Chinese Mini-test: How to Ask Someone’s Age?
Jun. 7, 2011
Beginner Level 初级 (chūjí)
Choose the appropriate way to ask the person’s age.
Yéye nín ____ le?
A: 爷爷 您_____了?
Wǒ bāshí suì le.
B: 我 八十 岁 了.
A: 几岁 (jǐ suì)
B: 多大 (duō dà)
C: 多大年纪 (duō dà niánjì)
You may be interested in more mini tests to evaluate your Chinese level
◆ Chinese Mini-test: 上网 (Intermediate)
◆ Chinese Mini-test: 明星 (Intermediate)
They all mean “how old are you?” but what you say depends on how old the person that you are talking to is (some are more polite while others are more casual
When you speak Mandarin, you have to pay close attention to the seniority of the person you talk to.
I can speak Mandarin; they all mean “How old are you?”
Anyone who can speak Mandarin is kind enough to tell me the difference between the choices in this Mandarin test?
Hi Jane,
Yes, youa re right. It depends on the person you are asking. For children, you can ask use “你几岁了? (Ni3 ji3 sui4 le?)” to ask the age. But for the elders, we always use “您多大年纪了 (Nin3 duo1 da4 nian2ji4 le?)” to show your respect to them.