¿Cuántos años tienes?
The English phrase "how old are you?" is translated into Spanish as ¿Cuántos años tienes?
A common alternative you might encounter is ¿Qué edad tienes?
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, ¿Cuántos años tienes? translates to "How many years do you have?" rather than "How old are you?"
How does it change in a sentence?
When speaking to someone in a formal context or to an elder to show respect, use ¿Cuántos años tiene usted?
What mistakes should you avoid?
To answer the question, use Tengo [number] años.
Did you know?
- In some regions, people might avoid the direct question by asking ¿De qué año eres?, which literally means 'From what year are you?'
- When asking a stranger their age, even if you are being polite, using the 'tú' form in ¿Cuántos años tienes? can sometimes feel overly familiar or even rude in certain Latin American countries.
- When discussing the age of an object or a building, Spanish speakers use tener just as they do for people, such as la casa tiene cien años.
Examples in context
- ¿Cuántos años tienes?To ask your Spanish pen pal about their age, you can simply ask, "¿Cuántos años tienes?" and continue the conversation from there.
Example conversation
Two students are meeting for the first time at school.
- LucíaHola, soy Lucía. ¿Cuántos años tienes?Hi, I'm Lucía. How old are you?
- DanielHola, Lucía. Tengo quince años.Hi, Lucía. I am fifteen years old.
- LucíaYo también tengo quince.I am fifteen too.
- Daniel¡Qué bien! Somos de la misma edad.That's great! We are the same age.
