年歲 / 年岁
niánsuì
The English word 'age' can be translated into Chinese as 年歲 / 年岁 (niánsuì), 年紀 / 年纪 or 年齡 / 年龄.
Meaning: amount of time since the birth of a being or the beginning of a thing (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 年歲 / 年岁 | niánsuì |
| 年紀 / 年纪 | niánjì |
| 年齡 / 年龄 | niánlíng |
In Chinese, different terms are used to express the amount of time since a being was born or a thing began. To ask someone how old they are, you can use the phrase 几岁. To ask an older person their age more politely, you may use 多大年纪. You can also use the word 大概 to mean 'approximately' when discussing age.
Which one should you use?
The choice of word depends on the context and desired tone. 年齡 / 年龄 is the most standard and formal term, typically used in official documents, statistics or scientific contexts. 年紀 / 年纪 is a more colloquial and common way to refer to a person's age during everyday conversation. 年歲 / 年岁 is used in a more literary or respectful way and often appears in older literature or when speaking politely about the elderly.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
niánsuì
Did you know?
- In traditional Chinese culture, some people historically counted their age starting from one at birth, meaning a newborn is already 'one year old' rather than zero.
- Chinese has a specific term for a 'year of birth' using the zodiac, meaning people often identify their age by an animal like the 'Year of the Dragon' rather than a number.
- Chinese uses the word 大 meaning 'big' to ask if someone is older, and 小 meaning 'small' to ask if someone is younger, effectively treating age as a physical size.
Examples in context
- 我今年二十岁。I am twenty years old this year.
- 我已经三十岁了。I am already thirty years old.
- 今年是我的十八岁生日。This year is my 18th birthday.
- 我十岁了。I am ten years old.
- 我已经二十五岁了。I am already twenty-five years old.
- 今年我二十一岁。This year, I am twenty-one years old.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “age” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
