años
/ˈaɲos/
In Spanish, "years old" is expressed using años.
años is used to state the age of a person or a thing. When speaking about reaching a milestone or celebrating a birthday, you can use the verb cumplir (to turn).
What does it mean word for word?
años literally means "years" and is the plural form of año.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Spanish, you use the verb tener (to have) instead of ser (to be) to express age. As a masculine plural noun, años must agree with the number used to state the age.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈaɲos/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use ser (to be) to state age, such as saying soy 20 años. Instead, you must use tener (to have) to say tengo 20 años.
Did you know?
- Depending on the region, the pronunciation of the ñ in años is a critical marker. If an English speaker uses a standard 'n' sound, the word can accidentally be confused with a vulgar Spanish slang term for a part of the anatomy.
- The verb cumplir, used to say someone is turning a certain age, also means 'to fulfill' or 'to keep' a promise. Expressing age is linguistically linked to the idea of completing a cycle or a requirement.
- The word años contains the letter ñ, which is not just an 'n' with a tilde but a distinct letter in the Spanish alphabet. This character represents a completely different sound, similar to the 'ny' in 'canyon'.
Examples in context
- ¿Tiene usted 17 años?Are you 17 years old?This sentence shows how to ask someone their age using años.Tatoeba #7968330 by Seael, translation #3896458 by arlene
- Ella tiene cinco años.She is five years old.This sentence demonstrates using the verb to state someone is five años old.Tatoeba #571819 by Shishir, translation #313532 by CK
- Él murió a los 54 años.He died when he was 54 years old.This sentence shows how to state the age at which someone passed away using años.Tatoeba #573049 by Shishir, translation #572443 by CK
- Tengo treinta añosI am thirty years old.
- Cuento con sesenta y cinco añosI am sixty-five years old.
- Tengo veinte añosI am twenty years old.
- Tengo treinta y cinco añosI am thirty-five years old.
- Tengo dieciséisI am sixteen years old.
- Tengo veinticuatroI am twenty-four years old.
- Tengo dieciocho añosI am eighteen years old.
- Tengo veinticinco añosI am twenty-five years old.
- Voy a cumplir treinta añosI am going to turn thirty.
- 298 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Sofía and Javier are talking about their siblings.
- Sofía¿Cuántos años tiene tu hermano?How old is your brother?
- JavierÉl tiene diez años.He is ten years old.
- SofíaEs muy joven todavía.He is still very young.
- JavierSí, pero ya tiene muchos años de experiencia.Yes, but he already has many years of experience.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry años, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
