tengo
/tenɡo/from spelling rules
In Spanish, the phrase to express "my age is" is tengo.
Spanish speakers use tengo to state how many years old a person is. The standard way to use this is by saying Tengo [number] años.
How does it change in a sentence?
When stating your age, you must follow tengo with the word años (years) to complete the thought, following the pattern tengo … años.
How do you pronounce it?
/tenɡo/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use soy (I am) instead of tengo (I have) when stating their age.
Did you know?
- Because age is expressed with tener, it is linguistically grouped with physical sensations. In Spanish, you 'have' hunger, 'have' thirst, and 'have' age, treating them all as internal states you carry.
- In some Latin American cultures, if you ask someone's age and they respond with Tengo más de… (I have more than…), it is often a polite way to avoid giving an exact number.
- While English uses 'age' as a noun, Spanish speakers often use the phrase cumplir años to describe the act of turning a certain age, which literally means 'to complete years'.
Examples in context
- Tengo 25 años.I am 25 years old.
- Tengo 40 años de edad.I am 40 years old.
- Tengo 20 primaveras.I am 20 springs old.
- Tengo 15 añitosI am a sweet 15 years old
- Tengo 30 años cumplidosI am 30 years old.
- Tengo veinticinco años.I am twenty-five years old.
Example conversation
Lucía and Alejandro are talking about their ages at a party.
- LucíaTengo veintidós años, ¿y tú?I am twenty-two years old, and you?
- AlejandroYo tengo treinta años.I am thirty years old.
- Lucía¡Eres mayor que yo!You are older than me!
- AlejandroNo te preocupes, Lucía.Don't worry, Lucía.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
