage to being older than she looks though; she can always get away with buying children's tickets on trains and buses. (Ssh!)

This Troper's family is a '''''triumphant''''' example of "Black Don't Crack". With a shave, this 25-year-old troper could pass as teenager. So does his 34-year-old brother. And both his parents look a good 20 years younger than their actual ages (Mom, 59 and Dad, 63).

Had anybody developed a fetish of this yet?

This troper (age 23 and a 1/2~) is 'lucky' enough to inherit double dose of the family youthfulness and lack of height (doesn't even hit 5' when not slouching... xD), so she has been estimated to anywhere between 13-16, and has been for the last 5+ years. Oh, and she still got a childs pass for the MUNI/BART while she was on holiday despite the lady looking at her passport, I guess the jeans/tshirts and near perpetual slouch don't help, but damn..! x_x

This troper's cousin has been mistaken (twice) for being in her teens while actually being in her ''thirties''. ''Late'' thirties, no less.

The first time, she was leaving a party at Chuck E. Cheese's and the host stopped her (thinking she was a teenager sneaking out), asking, "Do your parents know you're leaving?" She answered, "I'm ''thirty''! I don't need my parents' permission to leave!"

The second time, she was at church and pregnant with her first child, and a woman told her (thinking it was a teenage pregnancy), "Oh, you're so young, I'll be praying for you!"

This Troper was carded at a bar on his 25th birthday. Now in mid 30s, have had to occasionally break out the ID to prove it. Blame good genes, being a bit pudgy, or the 12 metric tons of armor plate.

This troper, at age 20,is still mistaken for being 14-16. It was even worse when he was younger. Being a short, slim, effeminate and Asian, he gets teased about being a cute shotaro boy.

This troper looked fairly young for his age, once asking his mother what age he looked (while 15)...and she admitted he'd pass for 13. A year later, he was able to pass for 15. Now, aged 17, he has never had any questions asked about his age (although he has had a problem trying to explain that his birthday is actually in May, so he is not actually able to order alcohol yet). Mind you, a friend of mine, who is 18-19 (he had to re-sit a year), went to school once wearing a sweater and, in the back of my mind, I thought to myself that he certainly didn't look his age: he looked closer to 15-16. I decided not to tell him, as I knew he wouldn't be amused.

Also remembered something slightly funny: my voice didn't break until I was 15 1/2, so people didn't actually believe I was 15 for a few weeks (except the people in my year and even then, there were some people who didn't quite believe it). Now, I have a bass voice, which prevents these errors.

This troper is always mistaken for about 11 to 14, when in fact she is ''19''. Made worse by the fact that she is only 5' 1".

I'm going to be twenty-one in nine months. The last time I went out to eat, the waitress asked if we (my parents and I) wanted cocktails, then took a second look at me and said, "Well, of course you don't!" Well, I don't, and, yes, I can't, but you shouldn't be that sure! Excuse me for being flat! And one of my friends is twenty-one and looks a little younger than I do. In her country, the drinking age is eighteen, so I guess that works out. I also know someone who's slightly younger than me but looks maybe fourteen, because of the way she dresses (frilly blouses, animal t-shirts, pants that look like she's grown a few inches since getting them) and the fact that when she's studying, she doesn't eat, and so she weighs probably the same as a cat; so to speak, she makes me look well-rounded.

This Troper is 20 and a half, but regularly gets mistaken for a 16-year-old. When I went to a parent teacher night for my brother who's in gr. 9, my mom had trouble finding some of the classes. When we asked a teacher for directions, she looked at me incredulously. "You don't know what classes you have?" she asked me. It took all of my self control not to yell how I'm a second year at university and that's with a year's delay, no less. Likewise, I get IDed at the liquor store and when buying drinks in a pub, not to mention, the horrible, scrutinizing looks I get from bus drivers and border guards when I cross into the US to visit my husband. They always double check my date of birth, it seems, and the bus drivers like to ask: "Do you have permission and documentation from your parents to cross the border?" I've been doing this for two years now, I don't need permission, thanks! XD On the other hand, it was sometimes to my advantage on the city bus, because I was able to get away with using high school student tickets instead of adult tickets, which are way cheaper.

This Troper is over 23 years old, but regularly gets mistaken for 16-18. Mostly due to youthful good looks, as opposed to being physically small (I'm 5'9"). Among the most amusing experiences was going to a bar with my little brother and his 19-20 year old friends (in Canada). Despite some of his friends being just a few months over 19, most of them walked into the bar without being ID'd, while the bouncer thought my first ID was fake, and needed a second. There's also been a few times I've been ID'd for something, while someone underage does not.

