How Old Are You in Spanish | 4 Phrases & Examples
To ask how old are you in Spanish, you could use:
- ¿Cuántos años tienes?
- ¿Qué edad tienes?
- ¿Cuál es tu edad?
- ¿Cuándo naciste?
Each of these phrases needs to be modified depending on the number of people you’re addressing, the formality of the situation, and where you are in the Spanish-speaking world.
How to ask how old are you in Spanish
The philosophy behind age is different in Spanish and English. While in English you “are” an age, in Spanish you “have” an age. Therefore, to ask how old are you in Spanish, you’ll mostly need to use the verb “tener” [“to have”].
If you have any doubts, a QuillBot Grammar Check can help you make sure you’re using this verb correctly.
¿Cuántos años tienes?
“¿Cuántos años tienes?” literally means “How many years do you have?” Despite this literal translation, it means how old are you in Spanish.
This phrase is made up of three parts:
- The interrogative “cuánto” [“how many”]
- The plural noun “años” [“years”]
- A conjugation of “tener.”
| Phrase | Pronunciation | Singular or plural | Formal or informal | Regional usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¿Cuántos años tienes (tú)? | kwahn-tohs ahn-yos tyeh-nes (too) | Singular | Informal | All |
| ¿Cuántos años tenés (vos)? | kwahn-tohs ahn-yos tehn-ehs (vohs) | Singular | Informal | Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, much of Central America |
| ¿Cuántos años tiene (usted)? | kwahn-tohs ahn-yos tyeh-neh (oos-tehd) | Singular | Formal or informal | Spain (formal)
Latin America (both) |
| ¿Cuántos años tenéis (vosotros)? | kwahn-tohs ahn-yos teh-nays (voh-soh-tros) | Plural | Informal | Spain |
| ¿Cuántos años tienen (ustedes)? | kwahn-tohs ahn-yos tyeh-nehn (oos-teh-dehs) | Plural | Formal or informal | Spain (formal)
Latin America (both) |
The subject pronouns in the above table are in parentheses because they are optional. Given that the verb conjugation implies the subject, it’s not strictly necessary to include a subject pronoun like it is in English.
¿Cuántos años tiene, Señor López? [How old are you, Mr. López?]
Chicas, ¿Cuántos años tienen? [Girls, how old are you?]
Not doing so will drastically change the question you ask. “Años” (with the tilde) means “years.” However, “anos” (without the tilde) means “anuses.”
¿Qué edad tienes?
Another way to ask how old are you in Spanish is “¿Qué edad tienes?” Literally, this phrase translates as “What age do you have?”
| Phrase | Pronunciation | Singular or plural | Formal or informal | Regional usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¿Qué edad tienes (tú)? | keh eh-dahd tyeh-nes (too) | Singular | Informal | All |
| ¿Qué edad tenés (vos)? | keh eh-dahd tehn-ehs (vohs) | Singular | Informal | Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, much of Central America |
| ¿Qué edad tiene (usted)? | keh eh-dahd tyeh-neh (oos-tehd) | Singular | Formal or informal | Spain (formal)
Latin America (both) |
| ¿Qué edad tenéis (vosotros)? | keh eh-dahd teh-nays (voh-soh-tros) | Plural | Informal | Spain |
| ¿Qué edad tienen (ustedes)? | keh eh-dahd tyeh-nehn (oos-teh-dehs) | Plural | Formal or informal | Spain (formal)
Latin America (both) |
¿Qué edad tenés, Lucas? [How old are you, Lucas?]
Don y Doña García, ¿qué edad tienen? [Mr. and Mrs. García, how old are you?]
¿Cuál es tu edad?
“¿Cuál es tu edad?” literally means “What is your age?” and is another way to ask how old are you in Spanish.
When using this option, you need to change the possessive pronoun (e.g., “tu”) to match your context.
| Phrase | Pronunciation | Singular or plural | Formal or informal | Regional usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¿Cuál es tu edad? | kwahl ehs too eh-dahd | Singular | Informal | All |
| ¿Cuál es su edad? | kwahl ehs soo eh-dahd | Singular | Formal or informal | Formal (Spain)
Both (Latin America) |
| ¿Cuál es vuestro edad? | kwahl ehs bwehs-troh eh-dahd | Plural | Informal | Spain |
| ¿Cuál es su edad? | kwahl ehs soo eh-dahd | Plural | Formal or informal | Formal (Spain)
Both (Latin America) |
Señora Aguirre, ¿Cuál es su edad? [Mrs. Aguirre, how old are you?]
