How to say "how old are you? (familiar, or to a child)" in Chinese
几岁
jǐ suì
social · communication · beginner · neutral
When To Use It
"how old are you? (familiar, or to a child)" maps to 几岁 (jǐ suì), a neutral social phrase for communication situations.
Use it when you need to keep a conversation moving despite a language gap, unclear wording, or missing context.
Practice it first exactly as written, then swap in your own people, places, or objects so it becomes part of your active speaking repertoire.
Tone And Delivery
The register is neutral, which makes it flexible: safe in most daily situations without sounding stiff or overly intimate.
Because this is marked beginner, you should aim to recognize it instantly and reuse it with your own names, nouns, locations, or numbers.
A good practice target is the example sentence 几岁 (jǐ suì). Once that feels natural, shorten your pause and try it at conversation speed.
Practice Ideas
This phrase becomes more useful when you learn it as part of a mini-sequence. After saying it, a natural next step could be 悬河 (xuán hé).
A second nearby phrase to review is 情头 (qíng tóu), which helps you stay in the same topic instead of translating from scratch again.
- Read the example “how old are you? (familiar” aloud, then replace one detail with your own information.
- Pair it with “"hanging" river (an embanked one whose riverbed is higher than the surrounding floodplain)” next so your conversation does not stop after a single line.
- Match the phrase to your tone of voice: soft for polite requests, flatter and quicker for routine daily use.
- If you hear a slightly different version in the wild, compare the tone and context before treating it as interchangeable.
Examples
几岁
jǐ suì
how old are you? (familiar
Related
- "hanging" river (an embanked one whose riverbed is higher than the surrounding floodplain) — 悬河 (xuán hé)
- "lovers' avatar" – avatar that matches the avatar of a significant other (e.g. two halves of one image, two images drawn in a similar style etc), used to indicate a romantic relationship (abbr. for 情侶頭像|情侣头像[qing2 lu : 3 tou2 xiang4]) — 情头 (qíng tóu)
- "the Eight Great Eminent Officials" of the CCP, abbr. for 八大元老[Ba1 Da4 Yuan2 lao3] — 八老 (bā lǎo)
- "the four classes" of ancient China, i.e. scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants — 四民 (sì mín)
Explore more phrases on the How to say index or try the Chinese Name Generator.
Phrase FAQ
How do you say "how old are you? (familiar, or to a child)" in Chinese?
几岁 (jǐ suì).
When should I use this phrase?
Use it in communication situations where a neutral tone fits. Because it is tagged beginner, it is meant to be practical and reusable rather than literary or highly specialized.
Is pronunciation included?
Yes. Every phrase page includes pinyin with tone marks, plus example sentences so you can hear how the wording expands in real use.
What should I learn next after this phrase?
A useful follow-up is 悬河 (xuán hé) — ""hanging" river (an embanked one whose riverbed is higher than the surrounding floodplain)". Studying connected phrases in small clusters makes them easier to recall in conversation.