quel âge as-tu ?
In French, "what is your age?" is translated as quel âge as-tu ?
This phrase is a question used to ask someone how many years old they are.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "what age have you?" because French uses the verb avoir (to have) instead of "to be" to express age.
Which one should you use?
The form quel âge as-tu ? uses the informal tu, whereas quel âge avez-vous ? is used for formal situations or when addressing more than one person.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase quel âge as-tu ? uses inversion (verb-subject) to form a question, which is a standard way to ask questions in formal or written French.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying quel âge es-tu ? English speakers often mistakenly use the verb être (to be) to ask age, resulting in quel âge es-tu ?, which is grammatically incorrect in French.
Did you know?
- The word âge replaced the older Old French word eé, which was the direct descendant of the Latin word 'aetātem'.
- While French uses avoir for age, it also uses the same verb to express hunger avoir faim and thirst avoir soif.
- In France, asking quel âge as-tu ? of an adult stranger is often considered an impolite or overly intrusive question.
Examples in context
- Quel âge as-tu ?What is your age?
- Dis-moi, quel âge as-tu ?Tell me, how old are you?
- Je me demandais : quel âge as-tu ?I was wondering: how old are you?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries quel, âge, CC BY-SA 4.0.
