Cantonese Chinese · Cantonese Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 8
你幾多歲？How old are you?
Asking and saying age: 幾多歲, 廿五歲 — with no 係; numbers from eleven to ninety-nine; and 後生 "young" and 老 "old".
Dialogue
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好後生呀！— So young!
- WongTaaiMike，你今年幾多歲呀？Mike, how old are you this year?
- Mike我係廿五歲。I am twenty-five. (with an extra 係)
- WongTaai廿五歲？好後生呀！Twenty-five? So young!
- Mike廿五歲。黃太，你呢？Twenty-five. And you, Mrs Wong?
- WongTaai我？我十八歲！Me? I'm eighteen!
- Mike十八歲？Eighteen?
- WongTaai唔係呀！六十八！No! Sixty-eight!
Dialogue
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佢好老！— He's ancient!
- Mike家欣，你細佬幾多歲呀？Ka-yan, how old is your younger brother?
- KaYan佢十二歲。He's twelve.
- Mike你哥哥呢？And your older brother?
- KaYan佢三十歲。He's thirty.
- Mike三十歲？好後生！Thirty? That's young!
- KaYan後生？佢好老！Young? He's ancient!
Vocabulary
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- 今年
nounthis year (said gam1 nin2)
- 歲
m.years old
- 幾多歲
phrasehow old
- 廿
numeraltwenty, in compound numbers (廿五 = 25; spoken short for 二十)
- 後生
adjectiveyoung
- 老
adjectiveold (of age)
New characters
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- 今
now; this (in 今年)
- 年
year (in 今年 said nin2)
- 歲
years of age
- 廿
twenty (in compound numbers)
- 後
after; behind (in 後生)
Grammar
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Age: 我廿五歲 — no 係
Explanation
For age, person + number + 歲 is all you need — no 係: 我廿五歲 "I'm 25", 佢十二歲 "he's 12". So Mike's 我係廿五歲 has one 係 too many. Mrs Wong doesn't explain; she just says 廿五歲 back. To ask: 你幾多歲呀? You can add 今年 "this year": 你今年幾多歲呀? The answer can be the number alone: 廿五歲.
Examples
- 我廿五歲。I'm twenty-five.
- 佢十二歲。He's twelve.
- 你今年幾多歲呀？How old are you this year?
- 黃太六十八歲。Mrs Wong is sixty-eight.
Grammar
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Numbers from eleven to ninety-nine
Explanation
Numbers above ten are perfectly regular — like building blocks. Ten + a digit: 十一 (11), 十二 (12) … 十八 (18), 十九 (19). A digit + ten: 二十 (20), 三十 (30) … 九十 (90). Then digit + ten + digit: 三十五 (35), 六十八 (68). In speech the twenties often use 廿 instead of 二十: 廿一 (21), 廿五 (25). So Mike's 廿五歲 is simply twenty-five.
Examples
- 十二12
- 三十30
- 六十八68
- 廿五25 (spoken 廿 = 二十)
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