Age with "sui"

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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.

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