Difference between revisions of "Age with "sui""

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{{Grammar Box}}  
 
{{Grammar Box}}  
  
Use 岁 (suì) to tell someone your age. The sentence pattern is a bit different from English, however.
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Use 岁 (suì) to give a person's age, similar to how we say "years old" in English. There are a details that work differently from English, however.
  
== Structure ==
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== Basic Structure for 岁 (suì) ==
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=== Structure ===
  
 
The structure for telling someone's age with 岁 (suì) is:
 
The structure for telling someone's age with 岁 (suì) is:
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* 我 20 <em>岁</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ èrshí <em>suì</em>.</span><span class="trans">I am 20 years old.</span>
 
* 我 20 <em>岁</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ èrshí <em>suì</em>.</span><span class="trans">I am 20 years old.</span>
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* 我 儿子 一 <em>岁</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ érzi yī <em>suì</em>.</span><span class="trans">My son is one year old.</span>
 
* 我 妈妈 今年 45 <em>岁</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ māma jīnnián sìshí-wǔ <em>suì</em>.</span><span class="trans">My mother is 45 years old this year.</span>
 
* 我 妈妈 今年 45 <em>岁</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ māma jīnnián sìshí-wǔ <em>suì</em>.</span><span class="trans">My mother is 45 years old this year.</span>
* 我 儿子 一 <em>岁</em> 半。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ érzi yī <em>suì</em> bàn.</span><span class="trans">My child is one and a half years old.</span>
 
 
* 你 爷爷 今年 80 <em>岁</em> 吗?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ yéye jīnnián bāshí <em>suì</em> ma?</span><span class="trans">Is your grandpa eighty years old this year?</span>
 
* 你 爷爷 今年 80 <em>岁</em> 吗?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ yéye jīnnián bāshí <em>suì</em> ma?</span><span class="trans">Is your grandpa eighty years old this year?</span>
 
* 他 女朋友 也 20 <em>岁</em> 吗?<span class="pinyin">Tā nǚpéngyou yě èrshí <em>suì</em> ma?</span><span class="trans">Is his girlfriend also twenty years old?</span>
 
* 他 女朋友 也 20 <em>岁</em> 吗?<span class="pinyin">Tā nǚpéngyou yě èrshí <em>suì</em> ma?</span><span class="trans">Is his girlfriend also twenty years old?</span>
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</div>
 
</div>
  
Note that you don't need the verb [[是]] (shì) in any of these sentences, and you don't need a [[measure word]] like [[个]] (gè) either. In fact, it would be ''incorrect'' to use either of those with 岁 (suì):
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Note that you shouldn't use either the verb [[是]] (shì) or the [[measure word]] like [[个]] (gè) in any of these sentences.
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
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<li class="o">我 的 孩子 一 <em>岁</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ de háizi yī <em>suì</em>.</span><span class="trans">My child is one year old.</span></li>
 
<li class="o">我 的 孩子 一 <em>岁</em> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ de háizi yī <em>suì</em>.</span><span class="trans">My child is one year old.</span></li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
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</div>
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== Adding "And a Half" to an Age ==
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=== Structure ===
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The word for "half" in Chinese is 半 (bàn), and you simply add this after 岁 (suì).
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<div class="jiegou">
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Subj. + Number + 岁 + 半
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</div>
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=== Examples ===
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<div class="liju">
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* 她两岁半。 <span class="pinyin">Tā liǎng <em>suì</em> <strong>bàn</strong>.</span><span class="trans">She is two and a half years old.</span>
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* 我 儿子 一 <em>岁</em> 半。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ érzi yī <em>suì</em> <strong>bàn</strong>.</span><span class="trans">My son is one and a half years old.</span>
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</div>
 
</div>
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== Sources and further reading ==
 
== Sources and further reading ==
  
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{{Source|HSK Standard Course 1|32}}
 
* [[ Short-term Spoken Chinese: Intermediate (汉语口语速成中级篇) ]] Chapter 10
 
* [[ Short-term Spoken Chinese: Intermediate (汉语口语速成中级篇) ]] Chapter 10
 
* [[ New Concept Chinese (新概念汉语 初级本I) ]] Chapter 5
 
* [[ New Concept Chinese (新概念汉语 初级本I) ]] Chapter 5
  
 
[[Category:A1 grammar points]]
 
[[Category:A1 grammar points]]
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{{HSK|HSK1}}{{2021-HSK|HSK1}}
 
{{Basic Grammar|岁|A1|Subj. + Number + 岁|我 20 <em>岁</em> 。|grammar point|ASGQUKJF}}
 
{{Basic Grammar|岁|A1|Subj. + Number + 岁|我 20 <em>岁</em> 。|grammar point|ASGQUKJF}}
 
{{Rel char|岁}}
 
{{Rel char|岁}}

Latest revision as of 09:23, 20 April 2021

Chinese-grammar-wiki-sui.jpg

Use 岁 (suì) to give a person's age, similar to how we say "years old" in English. There are a details that work differently from English, however.

Basic Structure for 岁 (suì)

Structure

The structure for telling someone's age with 岁 (suì) is:

Subj. + Number + 岁

This is equivalent to someone "is x years old" in English. Notice that you don't need to include any verb when you use 岁 (suì).

Examples

  • 我 20 Wǒ èrshí suì.I am 20 years old.
  • 我 儿子 一 Wǒ érzi yī suì.My son is one year old.
  • 我 妈妈 今年 45 Wǒ māma jīnnián sìshí-wǔ suì.My mother is 45 years old this year.
  • 你 爷爷 今年 80 吗?Nǐ yéye jīnnián bāshí suì ma?Is your grandpa eighty years old this year?
  • 他 女朋友 也 20 吗?Tā nǚpéngyou yě èrshí suì ma?Is his girlfriend also twenty years old?

Note that you shouldn't use either the verb (shì) or the measure word like (gè) in any of these sentences.

  • 我 的 孩子 一 Wǒ de háizi yī suì.
  • 我 的 孩子 Wǒ de háizi shìsuì.
  • 我 的 孩子 一 Wǒ de háizi yī suì.My child is one year old.

Adding "And a Half" to an Age

Structure

The word for "half" in Chinese is 半 (bàn), and you simply add this after 岁 (suì).

Subj. + Number + 岁 + 半

Examples

  • 她两岁半。 Tā liǎng suì bàn.She is two and a half years old.
  • 我 儿子 一 半。Wǒ érzi yī suì bàn.My son is one and a half years old.


See Also

Sources and further reading