Beginner Lesson 5.1 – Ask and Say Age

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Ask And Say Age In Chinese: How Old Are You?

Did you know there are different ways to say how old are you in Chinese, depending on the person’s age? In today’s lesson we’ll learn how to ask and say age in Chinese with the Question Word 几.

  • Age: 岁
  • Ask and say age in Chinese
  • Question Word: 几
  • Question Word: 多

VOCABULARY


HSK CHINESE
PINYIN P.O.S ENGLISH Audio
1 suì n. year; age
1 q pr. what number; which number
1 duō adv. how much
1 adj. big; old

GRAMMAR


Grammar 1: Say Age in Chinese · HSK 1

suì  year (old); age

You can use 岁 to ask and say age in Chinese. Here's how we say someone's age in Chinese:

someone + number +

For examples:

  • wǒ shíliù suì
    我十六岁。
    I am 16 years old
  • nǐ 'èrshíjiǔ suì 
    你二十九岁。
    You are 29 years old

 

Grammar 2: Ask Age in Chinese · HSK 1

There are many different ways to say how old are you in Chinese. Today we'll mainly learn two of them:

 

(1) nǐ duō dà 你多大? how old are you

We can use “你多大?” to ask age when they are not a child, or when they are not a senior citizen.

 

(2) nǐ jǐ suì 你几岁?how old are you

We can use “你几岁?” to ask age when someone is a child or sometimes a teenager.

But if we are asking a person who is a senior and who we want to be polite with, here are two more appropriate ways using 您, the polite way to say 你:

  • nín duō dà suìshu
    您多大岁数?
    how old are you
  • nín duō dà niánji
    您多大年纪?
    how old are you

 

Grammar 3: Question Word  几 and 多· HSK 1

what number; which number

几 is a question pronoun. It refers to a number generally under 10,sometimes under around 15 or at the most under 20.

duō how much

多 is an adverb and a question word. We can use 多 + adj. to ask a question about "how + adj."

16 Comments
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昨夜星辰昨夜风,画楼西畔桂堂东。
身无彩凤双飞翼,心有灵犀一点通。

BluetooPremium Student September 9, 2022 at 12:43 pm

我六十伍岁。

TianyaPremium Student September 22, 2021 at 10:46 am

你多大?我五十岁。

你多大?
我三十八岁。

Greyson WildstarPremium Student July 3, 2021 at 8:25 am

我十岁! 你几岁?

JohnnyEyePremium Student June 26, 2021 at 1:16 am

你多大?
我三十三岁。

idanielkimPremium Student May 30, 2021 at 1:55 am

你多大?
我四十岁。

Beatriz Fernandes SuPremium Student April 27, 2021 at 1:23 pm

你多大?我十七岁。

Nai ReaksmeyGuest March 25, 2021 at 2:53 am

你多大?
我二十八岁

WO xing Miss Dorcus
Really Lili being such a good teacher its a gift from heaven direct to you.
Am me having you as my teacher is a precious gift.
MUCH RESPECT TO YOU TEACHER LILI

Mohammed HassanPremium Student October 29, 2020 at 7:51 am

In the sentence “wo er shi yi sui” in the video, why the tone of yi is not following the yi tone rule which is second tone if it followed by a fourth tone and sui has a fourth tone?

ChristinePremium Student November 9, 2019 at 10:34 am

你多大?

audreythevikingPremium Student April 15, 2020 at 1:47 am

我420岁

gelumbiyarenStudent January 16, 2018 at 3:21 pm

is duo or duoshao

Laurencoffee1122Premium Student December 3, 2020 at 2:33 pm

多少 also means “how much”。 It can be used when asking the price of something, like 这个多少钱。

Marc BonacciPremium Student January 13, 2022 at 9:01 pm

是的。duoshao 多少 wouldnt be used in asking age, i can’t remember if you can also use it for “how many” but definitely dor how much. Also note not to be confused with 小 which is very similar and means small or tiny

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