{"id":10705,"date":"2019-11-15T02:25:12","date_gmt":"2019-11-15T02:25:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/spoken-chinese\/lesson-015-how-old-are-you\/"},"modified":"2019-11-15T02:25:12","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T02:25:12","slug":"lesson-015-how-old-are-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/de\/lesson-015-how-old-are-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesson 015 How Old Are You?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Y: Perfect Chinese your way, in o<\/em>nly five minutes a day. Welcome to Chinese Studio. I’m Yajie. <\/span>
C: Hi, everyone, I’m Cam. \u65e9\u4e0a\u597d z\u01ceoshang h\u01ceo, yajie.
Y: \u65e9\u4e0a\u597d\uff01Today we’ll learn how to ask one’s age in Chinese. First let’s check our key words of the day!<\/p>\n

************Key words of the day<\/strong>
Today we’ll co<\/em>ntinue with the usages of the numbers. \u4f60\u51e0\u5c81\u4e86\uff1f \u60a8\u591a\u5927\u4e86\uff1fAll in today’s Chinese Studio.\u3000
***********
C: In the West, we don’t usually ask a person’s age. Especially a girl. It is usually co<\/em>nsidered private!
Y: In China you can ask a person’s age. And there are different ways of asking. For example, if you saw a lovely kid, and you were wo<\/em>ndering how old she or he was, you could say “\u4f60\u51e0\u5c81\u4e86\uff1f” (n\u01d0 j\u01d0 suì le?) <\/span>
C: “\u4f60\u51e0\u5c81\u4e86\uff1f” (n\u01d0 j\u01d0 suì le?) <\/span>
Y: \u4f60, we’ve learnt that before, right? It means you. Remember? The pro<\/em>nunciation of \u4f60 is similar to the English word knee. \u4f60, the third tone.
C: yes. \u4f60  (n\u01d0)
Y: \u51e0 means how many. And \u5c81 means age. <\/span>
C: \u51e0\u5c81(j\u01d0 suì).
Y: Right. Now let me explain the usage of \u4e86. Here \u5c81, a noun, plus the Chinese character\u4e86. It has a similar meaning to that of a verb, indicating the completion of an action. For example, \u6211\u516b\u5c81\u4e86 means that I’ve already grown up (\u8bf7\u91cd\u8bfb\uff0c\u4ee5\u7a81\u51fa\u3001\u5f3a\u8c03\u53d8\u5316) to eight years old. <\/span>
Y: If you want to know the age of somebody around your age – or a peer — you can ask this way: \u4f60\u591a\u5927\u4e86\uff1f <\/span>
C: \u4f60\u591a\u5927\u4e86\uff1f(ní du\u014d dà le?)
Y: \u591a, here means how many? \u591a\u5927 together means how old. <\/span>
C: \u4f60\u591a\u5927\u4e86\uff1f
Y: Sometimes when answering the question of how old they are,  people would just say\u6211plus the number of your age. For example, if you were twenty years old, you could say \u6211\u4e8c\u5341\u4e86.  <\/span>
Y: Right. One more thing.  There is a more courteous way of asking an elderly or senior person’s age. You can say \u60a8\u591a\u5927\u4e86\uff1f
C: \u60a8\u591a\u5927\u4e86\uff1f(nín du\u014d dà le?) We’ve learned \u60a8. It’s the polite form of \u4f60, right? <\/span>
Y: Exactly. \u60a8\u591a\u5927\u4e86\uff1fThere is another way of asking a senior citizen’s age. You can say \u60a8\u9ad8\u5bff\uff1f\u9ad8 means high, and \u5bff means age. Together \u9ad8\u5bffmeans your venerable age. \u60a8\u9ad8\u5bff\uff1f
C: \u60a8\u9ad8\u5bff\uff1f(nín g\u0101o shòu) It’s a little bit difficult for me to say. <\/span>
Y: You can keep practicing.  This is a polite thing to say to elderly people.  It shows respect. <\/span>
**********Key words reminder
You could ask a kid “\u4f60\u51e0\u5c81\u4e86\uff1f” For an adult, you can say \u4f60\u591a\u5927\u4e86\uff1fAnd\u60a8\u591a\u5927\u4e86\uff1fis a courteous way of asking an elderly or senior person’s age. Also when asking an old person’s age, you can say \u60a8\u9ad8\u5bff\uff1f\u9ad8 means high, and \u5bff means age. Together \u9ad8\u5bffmeans your venerable age. <\/span>
***********
Cam: Yajie, \u4f60\u591a\u5927\u4e86\uff1f
Y: Sorry, Cam. I forgot to tell you that now in China more and more people do not ask a lady’s age. So it’s a secret. <\/span>
Cam: Ok. I see. I’ll have to remember that!
Y: Well, class is over for this time. Don’t forget you can win a gift by answering the question of the day in Chinese: what’s the polite form of asking a senior citizen’s age?
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