This troper's mother. She's fifty-two but passes for thirty at the oldest. She has a healthy diet, takes multivitamins, and uses HBOT, something man was not meant to know. My dad is aging well for an ugly guy too. And then there's my little sister, who has autism, and looks and behaves like a six year old, despite being almost eleven. I still think she's the cutest thing in the world. We even make a MoeCouplet together. Basically, everyone in my family fits this trope except me, who could pass for a college student (and was mistaken for one when she was buying a printer) despite being 14, because I'm so tall and err...well-developed, and I probably could seek into R-rated movies and make a little too convincing fake ID (Not that I would.) Although, you know, I am babyfaced, sometimes feel like an AdultChild and I want to play teenagers in the somewhat distant future, so...

Where do I begin? Being asked "What grade are you in?" when I was in my early 20s. Being asked over the phone, "Is your mom or dad there?" Going to the DMV to have my license changed to my married name, and the clerk saying, "Let me guess, it's permit time."(16 is the minimum age for learner's permits in NYS). I was almost '''31'''..

This troper is saddened to say that even though she is the same age as almost everyone else in her grade (I'm 14), people STILL mistake her for a sixth grader. The fact that I'm short and act very hyper for someone my age probably doesn't help.

Nobody ever thinks this troper is older than about fifteen unless they've known her for a while or happen to be a teacher. This stopped being amusing a while ago.

This troper started off as an inversion of the trope, but as of late is beginning to show trends of following it straight. Given that her parents are both in their early 50s, but look at most in the early 30s, she's likely going to be following that step for a long long time...This may mean she'll have to put up with the "so how are you sisters doing" lines for a few more decades. (Not so happy on my part, but my mom relishes in such displays of "youth" from her part...)

Earlier this year this troper was shopping around in a clothing department that her aunt works at. One of her's aunt's co-workers mistakenly thought she was a middle-schooler. This troper was 18 and about to graduate at the time.

It runs InTheBlood in this troper's family.Her 34 year old aunt can pass for 18 any time she wants, her 42 year old father easily looks like a 28 year old, and This Troper herself is still constantly asked if she's a twelve-year old.She's sixteen.When she was truly twelve, they mistook her for a 6 year old.HilarityEnsues.

I had to go to the hospital with my father once because of a allergy of mine a few year ago(I was stung by a hornet), and there was a new doctor. She did just as normal doctors do: checking the stung area and asking questions when and how it happened. It was a few minutes before i got the medicine that she asked about my age, and acted out of suprise when i said i was 14. She said i looked like a 19 year old, and my father had to confirm the birth date. I believe the reason for this was my monotome voice and my new-come unshaved puberty moustache.

This troper finds it somewhat amusing that people often mistake him for someone in the 17-25 age bracket. Actual age: as of October 2010. Part of it is I inhereted good genes, and part of it is I never really endulged in a lot of the bad habits many from my peer group did, outside of junkfood that is.

When this troper did her Drama G.C.S.E I was always picked for playing children or tweens because I am only 5ft and looked a lot younger than 15.

I'm 25, nearly 26, and have almost wanted to take up smoking or something to purposefully age my face-skin into looking something past, oh, 18. I won't as I rather value my health and ability to taste food and such, but man oh man would it be nice to not get the "in loco parentis" treatment from co-workers and almost everyone I know.

This troper looks younger than he actually is. It's fitting, since he feels younger than he actually is.

This troper is 14 and very glad to be in highschool... I despise it when I'm mistaken for a 7th or 8th grader, though it is kind of humourous.

I kind of like this, since I really feeel younger than I'm supposed to be, but here's the weird thing: I'm 24 (almost 25) and when I'm shaved, I look younger (People are surprised when they found out I'm not a minor) BUT when I grow my beard, even a little, I look so much older (when I'm with my mother, people confuse me with her husband O.o)

When this Troper first arrived in community college at age 18, she was sometimes mistaken for one of the 10th-graders in the early college program. Now I'm 22 and a fourth-year junior at a different university. People still guess my age to be anywhere between 17-19, and react with surprise when they realize I'm not a freshman and have been around the block a couple times.

This same Troper was carded when she bought Oblivion and COD: Modern Warfare for the [=PS3=] (both M-rated games). Oddly enough, nobody ever asks for my license when I buy beer at the grocery store, or order a margarita at restaurants.

At the age of 17, I was asked at the Wall Mart cash desk if that was really my credit card because I "looked like a little child". Ow.

And it still happens. People mistake me for ~15, even tough I'm 21 now. Okay, until 14 years you get cheaper bus tickets, so...

This 156cm troper, at the time of writing, is 22. However, she's been carded while buying MA-rated (Australian film rating for ages 15 and over) movies in her 20s and bus drivers frequently assume she wants to buy a high school student ticket. Most recently, my boyfriend and I were walking through a mall just before Christmas when my boyfriend bumped into a guy he knew from work. A few days later when they were both on shift, the co-worker asked him if he had a photo of me, which he did. The co-worker looked at it carefully, before asking suspiciously "...How old is she?"

