Talking About Age

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1.   
你今年幾多歲 / 幾歲呀？
nei5gam1 nin4gei2 do1 seoi3 / gei2 seoi3aa3?
youthis yearhow oldSP
How old are you this year?
2. 
你今年幾大呀？
nei5gam1 nin4gei2 daai6aa3?
youthis yearhow oldSP
How old are you this year?
3. 
我今年三十五歲。
ngo5gam1 nin4saam1 sap6 ng5seoi3.
Ithis year35year old
I am 35 years old this year.
4. 
我今年七十幾歲喇。
ngo5gam1 nin4cat1 sap6gei2seoi3laa3.
Ithis year70severalyear oldSP
I am already 70 something years old this year.
  • The sentence particle 喇 laa3 adds the meaning of ‘already’ to the sentence. We will learn more about it in later lessons.

If the other person doesn’t want to say his or her age, he or she may say:

5. 
秘密！唔講你知！
bei3 mat6!m4gong2nei5zi1!
secretnottellyouknow
That’s a secret! I’m not going to tell you!
  • 講你知 gong2 nei5 zi1 means ‘to tell you’.

We can also ask the year of birth instead of asking the age directly.

6. 
你邊年出世㗎？
nei5bin1nin4ceot1 sai3gaa3?
youwhichyearbe bornSP
Which year were you born in?
7.   
我(一九)九五年出世嘅。
ngo5(jat1 gau2) gau2 ng5 nin4ceot1 sai3ge3.
I1995be bornSP
I was born in 1995.
  • We usually say only the last two digits of the year here.

Culture

To some people in Hong Kong, age is considered confidential information. To avoid revealing their age, they may either say it’s a secret or say an unreasonably young age. Respect them and don’t be pushy. Just make a guess in your mind! ☺️