tengo catorce años
/tenɡo katoɾθe aɲos/from spelling rules
The phrase 'I am fourteen years old' in Spanish is tengo catorce años.
This phrase is used to state your current age. In Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, it is common to say tengo catorce años.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to 'I have fourteen years'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The form tengo catorce años is commonly used in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, you use the first-person singular present tense of the verb tener (to have) to express age. To change the age, you simply replace the number catorce with another number.
How do you pronounce it?
/tenɡo katoɾθe aɲos/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying soy catorce años.
Did you know?
- Because Spanish uses the verb tener (to have) for age, a speaker can say tengo hambre (I have hunger) to mean 'I am hungry' and tengo frío (I have cold) to mean 'I am cold'.
- In some Spanish-speaking cultures, when someone celebrates their 15th birthday, it is called a quinceañera. This transition from catorce to quince is often marked by a massive gala.
- The Spanish word for 'years', años, uses a tilde over the 'n' to create the 'ny' sound, which prevents it from being pronounced like the English word 'anos'.
Examples in context
- Todavía tengo catorce años.I am still fourteen years old.
- No, tengo catorce años.No, I am fourteen years old.
Example conversation
Mateo and Elena are introducing themselves at school.
- MateoHola, soy Mateo. ¿Cuántos años tienes?Hi, I am Mateo. How old are you?
- ElenaHola Mateo, yo tengo catorce años.Hi Mateo, I am fourteen years old.
- Mateo¡Yo también! Somos de la misma edad.Me too! We are the same age.
- ElenaQué bien, entonces somos compañeros.That's great, then we are classmates.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
