Chinese word

几岁

Pronunciation

Pinyinjǐ suì

Meaning

  • pronounhow old

Example

你几岁？nǐ jǐ suì

How old are you?

Illustration for 几岁 (how old)

More examples

孩子几岁了？hái zi jǐ suì le

How old is the child now?

Core concept

A compact question that turns a person's age into a count of years.

Common phrases

  • 你几岁？nǐ jǐ suì

    How old are you

  • 他几岁？tā jǐ suì

    How old is he

Similar words

几岁了jǐ suì le: A gentle, conversational way to ask how old a person is.
多大duō dà: A short question asking a person's age, commonly used with adults.

Definition in Chinese

表示询问某人有多少岁，属于口语常用问法，在正式场合常以“年龄”或更客气的方式替代。biǎo shì xún wèn mǒu rén yǒu duō shǎo suì shǔ yú kóu yǔ cháng yòng wèn fǎ zài zhèng shì chǎng hé cháng yǐ nián líng huò gèng kè qì de fāng shì tì dài

Word origin

The word joins 几 (jǐ, "how many") with 岁 (suì, "year of age"), combining a question about quantity with the unit used for someone's age.

Usage tips

  • In everyday speech, a brief numeric reply is often enough, while 我 (wǒ, "I") plus the number and 岁 (suì, "years old") gives a complete form.

Word lists with this word