你多大了？
monix
October 27, 2009, 09:31 AM posted in General Discussion如果要知道一个人的年龄，你们用你多大了还是你几岁？
我听说如果你问一个孩子你应该问他你多大了，但是如果是一个成人应该问你几岁。对不对？
changye
October 27, 2009, 12:48 PMHi monix
"你几岁了" is used when you ask a child his age. The character "几" implies a single-digit figure, so "which day of the week/in what month" are translated as "星期几/几月", although 十二(月) is a double-digit number and "what date" is always "几号" (even at the end of a month), hehe.
On the other hand, people use "多少" （how many） basically when talking about numbers larger than ten, having said that, "which floor?" is always "几楼？" even when you're in a skyscraper. There is no rule without exception, especially in the PRC.
You have several ways to ask an adult his age. For example, “你今年多大了？”，“你今年多大年纪了？”, “你今年多大岁数了？” and so on. One of my dictionaries says that "岁数" is more recommended to use when you ask your elder his age, like "您今年多大岁数了？"
skyfx
October 28, 2009, 01:07 AM对于老人，可以问“请问您贵庚了？”
不过最好不要问女人的岁数，因为她们不想透露，并且会尽量打扮的让自己显得年轻，就算你问了她们也会转移话题或者敷衍了事。
monix
October 30, 2009, 06:22 PM谢谢你们！你们的回答很有帮助。
simonpettersson
October 30, 2009, 07:22 PMThere's a Qing Wen about this very issue, but Changye mentioned some here that are not mentioned in the show. Great work, Changye!
So, when asking people their age, we have:
- 你几岁了, for children
- 你多少岁了, for adults (can you say this?)
- 年多大了, also for adults
- 你（您）今年多大岁数了, for elderly
- 你（您）今年多大年纪了, also for elderly
Are there more ways? How about 你是什么时候生的? Is that correct? Also, when asking about someone's birthday, you say 你是几月几号生的, correct?
Related, I seem to remember something about the Chinese considering themselves to be a year old already at birth. Can somebody confirm or refute this?
changye
October 31, 2009, 12:17 AMHi simon
- 你几岁了, for children
- 你多少岁了, for adults (can you say this?)
- 年多大了, also for adults
- 你（您）今年多大岁数了, for elderly
- 你（您）今年多大年纪了, also for elderly
Good job! My explanation about "usages for elderly" was not sufficient. Confusingly enough, you can also say ........
你岁数多大了？
你年纪多大了？
你有多大岁数了？
你有多大年纪了？
Conclusion; Everything goes.
PS You can say "你(是)什么时候出生的？" = 你(是)哪一年出生的？
lynnx
October 27, 2009, 09:34 AM不一定吧
可以问:小朋友,你多大了?
也可以是: 小朋友,你几岁了?
成人之间的话,还可以问: 你是哪一年(出生)的?
反正同龄人之间, 我一般会问她/他是哪年的