তোমার বয়স কত?
tomar boyosh koto?/t̪omaɾ bɔe̯oʃ kɔt̪o/word by word
To ask "how old are you?" in Bengali, you say তোমার বয়স কত? (tomar boyosh koto?)
This phrase is used to inquire about a person's age. The term boyosh refers to age, and koto is used to mean how much or how many.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase তোমার বয়স কত? literally translates to 'Your age how?'
Which one should you use?
The default form তোমার বয়স কত? uses the familiar 'you' (tumi), which is appropriate for peers or people younger than you.
How does it change in a sentence?
The choice of the possessive pronoun for 'your' changes the politeness of the question: use apnar to be polite or when speaking to someone older or of higher status, use tomar for peers and use tor for extremely informal settings with close friends or children.
How do you pronounce it?
tomar boyosh koto?
Did you know?
- While তোমার বয়স কত? is the standard question, older relatives may instead ask a child about their 'class' in school to indirectly determine their age.
- The word বয়স (boyosh) shares a common ancestor with the Sanskrit word বয়স্ (vayas), which refers to strength or vigor as much as age.
- Because Bengali has three distinct levels of 'you', asking someone's age requires you to first accurately judge their social standing or your relationship to them.
Examples in context
- তোমার বয়স কত?tomar boyosh koto?How old are you?
- আমি জানতে চাই তোমার বয়স কত?ami jante chai tomar boyosh koto?I want to know how old you are.
- আচ্ছা, তোমার বয়স কত?accha, tomar boyosh koto?By the way, how old are you?
Example conversation
Two children are meeting for the first time at a park.
- ইশানি Ishaniহ্যালো, তোমার বয়স কত?Hello, tomar boyosh koto?Hello, how old are you?
- অনির্বাণ Anirbanআমার বয়স আট বছর।Amar boyosh at bochor.I am eight years old.
- ইশানি Ishaniআমিও আট বছরের!Amio at bochorer!I am eight too!
- অনির্বাণ Anirbanচলো আমরা একসাথে খেলি।Cholo amra ekshathe kheli.Let's play together.