¿Cuál es vuestro edad, chavales? [How old are you guys?]
¿Cuándo naciste?
Another way to ask how old are you in Spanish is “¿Cuándo naciste?” This phrase really means “When were you born?” It can be a way to ask about a person’s age without specifically asking how old they are.
To form this phrase, you use “cuándo” [“when”] and a conjugation of the verb “nacer” [“to be born”].
| Phrase | Pronunciation | Singular or plural | Formal or informal | Regional usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ¿Cuándo naciste? | kwahn-doh nah-see-steh | Singular | Informal | All |
| ¿Cuándo nació? | kwahn-doh nah-syoh | Singular | Formal or informal | Formal (Spain)
Both (Latin America) |
| ¿Cuándo nacisteis? | kwahn-doh nah-see-steis | Plural | Informal | Informal (Spain) |
| ¿Cuándo nacieron? | kwahn-doh nah-see-eh-rohn | Plural | Formal or informal | Formal (Spain)
Both (Latin America) |
¿Ustedes son de México, no? Y ¿cuándo nacieron? [You are from Mexico, right? And when were you born?]
¿Cuándo nació, Señor? [When were you born, Sir?]
How to respond to how old are you in Spanish
To respond to how old are you in Spanish, you could say, for example:
- (Yo) tengo 30 años.
- Voy a cumplir 30 años.
Tengo
To use, “Tengo … años” fill in the ellipsis with your age. For example, you might say “(Yo) tengo treinta años” ( ). The first-person pronoun “yo” is optional here.
This phrase literally translates as “I have thirty years,” but it means “I am thirty.” It is the most common way to respond to how old are you in Spanish.
Isabel: Tengo quince años. [I’m fifteen.]
Emiliano: ¿Cuántos años tiene, Don Sánchez? [How old are you, Mr. Sánchez?]
Don Sánchez: Yo tengo sesenta y siete años. [I’m sixty-seven.]
Voy a cumplir
Another way to respond to how old are you in Spanish is “(Yo) voy a cumplir … años,” for example, “(Yo) voy a cumplir veinte años” ( ).
This phrase would literally translate as “I am going to fulfill twenty years,” but it means “I’m going to turn twenty.” It’s useful if your birthday is very soon and you prefer to tell someone the age you’re going to turn. In this phrase, the “yo” pronoun is also optional.
Hugo: Yo voy a cumplir dieciocho años mañana. [I’m going to turn eighteen tomorrow.]
Lucia: ¿Cuántos años tiene, mamá? [How old are you, mom?]
Lola: ¿No sabes, Lucia? ¡Voy a cumplir cuarenta la semana que viene! [You don’t know, Lucia? I’m going to be forty next week!]
Frequently asked questions about how old are you in Spanish
- How do you say how old is he in Spanish?
-
To say “how old is he” in Spanish, say “Cuántos años tiene él?” (pronounced kwahn-tohs ahn-yos tyeh-neh ehl).
This phrase uses “tiene,” the third-person singular conjugation of the verb “tener” [“to have”]. This conjugation changes depending on whom you are speaking about.
For example, if you want to ask how old are you in Spanish, you’d have to use a different conjugation of this verb.
QuillBot’s free Translator can help you translate phrases like this from English to Spanish.
- How do you say your age in Spanish?
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To say your age in Spanish, say “Tengo … años” (pronounced tehn-go … ahn-yos) and fill in the ellipsis with your age.
How to say your age in Spanish Tengo treinta años. [I’m thirty years old.]Tengo diecisiete años. [I’m seventeen years old.]
This is the most common response to the question how old are you in Spanish.
A QuillBot Grammar Check can make sure you’re using these phrases correctly in Spanish.
- How do you say young in Spanish?
-
To say “young” in Spanish, say “joven” (pronounced hoh-behn).
If someone asks how old are you in Spanish, one answer could be “Soy joven” [“I’m young”].
“Joven” is a singular adjective. In Spanish, nouns and adjectives must agree in number. So if you want to say that multiple people or things are young, use “jovenes.”
A QuillBot Grammar Check can make sure you’re doing this correctly.