There was a rumor at this troper's school that my friend the {{Keet}} liked the resident {{Libby}}. When said Libby heard, she was disgusted and said to him "Eww! You're, like, 8!" Frustrated, the Keet exclaimed "I'm ''twelve''!" (The Libby was also twelve)

People judge age based on a mix of physical clues and contextual clues, such as language, clothes, body language. For some reason, this fascinates me. After consistently getting mistaken for 18 or 19 when I was 22, I decided to see how far I could push this. I've specifically been modifying my own speech, started using more {{BuffySpeak}}, and dressing a bit more like my younger brothers (nothing that would be ridiculous for a twenty-something, though), and I've managed to push the typical age I get assumed to be down to around 16-17, now when I'm 23. The bigger age gap between my assumed age, and my real one, has led to some amusing reactions after getting ID'd for stuff. And yes, it is strange that I've specifically been running experiments on stuff like this, but that's how I roll.

This Troper is 18 years old and a senior in high school, but has been mistaken for an underclassman by a number of people. One person even thought he was a middle school student. It probably comes from his mother's side of the family... or maybe it's because he has one foot firmly planted in Cloudcuckooland.

This Troper is twenty years old, and has been mistaken for a sixteen year old on many occasions.

HALF of my class is this. The other half is YoungerThanTheyLook.

This Troper going on 25 is often mistaken to be in the 15-18 range. Tried to pick my brother up from school and the Assistant Principal tried to write me up for detention. Ugh! Hopefully I stay looking young.

This Tropette is 15 and I get a kick out of asking adults my age. It's usually around 10-12. This apparently runs in my family because after looking at some of my baby pictures with all my relatives including my parents and grandparents, it appears after fifteen years none of them have aged a day. I've been told this will be good thing in 20 years or so.

Played with this trope once at the movies. My friend who is about 5'10" (I'm about 5'1") and is the same age as me is often asked if she's my mother. We went to go see an R rated movie with her dad and bought two adult tickets and a childrens ticket for me. When the ticket guy asked for a tickets he turned to me and said I wasn't allowed in because "A 10 year old can't go see and R rated movie." I quickly said that the childrens ticket was for my friend and that I was 21. Of course before he could say anything I asked if he has never seen a short 21 year old and if he was predjudiced against short people. He let us in.

When I was 18, I went to a party and talked to a friendly girl once, but i didn't try anything as i thought she was 13 and so i was just being polite. Turns out she was 17 and just naturally really short. For the best though, as shes now a huge dyke. I also work with a 50 year old who is more active, toned and healthy than most 40 year olds i've met.

This troper's twin brother is 18 and looks about 15. Of course, the fact that we're both really short doesn't help.

This troper is 19, and will be 20 within the next two months. She can still pass for 12. She is thankful for being the GenerationXerox version of her mother, who, at 53, still can pass for mid-thirties (or when with her and her sisters, mistaken as a sister). She likes to think of it as a good thing that when she herself is in her thirties, she'll still be carded for her youthful appearance. On the other hand, her younger sisters at 18 (soon to be 19) and 15 both are YoungerThanTheyLook. For now, they laugh at me. Give or take a few decades, WhosLaughingNow

At this time of writing, one of This Troper's friends looks like an 11-year old. ''He's 19.''

This Troper is short for her age, and has sometimes been thought to be two-three years younger than she actually is.

This fifteen year-old Troper used to be pretty short for her age; she only just shot up to a normal height last year. She's also pretty flat-chested. I'm constantly mistaken for younger than I am, though nowadays thankfully less so than I used to be. Nothing would piss me off more than to be at a restaurant where the waiter/waitress would hand my eleven year-old little brother a normal menu and me the kids menu...

This Troper has so many stories about mistake age identity:

The man at the airport did not think she was old enough to have an ID, even though she was flying to go visit a college she was about to apply to.

When she visited her mom at work to have lunch together, her mom's boss thought she was 13, even though she was 17 and obviously drove herself there.

She bought a child's ticket for the midnight premiere of Toy Story 3, when she was 18 and about to enter college.

The list goes on and on.

This troper met someone who was in her twenties, but looked twelve.

This troper worked on a film set briefly, and somehow it came out one day that it was her birthday. The grips were thrilled: "Oh, happy birthday, love! Can we take you for a drink yet or do we have to wait another year?" Drinking age in her province is 19. She had just turned 24. It put their tendency to flirt with her fairly aggressively into a disturbing new perspective.

I had a friend who is 21 this year. And she freakin' look like 18, or younger, never mind that she's quite short, around 1.5m tall. Her love of Hello Kitty merchandises and wearing frilly dresses does not help one bit. Maybe I should go for botox sometimes...

