tengo treinta años
/tenɡo tɾeinta aɲos/from spelling rules
The phrase tengo treinta años is how you say "I am thirty years old" in Spanish.
This phrase is used to communicate your current age. In Spanish, age is expressed using the verb tener (to have) rather than the verb for "to be".
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, tengo treinta años means "I have thirty years".
How does it change in a sentence?
When using this phrase, the verb tengo must be conjugated in the first-person singular to match the subject "I".
How do you pronounce it?
/tenɡo tɾeinta aɲos/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying soy treinta años. English speakers often mistakenly use the verb ser (to be) instead of tener (to have) when stating their age.
Did you know?
- Because age is expressed with tener (to have), you can say tengo hambre to mean 'I am hungry' or tengo sed for 'I am thirsty'.
- If you want to say you have just reached your birthday, you might use the verb cumplir, changing the sentence to cumplí treinta años to signify you have 'fulfilled' or 'completed' those years.
- The English word 'thirty' and the Spanish word treinta share a common ancestor in the Proto-Indo-European root *tri(d)ḱomt.
Examples in context
- Tengo treinta años.I am thirty years old.This sentence is useful for stating that you are thirty years old using the form tengo treinta años.Tatoeba #3385317 by Ricardo14, translation #3388203 by Ricardo14
- Hola, soy María y tengo treinta años.Hello, I'm Maria and I am thirty years old.
- Yo tengo treinta años y me siento joven.I am thirty years old and I feel young.
- ¡Hola! Tengo treinta años y estoy feliz de verte.Hi! I am thirty years old and I am happy to see you.
- Mi amiga y yo tenemos treinta primaveras y nos divertimos mucho juntas.My friend and I are thirty years old, and we have a lot of fun together.
- Hola, soy Juan y tengo treinta años cumplidos. ¿Cómo estás?Hi, I'm Juan, and I am thirty years old. How are you?
- Todavía no soy viejo, tengo treinta años.I am not old yet, I am thirty years old.
- No es un secreto, tengo treinta años.It is not a secret, I am thirty years old.
Example conversation
Daniel and Sofía are meeting for the first time at a party.
- DanielHola, soy Daniel. ¿Cuántos años tienes?Hello, I'm Daniel. How old are you?
- SofíaHola Daniel, yo tengo treinta años.Hello Daniel, I am thirty years old.
- Daniel¡Qué coincidencia! Yo también tengo treinta años.What a coincidence! I am thirty years old too.
- Sofía¡Qué bien! Somos de la misma edad.That's 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 treinta, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
