Difference between revisions of "Expressing "age difference" with "da and xiao""

 
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{{Grammar Box}}
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If you have siblings, Chinese people will often ask how much older or younger they are by saying: "他(她)比你小几岁" (Tā bǐ nǐ xiǎo jǐsuì) or "他(她)比你大几岁 " (Tā bǐ nǐ dà jǐsuì). Notice, here you can't use “年轻” (niánqīng) or "老“ (lǎo).
  
如果你有兄弟姐妹,中国人常常会问你"他(她)比你小几岁" or "他(她)比你大几岁 "。注意,这里一定不能不用"年轻"或者"老"。
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''Note: this grammar point has been pulled from the B1 list, as its mostly an explanation of a special usage of 大 (and 小) rather than a grammatical principle.''
  
== Basic Usage ==
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== Structure ==
 
 
=== Structure ===
 
  
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
<div class="jiegou">
A + 比 + B + 大 / 小 + number + 岁
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A + 比 + B + 大 / 小 + Number + 岁
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
=== Examples ===
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Note that 岁 is used here, instead of 年, to mean "year old."
 +
 
 +
== Examples ==
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
*我 姐姐 比 我 <em>大</em> 两 岁 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ jiějie bǐ wǒ <em>dà</em> liǎng suì.</span><span class="trans">My sister is two years older than me.</span>
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*我 姐姐 <strong></strong> 我 <em>大</em> 两 <strong></strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ jiějie <strong></strong> wǒ <em>dà</em> liǎng <strong>suì</strong>.</span><span class="trans">My sister is two years older than me.</span>
*你 比 你 哥哥 <em>小</em> 几 岁 ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ bǐ nǐ gēge <em>xiǎo</em> jǐ suì?</span> <span class="trans">How much younger are you than your elder brother?</span>
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*你 <strong></strong> 你 哥哥 <em>小</em> 几 <strong></strong> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <strong></strong> nǐ gēge <em>xiǎo</em> jǐ <strong>suì</strong>?</span> <span class="trans">How much younger are you than your elder brother?</span>
*他 女朋友 比 他 <em>大</em> 十 岁 。<span class="pinyin">Tā nǚpéngyou bǐ tā <em>dà</em> shí suì.</span><span class="trans">His girlfriend is 10 years older than him.</span>
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*他 女朋友 <strong></strong> 他 <em>大</em> 十 <strong></strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā nǚpéngyou <strong></strong> tā <em>dà</em> shí <strong>suì</strong>.</span><span class="trans">His girlfriend is 10 years older than him.</span>
*我 老板 很 年轻,只 比 我 <em>大</em> 三 四 岁 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ lǎobǎn hěn niánqīng, zhǐ bǐ wǒ <em>dà</em> sān sì suì.</span><span class="trans">My boss is very young. He is only three or four years older than me.</span>
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*我 老板 很 年轻,只 <strong></strong> 我 <em>大</em> 三 四 <strong></strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ lǎobǎn hěn niánqīng, zhǐ <strong></strong> wǒ <em>dà</em> sān sì <strong>suì</strong>.</span><span class="trans">My boss is very young. He is only three or four years older than me.</span>
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
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<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
*你俩 谁 <em>大</em> 一点 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ liǎ shéi <em>dà</em> yīdiǎn?</span><span class="trans">Who is elder between you two?</span>
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*你俩 谁 <em>大</em> ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ liǎ shéi <em>dà</em> ?</span><span class="trans">Who is older between you two?</span>
*你 爸爸 和 你 妈妈 谁 <em>大</em> ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ bàba hé nǐ māma shéi <em>dà</em>?</span><span class="trans">Who is the elder one, your dad or your mom?</span>
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*你 爸爸 和 你 妈妈 谁 <em>大</em> ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ bàba hé nǐ māma shéi <em>dà</em>?</span><span class="trans">Who is older, your dad or your mom?</span>
*你们 五 个 人 里面 谁 最 <em>小</em> ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen wǔ gè rén lǐmiàn shéi zuì <em>xiǎo</em>?</span><span class="trans">Who is the youngest among the five of you?</span>
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*你们 五 个 人 谁 最 <em>小</em> ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen wǔ gè rén shéi zuì <em>xiǎo</em>?</span><span class="trans">Who is the youngest among the five of you?</span>
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
 
== Special Usage ==
 
  
 
But if you're talking about being the same age, use this structure instead.   
 
But if you're talking about being the same age, use this structure instead.   
 
=== Structure ===
 
  
 
<div class="jiegou">
 
<div class="jiegou">
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</div>
 
</div>
  
=== Examples ===
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A few examples:
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
*他 女朋友 和 他 女儿 一样 <em>大</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā nǚpéngyou hé tā nǚ’ér yīyàng <em>dà</em>.</span><span class="trans">His girlfriend is about the same age with his daughter.</span>
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*他 女朋友 <strong></strong> 他 女儿 <strong>一样</strong> <em>大</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā nǚpéngyou <strong></strong> nǚ'ér <strong>yīyàng</strong> <em>dà</em>.</span><span class="trans">His girlfriend is about the same age as his daughter.</span>
*我 爸爸 妈妈 差不多 <em>大</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ bàba gēn māma chàbuduō <em></em>.</span><span class="trans">My dad is about the same age with my mom.</span>
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*我 爸爸 <strong>和</strong> 妈妈 <strong>差不多</strong> <em>大</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ bàba <strong></strong> māma <strong>chàbuduō</strong> <em>dà</em>.</span><span class="trans">My dad is about the same age as my mom.</span>
*我们 公司 大部分 的 员工 都 跟 我 差不多 <em>大</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen gōngsī dà bùfen de yuángōng dōu gēn wǒ chàbuduō <em>dà</em>.</span><span class="trans">Most of the employees in our company are about the same age with me.</span>
 
