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

Revision as of 07:50, 28 December 2017

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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"。

Structure

A + 比 + B + 大 / 小 + Number + 岁

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

Examples

我姐姐比我大两岁。Wǒ jiějie bǐ wǒ dà liǎng suì.My sister is two years older than me.
你比你哥哥小几岁？ Nǐ bǐ nǐ gēge xiǎo jǐ suì? How much younger are you than your elder brother?
他女朋友比他大十岁。Tā nǚpéngyou bǐ tā dà shí suì.His girlfriend is 10 years older than him.
我老板很年轻，只比我大三四岁。Wǒ lǎobǎn hěn niánqīng, zhǐ bǐ wǒ dà 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:

你俩谁大？Nǐ liǎ shéi dà ?Who is elder between you two?
你爸爸和你妈妈谁大？Nǐ bàba hé nǐ māma shéi dà?Who is the elder one, your dad or your mom?
你们五个人里谁最小？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:

他女朋友和他女儿一样大。Tā nǚpéngyou hé tā nǚ'ér yīyàng dà.His girlfriend is about the same age with his daughter.
我爸爸和妈妈差不多大。Wǒ bàba hé māma chàbuduō dà.My dad is about the same age with my mom.
我们公司大部分的员工都跟我差不多大。Wǒmen gōngsī dà bùfen de yuángōng dōu gēn wǒ chàbuduō dà.Most of the employees in our company are about the same age with me.

Multiple Ways of Asking about Age

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”。

Sources and further reading

Books

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 *我 姐姐 <strong>比</strong> 我 <em>大</em> 两 <strong>岁</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ jiějie <strong>bǐ</strong> wǒ <em>dà</em> liǎng <strong>suì</strong>.</span><span class="trans">My sister is two years older than me.</span>
 *你 <strong>比</strong> 你 哥哥 <em>小</em> 几 <strong>岁</strong> ？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <strong>bǐ</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 <strong>岁</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā nǚpéngyou bǐ tā <em>dà</em> shí <strong>suì</strong>.</span><span class="trans">His girlfriend is 10 years older than him.</span>
+*他 女朋友 <strong>比</strong> 他 <em>大</em> 十 <strong>岁</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā nǚpéngyou <strong>bǐ</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 <strong>岁</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ lǎobǎn hěn niánqīng, zhǐ <strong>比</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>
+*我 老板 很 年轻，只 <strong>比</strong> 我 <em>大</em> 三 四 <strong>岁</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ lǎobǎn hěn niánqīng, zhǐ <strong>bǐ</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>
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