Discussing Age in Chinese
Learn how to ask someone how old they are, tell someone your age, and respond to someone’s age.
1. Asking for someone’s age
Here are four ways to ask “How old are you?”. Which one you choose to use is dependent on the tone you want to convey and the age of the person you are asking.
| How old are you? | Who to use this on | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| 你多大了？ nǐ duō dà le? | people of any age (but usually around your age or slightly older) | informal, casual |
| 您多大了？ nín duō dà le? | people of any age | polite |
| 你几岁了？ nǐ jǐ suì le? | people younger than you (like young children) | informal, casual |
| 您多大岁数了？ nín duō dà suì shu le? | people older than 60 | very polite and formal |
If you want to be more specific you can add “今年” jīn nián, which means “this year”.
| How old are you this year? |
|---|
| 你今年多大了？ nǐ jīn nián duō dà le? |
| 您今年多大了？ nín jīn nián duō dà le? |
| 你今年几岁了？ nǐ jīn nián jǐ suì le? |
2. Telling someone your age
Here are two common ways of telling someone your age.
| English | Chinese | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I’m [age] years old. | 我 [age] 岁了。 wǒ [age] suì le. | 我十六岁了。 wǒ shí liù suì le. I’m 16 years old. |
| This year I’m [age] years old. | 我今年 [age] 岁。 wǒ jīn nián [age] suì. | 我今年十六岁。 wǒ jīn nián shí liù suì. This year I’m 16 years old. |
3. Responding to someone’s age
| Chinese | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 哦，你 [age] 岁了！ ó, nǐ [age] suì le! | Oh, you’re [age] years old! | 哦，你一岁了！ ó, nǐ yī suì le! Oh, you’re one year old! |
recording 1.
reveal answer
你多大了？ = how old are you?
recording 2.
reveal answer
你几岁了？ = how old are you? (use for people younger than you)
recording 3.
reveal answer
我今年二十二岁。= this year I am 22 years old.
recording 4.
reveal answer
哦，你二十二岁了。= oh, you are 22 years old.
recording 5.
reveal answer
您多大岁数了？= how old are you? (use for old people)
甲：你多大了？
乙：我今年二十二岁。
甲：哦，你二十二岁了！
2.1
