Expressing Age in French is tricky both grammatically and vocabulary wise: Iâll explain the differences between âgrandirâ and âvieillirâ, the different life stages, the tricky French adjectives for old and young, how to ask someoneâs age in French, and the difference between âanâ and âannĂ©eâ.
Table of Contents
How to say your age in French?
How To Say âHow Old Are Youâ in French?
Asking A Woman Her Age in French â A Big Faux-Pas
How To Say âHow Many + Age Notionâ in French?
How To Say Year in French â An versus AnnĂ©e
How To Say Getting Older in French?
How To Say Old in French?
How to say Young in French?
30 French Words For Age Stages
How to say your age in French?
First of all, there is a big grammatical trap. In English, to talk about how old someone or something is, you use the construction: âto be + numberâ.
- He is 5.
No need to say youâre counting years.
In French, we donât use the verb to be (âĂȘtreâ in French). We use the construction âto have (so âavoirâ) + number + whatever you are countingâ
- Il a cinq ans â He/it is five (years old)
- Il a cinq jours â He/it is five days old.
- Il a cinq semaines â He/it is five weeks old.
- Il a cinq mois â He/it is five months old.
We always specify whatever it is that we are counting, even when itâs years.
You cannot say in French âil a cinqâ. You would always say âil a cinq ansâ.
To master French numbers, I suggest you study with my free French numbers audio lesson(with plenty of exercises). And for off-line studying, I suggest you take a look at my French number audiobook â study at home or on the go!

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How To Say âHow Old Are Youâ in French?
To ask someoneâs age, you would say:
- Quel Ăąge avez-vous ? How old are you, using vous.
- Tu as quel Ăąge ? How old are you, using tu and a street French colloquial question form.
- Quel Ăąge a-t-il ? How old is he (formal way of asking)
- Elle a quel Ăąge ? How old is she (casual street French way)
Asking A Woman Her Age in French â A Big Faux-Pas
Asking a woman her age is considered quite impolite in French, especially if you are a man. If you are curious and still want to know, be delicate about it: âest-ce que je peux me permettre de te demander ton Ăąge ?â â this translates literally into âmay I allow myself to ask for your ageâ but it would be the polite way to ask a woman her age in French.
How To Say âHow Many + Age Notionâ in French?
If you wanted to ask precisely how many week, months⊠someone or something was, you would say:
- Combien de semaines a le bĂ©bĂ© dâAnne ? How many weeks is Anneâs baby (watch out, remember to use âavoirâ, not the verb to be in French: âĂȘtreâ)
- Ce fromage a été affiné pendant combien de mois ? How many months was this cheese aged?
Learn more about question making with my downloadable French audio lesson (formal way, street way, complex interrogative expression such as âdepuis combien de tempsâ (for how long) etc⊠asking question is more complex in French than you think, and will unlockyour conversation skills).
How To Say Year in French â An versus AnnĂ©e
This is tricky for French students.
âUn anâ (masculine, strong liaison with the N making it sound like âun Nanâ) and âune annĂ©eâ both translate as âa yearâ. But they are not interchangeable.
Books will tell you âune annĂ©eâ is a year span, itâs about the duration. I donât think itâs clear, so Iâll tell you something else, that works most of the time :-)
With a number (except one) use âanâ for year.
- Il a trois ans â he is three.
- Tous les deux ans â every 2 years.
- Jây suis allĂ©e il y a cinq ans â I went there 5 years ago.
âAnnĂ©eâ is mostly used in expressions that you need to learn by heart
- LâannĂ©e derniĂšre â last year
- LâannĂ©e prochaine â next year
- Toute lâannĂ©e â All year longâ tous les ans â each year
- Les annĂ©es quatre-vingts â the eighties
- LâannĂ©e scolaire â the school year
- LâannĂ©e dâavant / dâaprĂšs â the year before / the following year
Memorize these expressions, and this wonât be a problem for you any longer.
How To Say Getting Older in French?
We use specific verbs to say to get older in French:
- Les enfants grandissent (grandir) â to grow up. â children grow up.
- Les adultes vieillissent (vieillir) â to grow old. â adults grow old.
Both can also ârajeunirâ â to become/look younger.
How To Say Old in French?
The French adjective for âoldâ is âvieux (m), vieille/s (f), or vieilâ⊠which Iâll explain below.
Now, even the French adjective for old is problematic. Itâs very irregular.
The French adjective âoldâ goes BEFORE the noun, when most French adjectives go after the noun.
