Difference between revisions of "Age with "sui""

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Use 岁 (suì) to tell someone your age. The sentence pattern is a bit different from English, however.
 
Use 岁 (suì) to tell someone your age. The sentence pattern is a bit different 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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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).
 
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 ==
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=== Examples ===
  
 
<div class="liju">
 
<div class="liju">
  
 
* 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>
  
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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>

Revision as of 04:17, 1 February 2017

Chinese-grammar-wiki-sui.jpg

Use 岁 (suì) to tell someone your age. The sentence pattern is a bit different 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 don't need the verb (shì) in any of these sentences, and you don't need a measure word like (gè) either. In fact, it would be incorrect to use either of those with 岁 (suì):

  • 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