Courtesy of Connie, here are today's sentences.

几岁？
Jǐ suì?
How old? (usually for people or pets.)

很可爱的宠物。
Hěn kě'ài de chǒngwù.
A very cute pet.

它几岁？
Tā jǐ suì?
How old is it?

这个狗狗几岁了？
Zhège gǒu gǒu jǐ suì le?
How old is this dog?

你知道米老鼠几岁了？
Nǐ zhīdao Mǐlǎoshǔ jǐ suì le?
Do you know how old Mickey Mouse is?

一百多岁了。
Yībǎi duō suì le.
More than a hundred years old.

多大？
Duōdà?
How old?

您多大？
Nín duōdà?
How old are you?

故宫有多少年的历史？
Gùgōng yǒu duōshao nián de lìshǐ?
How old is the Imperial Palace? (i.e. How many years of history does it have?)

加拿大有多少年的历史？
Jiānádà yǒu duōshao nián de lìshǐ?
How old is Canada?

今年中华人民共和国六十岁了。
Jīnnián Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó liùshí suì le.
This year, the People's Republic of China is sixty years old.

因为你很开心，这样说很亲切。
Yīnwèi nǐ hěn kāixīn，zhèyàng shuō hěn qīnqiè.
Because you're very happy. Saying it this way is very warm and friendly.


这个公司有多少年的历史？
Zhège gōngsī yǒu duōshao nián de lìshǐ?
How long has this company been around?

是什么时候开始的？
Shì shénme shíhou kāishǐ de?
When did it start?

什么时候买的？
Shénme shíhou mǎi de?
When did you buy it?

你真是什么事情都要搞得很清楚。
Nǐ zhēnshì shénme shì qíng dōu yào gǎo dehěn qīngchu.
You really need to get everything really clear.

这个电脑你用了多久？
Zhège diànnǎo nǐ yòng le duōjiǔ?
How long did you use this computer?

车子什么时候买的？
Chēzi shénme shíhou mǎi de?
When did you buy this car?

这个车子用了多久了？
Zhège chēzi yòng le duōjiǔ le?
How long have you been driving this car?


这件T恤你穿了多久？
Zhè jiàn Txù nǐ chuān le duōjiǔ?
How long have you worn this t-shirt?

穿了十年了。
Chuān le shí nián le.
I've been wearing it for ten years.

什么时候造的？
Shénme shíhou zào de?
When was it built?

什么时候生产的？
Shénme shíhou shēngchǎn de?
When was it made?

这个房子是什么时候造的？
Zhège fángzi shì shénme shíhou zào de?
When was this house built?

《请问》做了多久了？
《qǐngwèn》zuò le duōjiǔ le?
How long have we done "Qing Wen"?

差不多两年了吧。
Chàbuduō liǎng nián le ba.
About two years, give or take.

已经有一百多集了。
Yǐjing yǒu yībǎi duō jí le.
There are already more than a hundred episodes.

我们有两年的历史了。
Wǒmen yǒu liǎng nián de lìshǐ le.
We have two years of history!

这个要分老的和年轻的。
Zhège yào fēn lǎo de hé niánqīng de.
With this, you need to differentiate between old and young.

什么时候种的？
Shénme shíhou zhòng de?
When was this planted?

这个问题出现了多久？
Zhège wèntí chūxiàn le duōjiǔ?
How long has this problem been around?

年龄
niánlíng
age

房子的年龄就是房龄。
Fángzi de niánlíng jiùshì fáng líng.
The age of a house is called "the age of a house."

你住的这栋房子房龄多久了？
Nǐ zhù de zhè dòng fángzi fáng líng duōjiǔ le?
How old is this house you live in?

工龄
gōng líng
length of service, length of time in a job

车龄
chē líng
Age of a car

车龄很多年了，别买它。
Chē líng hěn duōnián le, bié mǎi tā.
This is a very old car. Don't buy it.

黄山有多少年的历史？
Huángshān yǒu duōshao nián de lìshǐ?
How old is Huang Shan?

为什么？

当然我觉得是因为米老鼠好像是挺年轻，哈哈。

"穿了十年了"

...哎哟，非常臭 ！！

2. For houses or apartments when would you switch from asking when it was made to asking about the age?  Is there a good rule of thumb like a few years?

A significant part of my salary is determined by my 工龄 ("Dienstalter") or to be more precise: by my 工龄级 ("Dienstaltersstufe"). The rest comes from natural age, academic degree, working location, and family size. Performance? What performance?

All the best from an oasis of socialism! :P

Is this unique to the University environment?

Recently, however, the system has been changed: new positions are supposedly more performance based (and come with a significant decrease in salary). I was lucky to get one of those rare positions that follow the old model...