- Vieux + masculine noun, singular and plural (the x is silent)
un vieux chien, deuxvieux chiens â an old dog, 2 old dogs - Vieille + feminine noun (add an S to make it plural)
une vieille chienne, deux vieilles chiennes â an old female dog, 2 old female dogs - Vieil + masculine noun starting with a vowel or a silent h = the mutant form!
un vieil immeuble â an old building
un vieil ordinateur â an old computer
Watch out! âUn vieil amiâ means an old (time) friend. Say âun ami qui est vieuxâ if you want to say âa friend who is oldââŠ
The pronunciation of âvieilâ is the same as the feminine âvieilleâ.
Be careful that the noun âles vieuxâ to talk about old-people is pejorative in French. Use instead âles personnes ĂągĂ©esâ or âles sĂ©niorsâ.
Instead of calling someone âoldâ, it may be more delicate to call them ânot very youngâ = pas trĂšs jeune, or âof some ageâ = dâun certain Ăąge.
- Anne est une femme dâun certain Ăąge. Elle nâest plus trĂšs jeune mais elle est restĂ©e trĂšs jeune dâesprit
Ann is a mature woman. She is no longer young, but she remained young at heart (notice we say âyoung in spiritsâin French)
4 generations French family: my husband Olivier, our daughter Leyla, Olivierâs mom Cristine and grandmother GeneviĂšve â€ïž
How to say Young in French?
The French adjective for âyoungâ is also irregular, since it too goes before the noun, but at least it has only one form:
- Jeune + masculine or feminine noun. Add an S to make it plural.
Un jeune chien â a young dog
Trois jeunes chiennes â three young female dogs.
Here also, youâll use into expressions. âUn jeune-hommeâ is a young man, so he is young for sure, but itâs also an old fashion greeting : âbonjour jeune-hommeââŠ
Same goes for âune jeune-femmeâ.
30 French Words For Age Stages
La Naissance â birth
- Un bĂ©bĂ© â a baby â always masculine. We then talk about âun bĂ©bĂ© filleâ (girl) ou un bĂ©bĂ© garçon (boy)â
- Un nouveau-nĂ© â a newborn, masculine.
- Il est nĂ© / elle est nĂ©e â he/she was born
Lâenfance â childhood
- Un/une enfant â a child â mostly used in the masculine, but can be used in the feminine as well. No e at the end though.
- Une fille â a girl
- Un garçon â a boy
- Grandir â to grow up and also to grow in size
Lâadolescence â teenage years
- Un adolescent, une adolescente â a teenager
- Un jeune-homme â a young man
- Une jeune-fille â a young woman
- Un ado â a teen
- MĂ»rir â to become more mature
LâĂąge Adulte â adulthood
- Un / une adulte â an adult
- Un homme â a man (strong liaison un Nomm)
- Une femme â a woman (pronounced fam)
- Vieillir â to grow old(er)
La Vieillesse â old age
- Une personne ĂągĂ©e â an elderly person (une personne being feminine, this expression may refer to men but is feminine)
- Un ancien, une ancienne â an elderly person, very old-fashioned.
- Un vieux, une vieille â an old person â pejorative
- Un sĂ©nior â a senior
- Mourir â to die
- La mort â death, t silent
- Il est mort â he is dead / died (t silent)
- Elle est morte â she is dead / died (t pronounced)
For more French death related vocabulary and how to express your sympathy in French, read my article.
Note, in France we talk about âle premier Ăągeâ for infancy, and then âle troisiĂšme Ăągeâ is for retired but physically active people, and we now talk about âle quatriĂšme Ăągeâ for people who are old and ill. But we never talk about âle deuxiĂšme ĂągeââŠ
VoilĂ , I hope this lesson on how to express age in French will be useful to you. You may also like my audio lessons on French numbers.
I post new articles every week, so make sure you subscribe to the French Today newsletter â or follow me onFacebook, TwitterandPinterest.
FAQs
How do you answer age question in French? âș
To answer, saying how old you are, you begin with j'ai followed by your age, for example, J'ai 22 ans. In French, the verb avoir is always used when saying how old someone is. To tell a girl's age, you'd say, for example, Elle a 8 ans.
How do you answer Quel age as-tu? âșThe neutral way to use it would be: âQuel Ăąge as-tu ?â (How old are you) â âJ'ai 28 ans et toi ?â (I'm 28 and you?).
How do you ask someone their age in French? âșTo ask someone's age, you would say: Quel Ăąge avez-vous ? How old are you, using vous. Tu as quel Ăąge ?
How do you solve age questions? âș- If the present age is y, then n times the present age = ny.
- If the present age is x, then age n years later/hence = x + n.