  
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
== Different Ways of Asking about Age ==
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== Multiple Ways of Asking about Age ==
 +
 
 +
When asking about age with children, friends and elderly, there are certain things that you need to pay attention to. For example, children under 10, people your same age, people older than you, all have different ways of asking for age.
 +
 
 +
A  few examples:
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
 
 +
*小朋友 ,你 <em>几岁</em> <strong>了</strong> ?<span class="pinyin">Xiǎopéngyou, nǐ <em>jǐ suì</em> <strong>le</strong>?</span><span class="trans">Kid, how old are you?</span>
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*大妈 ,您 <em>多大 年纪</em> <strong>了</strong> ?<span class="pinyin">Dàmā, nín <em>duō dà niánjì</em> <strong>le</strong>?</span><span class="trans">Old lady, how old are you?</span>
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*爷爷 ,您 <em>多大 岁数</em> <strong>了</strong> ?<span class="pinyin">Yéye, nín <em>duō dà suìshu</em> <strong>le</strong>?</span><span class="trans">Grandpa, how old are you?</span>
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*我 <strong>是</strong> <em>90</em> <strong>的</strong> ,你 <strong>是</strong> <em>哪 年</em> <strong>的</strong> ?<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>shì</strong> <em>jiǔ líng</em> <strong>de</strong>, nǐ <strong>shì</strong> <em>nǎ nián</em> <strong>de</strong>?</span><span class="trans">I was born in 1990. Which year were you born?</span>
  
询问孩子、朋友、老人的年龄的说法,在汉语里也有一定的讲究。譬如,问小孩子(十岁以下)可以说“你几岁了”,或者“你今年多大了”。问同龄人,如果是比较熟悉的朋友,通常问“你是哪年的”,不太熟的话可以问“你今年多大”。中年人,特别是中年的女性,我们一般不问。对较为年长的人,看起来六十岁以上的话,可以问“您多大年纪了”。
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</div>
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
  
 
* [[Comparing]]
 
* [[Comparing]]
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 +
== Sources and further reading ==
 +
 +
=== Books ===
  
 
[[Category: B1 grammar points]]
 
[[Category: B1 grammar points]]
{{Basic Grammar|比|B1| A + 比 + B + 大 / 小 + number + 岁|我 姐姐 比 我 <em>大</em> 两 岁 。|grammar point|ASGE8810}}
 
{{Rel char|比}}
 
{{Rel char|跟}}
 
{{Similar|Basic comparisons with "yiyang"}}
 
{{Similar|Basic comparisons with "bi"}}
 
{{Similar|Basic comparisons with "meiyou"}}
 
{{Similar|Expressing "much more" in comparisons}}
 
{{Similar|Comparing}}
 
{{Used for|Comparing}}
 
{{POS|Prepositions}}
 

Latest revision as of 07:14, 16 October 2018

If you have siblings, Chinese people will often ask how much older or younger they are by saying: "他(她)比你小几岁" (Tā bǐ nǐ xiǎo jǐsuì) or "他(她)比你大几岁 " (Tā bǐ nǐ dà jǐsuì). Notice, here you can't use “年轻” (niánqīng) or "老“ (lǎo).

Note: this grammar point has been pulled from the B1 list, as its mostly an explanation of a special usage of 大 (and 小) rather than a grammatical principle.

Structure

A + 比 + B + 大 / 小 + Number + 岁

Note that 岁 is used here, instead of 年, to mean "year old."

Examples

  • 我 姐姐 Wǒ jiějie liǎng suì.My sister is two years older than me.
  • 你 哥哥 nǐ gēge xiǎosuì? How much younger are you than your elder brother?
  • 他 女朋友 Tā nǚpéngyou shí suì.His girlfriend is 10 years older than him.
  • 我 老板 很 年轻,只 三 四 Wǒ lǎobǎn hěn niánqīng, zhǐ sān sì suì.My boss is very young. He is only three or four years older than me.

If you just wonder which is elder or younger, these example sentences will be helpful:

  • 你俩 谁 Nǐ liǎ shéi  ?Who is older between you two?
  • 你 爸爸 和 你 妈妈 谁 Nǐ bàba hé nǐ māma shéi ?Who is older, your dad or your mom?
  • 你们 五 个 人 里 谁 最 Nǐmen wǔ gè rén lǐ shéi zuì xiǎo?Who is the youngest among the five of you?

But if you're talking about being the same age, use this structure instead.

A + 和 / 跟 + B + 一样 / 差不多 + 大

A few examples:

  • 他 女朋友 他 女儿 一样 Tā nǚpéngyou tā nǚ'ér yīyàng .His girlfriend is about the same age as his daughter.
  • 我 爸爸 妈妈 差不多 Wǒ bàba māma chàbuduō .My dad is about the same age as my mom.

Multiple Ways of Asking about Age

When asking about age with children, friends and elderly, there are certain things that you need to pay attention to. For example, children under 10, people your same age, people older than you, all have different ways of asking for age.

A few examples:

  • 小朋友 ,你 几岁 Xiǎopéngyou, nǐ jǐ suì le?Kid, how old are you?
  • 大妈 ,您 多大 年纪 Dàmā, nín duō dà niánjì le?Old lady, how old are you?
  • 爷爷 ,您 多大 岁数 Yéye, nín duō dà suìshu le?Grandpa, how old are you?
  • 90 ,你 哪 年 shì jiǔ líng de, nǐ shì nǎ nián de?I was born in 1990. Which year were you born?

See also

Sources and further reading

Books