你的年龄
nǐ de niánlíng
In Chinese, "how old you are" is expressed as 你的年龄 (nǐ de niánlíng).
你的年龄 is a noun phrase that refers to the number of years a person has lived.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 年龄 means age. It is composed of the characters 年 (year) and 龄 (age/years of life).
Which one should you use?
While 你的年龄 is the noun phrase meaning "your age", the common way to ask a child "How old are you?" is to use the question 你几岁？
How do you pronounce it?
nǐ de niánlíng
Did you know?
- In many Chinese cultures, the concept of 'age' is traditionally calculated using the 'nominal age' system, where a baby is considered one year old at birth. This is because the time spent in the womb is counted as the first year.
- The word 岁 in 你几岁？ originally referred to a 'harvest' or the 'growth of grain', linking a person's age to the annual cycle of agriculture.
- In formal social introductions, people may refer to their 'generation' or 'zodiac animal' to indicate their approximate age relative to others without stating a specific number.
Examples in context
- 我今年二十五岁了。I am 25 years old this year.
- 我二十一岁。I am 21 years old.
- 请问，你的年龄是多少？Qǐngwèn, nǐ de niánlíng shì duōshǎo?Excuse me, how old are you?
- 我并不清楚你的年龄。Wǒ bìng bù qīngchǔ nǐ de niánlíng.I don't actually know your age.
- 你的年龄对申请很重要。Nǐ de niánlíng duì shēnqǐng hěn zhòngyào.Your age is very important for the application.
Example conversation
Zhiqiang is helping Yuting fill out a form.
- 志强 Zhiqiang这里需要写你的年龄。Zhèlǐ xūyào xiě nǐ de niánlíng.You need to write your age here.
- 雨婷 Yuting我应该写二十五。Wǒ yīnggāi xiě èrshíwǔ.I should write twenty-five.
- 志强 Zhiqiang没问题，雨婷。Méi wèntí, Yǔtíng.No problem, Yuting.
- 雨婷 Yuting谢谢你，志强。Xièxiè nǐ, Zhìqiáng.Thank you, Zhiqiang.
