Chinese grammar - 'How old are you?' using 岁 (suì)

'How old are you?' using 岁 (suì)

In Chinese, discussing age involves the measure word 岁 (suì), which means 'to be X years old' or 'to turn X years old'.

The pattern is: [subject] + [number] + 岁 meaning '[subject] is [number] years old'.

While the answer always uses the measure word 岁 as above, the question depends on the approximate age:

• 你几岁？(nǐ jǐ suì?) for children under 10.

• 你多大？(nǐ duō dà?) for adults and children over 10.

• And 多大年纪 (duō dà niánjì) is the polite or respectful way to ask the age of older people.

Examples:
	你几岁？ nǐ jǐ suì? How old are you? For children under 10
	你多大？ nǐ duō dà? How old are you? For adults and children over 10
	我十岁。 wǒ shí suì. I am 10 years old.
	他才五岁。 tā cái wǔ suì. He is only five years old.
	她三十岁。 tā sānshí suì. She is 30 years old.
	你儿子几岁？ nǐ érzi jǐ suì? How old is your son? 儿子 (érzi) means 'son'
	你奶奶多大年纪？ nǐ nǎinai duōdà niánjì? How old is your grandmother? 多大年纪 (duō dà niánjì) is the polite or respectful way to ask the age of older people
	他已经六十岁了。 tā yǐjīng liùshí suì le. He is already 60 years old.
	她的儿子快五岁了。 tā de érzi kuài wǔ suì le. Her son is almost 5 years old.
	我上个星期二十一岁了。 wǒ shàng ge xīngqī èrshíyī suì le. I turned 21 last week.
	她二十岁才开始工作。 tā èrshí suì cái kāishǐ gōngzuò. She didn't start working until she was twenty.
	他下个月五岁了。 tā xiàge yuè wǔ suì le. He will turn 5 next month.
	你什么时候十六岁？ nǐ shénme shíhou shíliù suì? When will you turn 16?
	你的哥哥看起来比二十五岁老。 nǐ de gēge kànqǐlái bǐ èrshíwǔ suì lǎo. Your brother looks older than 25 years old.
	虽然你十八岁，你还不能喝酒。 suīrán nǐ shíbā suì,#nǐ hái bù néng hējiǔ. Although you are 18, you cannot drink alcohol yet.
	即使她二十岁了，她还不会开车。 jíshǐ tā èrshí suì le,#tā hái bù huì kāichē. Even though she was 20 years old, she could not drive a car.
	你的哥哥看起来比二十五岁老。 nǐ de gēge kànqǐlái bǐ èrshíwǔ suì lǎo. Your brother looks older than 25 years old.