- If the present age is x, then age n years ago = x â n.
- The ages in a ratio a: b will be ax and bx.
If you'd like to say âWhat is your name?â in French, you generally have two options. To pose the question formally, you'd say âComment vous-appelez vous? Speaking informally, you can simply ask âComment t'appelles-tu?â
Why is avoir used for age? âșUse avoir (to have) to talk about age
As you probably remember, avoir is the French verb âto have.â This means that when you ask someone's age, you're literally asking, âWhat age do you have?â This can be difficult to remember for English speakers, who use the verb âto beâ when expressing age. (âHow old are you?â)
French Nouns Ending in Age Tend to be Masculine
A common French masculine ending is âageâ, for example le village (village) ,le garage (garage), le fromage (cheese)âŠ.. But there are also many exceptions: une image (a picture), la plage (the beach), la nage (swimming), la cage (cage), la rage (rage)âŠ
how old is she ? how old is she ?. quel Ăąge a-t-elle ?
What is a nice way to ask your age? âșWhen asking about someone's age, it's better to avoid the direct question, How old are you? Instead, you can politely ask: Do you mind if I ask how old you are?
How do you ask formal age? âș- âYou look so youthful! Do you mind me asking your age?â
- âWould you mind telling me your age?"
- âDo you mind telling me how old you are? You have so much energy.â
WHAT IS A in French? âș
Generally speaking, Ă means "to," "at," or "in," while de means "of" or "from." Both prepositions have numerous uses and to understand each better, it is best to compare them. Learn more about the preposition de. Learn more about the preposition Ă .
What is the age formula? âșHow is the age calculated ? Age is calculated by counting the number of years, months and days completed since birth. Leaps years and months with 31 days are all factored in the calculations. So, you can expect a very accurate calculation of the age down to the number of days.
What is the age ratio? âșThere are three types of age dependency ratio. The youth dependency ratio is the population ages 0-15 divided by the population ages 16-64. The old-age dependency ratio is the population ages 65-plus divided by the population ages 16-64. The total age dependency ratio is the sum of the youth and old-age ratios.
What would be the person age after 180 months? âșThere are 12 months in a year. Hence, 180 months is 15 years.
How do we reply to Bonjour? âșWhat is the proper response to bonjour? It's more than sufficient to simply say bonjour back in response to those who greet you, but if you want to go a step beyond, you can respond with comment allez-vous, which is the French equivalent of asking how it's going.
What are 3 greetings in French? âșThe most important French greetings include bonjour (hello), enchantĂ©(e) (nice to meet you), bonsoir (good evening/hello), salut (hi), coucou (hey), Ăa fait longtemps, dis donc (long time no see), Ăllo (hello), Ăa va? (how are you?), tu vas bien? (have you been well?), quoi de neuf? (what's up?), au revoir!
How do you answer bien y tu? âșThe standard answer is probably "Bien" ("Fine") or "Muy bien" ("Very good"). Of course, both of those responses are often expanded: "Muy bien, gracias.
Should you ask a girl her age? âșOften, even employers (illegally) value youth over experience. In social circumstances, Miss Manners has always thought it ridiculous to consider one's age an embarrassment. Nevertheless, it is â to many gentlemen, as well as ladies â and therefore, that question should not be asked of anyone except children.
How old are you in English? âșPhrase. How old are you? Asks the age of the interlocutor. Literally: What is your age in years?
What does the age of 18 mean? âșThis is the age at which a person gains the legal status of an adult. The legal age is set by state law and can differ from state to state. However, almost all states set the base legal age as 18 years old.
What is Hello my name in French? âș
The most common way to say âHello, my name isâ in French is âBonjour, je m'appelleâ.
What is your name to Japanese? âșâăăȘăŸăăŻïŒâ (o namae wa?)
What is your name in French Easy? âșComment vous appelez-vous ? (âWhat's your name?â formal) Comment tu t'appelles ? (Also âwhat's your name?â but informal)
What are the 6 forms of avoir? âș- j'ai eu.
- tu as eu.
- il/elle a eu.
- nous avons eu.
- vous avez eu.
- ils/elles ont eu.
Category | French | |
---|---|---|
Common | ||
1 | Common | ùgé [adj] |
* Attention : French nouns with the suffix -age are always masculine â see Masculine noun endings.
What are some age words? âș- age.
- ancientness.
- antiqueness.
- archaicism.
- archaism.
- elderliness.
- hoariness.
- old age.
- era.
- day.
- time.
- period.
- epoch.
- year.
- generation.
- date.
- agency.
- agenda.
- ageing.
- ageism.
- ageist.
