tengo ocho años
/tenɡo ot͡ʃo aɲos/from spelling rules
To say "I am eight" in Spanish, use tengo ocho años.
This phrase is used to state how old someone is. You can change the age by replacing ocho with another number, such as siete for seven. The construction remains the same regardless of whether the speaker is male or female.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "I have eight years". The word tengo means "I have" and años means "years".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some Latin American countries, speakers frequently use the verb cumplir in the expression Yo cumplo ocho años.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, age is expressed using the verb tener (to have) in the first-person singular present tense (tengo), rather than the verb ser (to be). Additionally, the word años is grammatically required. You cannot simply say tengo ocho to express your age in a standard way.
How do you pronounce it?
/tenɡo otʃo aɲos/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly say soy ocho años by using the verb ser (soy) to state age. Instead, you must use tengo from the verb tener.
Did you know?
- The spelling of años includes a tilde over the 'n', which is a mark called a virgulilla. Without it, the word would become anos, which refers to an anatomical part.
- The word ocho evolved from the Latin octō, which is also the root for English words like 'octopus' and 'octave'.
- While English speakers 'are' an age, Spanish speakers 'have' years, a concept shared with other Romance languages like French and Italian.
Examples in context
- Yo tengo ocho años.I am eight years old.
- Apenas tengo ocho años.I am only eight years old.
Example conversation
Two children are talking about their age at a playground.
- Daniel¿Cuántos años tienes, Sofía?How old are you, Sofía?
- SofíaYo tengo ocho años, ¿y tú?I am eight years old, and you?
- DanielTengo ocho años también.I am eight years old too.
- Sofía¡Qué bien, somos de la misma edad!Great, we are the same age!
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ocho, CC BY-SA 4.0.
