岁/歲 suì — year of age

Meanings

1. 1

   year of age

   Counts a person’s age. Because 岁 is itself the measure word, the age is a complete predicate with no verb: 我八岁, never 我是八岁.

   measure

Example sentences

• 我儿子今天六岁了。/我兒子今天六歲了。Wǒ (third tone, dipping) érzi (second tone, rising) jīntiān (first tone, high and level) liù (fourth tone, falling) suì (fourth tone, falling) le. (neutral tone)···

  My son turns six today.

• 你女儿几岁了？/你女兒幾歲了？Nǐ (third tone, dipping) nǚ (third tone, dipping) ér (second tone, rising) jǐ (third tone, dipping) suì (fourth tone, falling) le? (neutral tone)···

  How old is your daughter?

Common mistakes

• Not quite我是八岁。

  Correct我八岁。

  An age needs no verb in Chinese: the number and 岁 are the predicate. Adding 是 is one of the most common beginner slips.

Similar words