tengo diez años
/tenɡo djeθ aɲos/from spelling rules
In Spanish, 'I am ten years old' is expressed as tengo diez años.
The phrase is used to state a person's current age.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, tengo diez años translates to 'I have ten years'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In certain regions, the expression Tengo diez años de edad is used as a formal way to express age.
How does it change in a sentence?
Spanish uses the verb tener (to have) instead of ser (to be) to express age. The form tengo must agree with the first-person singular subject yo (I).
How do you pronounce it?
/tenɡo djeθ aɲos/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use the verb soy (from ser) to express age.
Did you know?
- The word años can be a source of extreme embarrassment for English speakers due to a phonetic similarity to a vulgar English slang term. However, in Spanish, it is the only standard word for 'years' when discussing age.
- While English speakers say they 'are' a certain age, Spanish speakers often use the verb cumplir to describe the act of reaching that age. To say 'I turned ten', you would say cumplí diez años.
- The word diez shares a common ancestor with the English word 'ten' and the German word 'zehn'. All these words stem from the Proto-Indo-European root *déḱm̥, meaning 'ten'.
Examples in context
- Tengo diez años ahora.I am ten years old now.
- No, todavía tengo diez años.No, I am still ten years old.
Example conversation
Two children are introducing themselves at a park.
- AlejandroHola, soy Alejandro. ¿Cuántos años tienes?Hello, I am Alejandro. How old are you?
- SofíaHola, soy Sofía y tengo diez años.Hello, I am Sofia and I am ten years old.
- Alejandro¡Yo también tengo diez años!I am ten years old too!
- Sofía¡Qué bien! Vamos a jugar.That's great! Let's play.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries diez, CC BY-SA 4.0.