- agedly.
- agenes.
- agents.
First we'll talk about when you do hyphenate an age: You do it when the age is acting like a noun and when the age is an adjective that comes before the noun and modifies the noun. In this example, the ageâ70-year-oldâis used as a noun, and you hyphenate it: That 70-year-old with a purple hoodie loves Justin Bieber.
How do you write 12 year old? âș
When age is used as a compound adjective to modify a noun, it must be hyphenated. Note that the modification is placed BEFORE the noun it describes. For example: The art show is for 12-year-old students and younger.
How do you write 14 year old? âș- Use hyphens for ages expressed as adjectives before a noun or as substitutes for a noun.
- Do not use hyphens when you are simply stating the age of something.
Detailed Translations for baby girl from English to French
girl: fille; jeune fille; jeune femme; petite; demoiselle.
From Middle English gerle, girle, gyrle (âyoung person of any genderâ), of uncertain origin.
How can we say a girl in French? âș- (= child) fille f â§« fillette f. a five-year-old girl une petite fille de cinq ans â§« une fillette de cinq ans. ...
- (= young unmarried woman) jeune fille. a sixteen-year-old girl une jeune fille de seize ans. ...
- (= daughter) fille f. They've got a girl and two boys. ...
- the girls (informal) (= female friends) les filles.
As a general rule, you don't want to ask about age if there is any possibility of offending the person. If the person is very clearly young, then it may not be an issue but you just never know. Even if it seems like a young person, age tends to be something that you want to avoid in conversation.
How do I know my crush age? âș...
15 Ways To Find Out How Old He Is Without Directly Asking
- Stalk him on social media. Social media is always a go-to. ...
- Ask mutual friends. ...
- Check LinkedIn. ...
- Google him. ...
- Search public records and data. ...
- Analyze his name. ...
- Bring up technology. ...
- Discuss school memories.
Not a good idea perhaps, but not illegal. While it may fly in the face of what you know about the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the question itself is legal.
What are age questions? âșStarting to ask and answer 'Wh-' questions is a milestone that most children start to reach between the age of 1 and 2 years, and they'll continue to develop their receptive and expressive language in the lead up to school.
How do you ask for birthday? âșIf you *do* want the year then "What is your date of birth?" is the question, and they'll tell you the date including the year (if they're comfortable doing so). If you don't need the year, then just ask "when's your birthday" and they'll just give you the month and day-of-the-month.
How do you ask Old English? âș
Like many of the words we use today, ask comes from an Old English word. In this case, the word is acsian, and it can be traced back to the eighth century AD. And, sure enough, it was pronounced ax-ian. As Old English evolved into Middle and then modern English, the word became asken and then ask.
Is there ABCD in French? âșI want to learn
Let's start with the good news: 'l'alphabet', the French alphabet, is the same as the English alphabet. Both languages share the same letters. However, they are not all pronounced the same way. The French alphabet also has some accents, which changes their pronunciation.
1) C. In French, the letter c (= which is pronounced âcĂ©â = [âsayâ]) has two main pronunciations in a word or a sentence. C = [âsssâ] in front of e, i, y. âCâ sounds like âsssâ in front of the vowels e, i, y.
What's a boy in French? âșboy â garçon, gars, boy, jeune homme.
Why do we use avoir for age? âșUse avoir (to have) to talk about age
As you probably remember, avoir is the French verb âto have.â This means that when you ask someone's age, you're literally asking, âWhat age do you have?â This can be difficult to remember for English speakers, who use the verb âto beâ when expressing age. (âHow old are you?â)
Note that to say how old someone is in French, we use avoir + age + ans. Effectively we say I have fifteen years, not I am fifteen. ATTENTION: In French, you cannot omit ans as it wouldn't make sense.
Does age use estar or ser? âșWhen not to use ser or estar: Age. When we discuss someone's age in English, we use the verb 'to be'. In Spanish, to talk about your age, you'll need the Spanish verb tener.
How do you say your age in English? âșSo remember⊠you say: I AM ___(number)__ years old.
How do you say your age in Old English? âșSaying age
Here's how to do it: IÄ eom ĂŸrittiÄĄ - I'm thirty. HÄ is tÆżÄ and tÆżentiÄĄ ÄĄÄara - He is twenty-two years old. HÄo is ĂŸrÄo and fÄoÆżertig Æżintra - She's forty-three years old.
Comment s'appelle-t-elle ?
Do the French sing happy birthday? âș
Did you know that the French sing âJoyeux anniversaireâ (âHappy Birthdayâ) not just for celebrations, but for when something goes wrong in a public place?