I have a friend who's 14, but she looks like a 5 or 6 year old. I'm younger than her, but I get confused for looking ''older''. My other friend has the exact same problem; she's 12, but she has the build of a 20 year old. I just look like a short highschooler. 14 year old friend is short, has loli features, and has a personality and naivety of a 6 year old. It doesn't help that she forgets stuff a lot.

This troper for pretty much his whole life has always looked young for his age. Currently he is 23 years old. Some people think he could pass for a high school student.

This troper had a friend who was celebrating there 22nd birthday this year they joked about how much older they were than everyone else. (average age begin 20) I said "I'm 24 you know..." The two looked at each other then said. "no... If anyone asks you again say your 18 or 19" has something to do with the fact that in that group I'm the Pride}} Smallest and are short}} smallest

One day, this troper was explaining to a pair of little boys about viruses, one of her favorite topics. Afterward, a lady asked her how she knew so much about biology, and the troper answered "Oh, I'm a microbiology major." The woman asked "Aren't 14 a bit young for that?" The troper: "I'm 20! T_T" Then, two years later, someone else tried to guess the troper's age and said 16. At least the age gap is consistent.

This troper's parents get this quite often. Until very recently, they were ''still'' asked for [=IDs=] when purchasing alcohol, despite being in their forties - in her country, shops ask for [=IDs=] if the customer looks like they are under 25. People always assume they are her siblings, especially because she is younger than she looks. Her grandfather gets mistaken for her father, too.

This troper once went in for a haircut and mentioned that I was in high school. "Oh, you're starting high school?" the lady cutting my hair asked. I was getting my haircut for my senior photo. Thankfully, I can't recall any other instances.

This Troper's mother is forty but that doesn't stop her from looking twenty years younger. I swear to you, teenagers hit on her while I'm there, thinking she's my older sister...But then again, she was a former model and let's just say good looks are genetic.

This troper can pass for a 11-13 y/o. I'm 15. I am blessed with youthful looks, but an unfortunate cases of acne, so most assume I am 12 or so. I look more mature now then I did, say, a year ago, because my childhood freckles faded, though people think I'm 12 because of my large eyes, thick eyebrows, and my lack of makeup, except for concealer. Even my peers and parents take advantage of me, by including me as a 'kid's ticket', whether we're going to the movies or the zoo.

This troper is almost 21 and still gets mistaken for being 5-7 years younger than she actually is. Pretty sure there will be an amusing story or two after the Vegas trip planned for the 21st birthday. It runs in the family, since my mother is in her early 50s and her co-workers didn't believe her when she told them, telling her she had to be in her late 30s or early 40s at the ''most.''

This 16-year old Troper and her 22-year old sister were not only mistaken for elementary school kids, but for twins as well.

This troper is short and does not like to wear a lot of makeup despite being in college. A couple weeks ago I was with my mom at a Walmart/SAMS club store to get an antibiotic filled for an eye infection, and we ran into one of the people my mom knows from her work. A few days later, mom told me her work friend had thought I was 16. My first thought was "WTF"? My mom then told me about another coworker's daughter who had visited the other day, that had just graduated high school and looked like she was in her mid 20s because of all the makeup and high heels and the way she had her hair done.

Apparently runs in this troper's family. This troper is 20, but she has been mistaken from time to time for somebody around 16. Her mother is 45, but looks about 40 at the most and her father turns 54 this year, but can pass for somebody in his ''thirties''. Reversed with her brother: he's 19 but has been mistaken for somebody in his twenties since he was ''16''.

This troper be 22 in September of 2011 and is told by everyone she looks much younger, like she should still be in high school. In fact, when she was in high school, she was told she looked like should still be in middle school. Apparently it's a whole life thing for this one.

This troper has been "about 16" for 12 years now. Since she was 13. It doesn't bother her that much that she's 25 and still gets asked for an ID ''all the time'', but people are starting to get suspicious and she's starting to worry that in about five years they won't believe the ID is real.

This troper, despite being 15, and acting like a 15 year old, still looks like a 9 year old.

This troper's mother perpetually looks about 10-15 years younger than she actually was. There'd been times when she's been mistaken for my older sister.

I will be turning 30 next year. People who have seen my high school senior photos say haven't aged at all.

I, at 24, look younger than my little brother's 16 year old friends who in turn look college age instead. InTheBlood as one time when my mother picked me up from middle school early she was mistaken for a student.

This troper, now 18 years old, constantly is mistaken for 14 or even younger. Probabely becouse of childlike face and unfashionable, buggy clothes. At a concert, while buying tickets she was informed that "children under age 12 goes for free." During looking for a night tour around Prague, guide climed that "10 p.m. would be a little to late fo you". When informed of this troper's age he panicked a little. This used to be a BerserkButton, now she just completly enjoies half-price tickets and confused looks on people faces'.