How to Say Age in Chinese: 年 vs. 岁
Last week in class, one of my students introduced her dog.
She said:
我的狗叫旺财。
My dog is called Wangcai.
Then she wanted to say that her dog was three years old:
他今年3年……3年岁了。
She paused. She knew something was wrong, but she wasn't sure what.
It's a small mistake, but it's a very common one when English-speaking learners first start talking about age in Chinese.
So, should you use 年 (nián) or 岁 (suì) when talking about age?
The short answer is:
Age → 岁
Duration or a period of time → 年
Let's look at the difference.
How do you say “three years old” in Chinese?
If you want to say that someone or an animal is three years old, use 岁:
三岁
three years old
For example:
我今年三十岁。
I'm 30 years old this year.
她二十五岁。
She is 25 years old.
And for a pet:
我的狗今年三岁了。
My dog is three years old.
So the natural version of the sentence from my student's speaking exercise would be:
我的狗叫旺财。它今年三岁了。它喜欢吃面包。
My dog's name is Wangcai. He is three years old. He likes eating bread.
Notice that we say 三岁, not 三年岁.
年 vs. 岁: What's the difference?
The easiest way to remember the difference is:
岁 is the word for age.
年 is the word for a year or a period of time.
Think of 年 as the word you use when you're talking about a calendar year or how long something lasts.
For example:
我学习中文两年了。
I've been learning Chinese for two years.
Here, 两年 tells us the duration of the activity.
But if you are talking about someone's age:
我今年二十岁。
I'm 20 years old this year.
You need 岁.
A quick comparison
| Chinese | Meaning | Example | English pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| 年 | year / period of time | 我学习中文两年了。 | “for two years” → 年 |
| 岁 | age / years old | 我二十岁。 | “20 years old” → 岁 |
The important difference is not the number.
The difference is what the number is describing.
两年 = two years of time
二十岁 = 20 years old
年 is used for time and duration
年 (nián) means “year” and is commonly used when talking about a year or a period of time.
For example:
明年我想去中国。
I want to go to China next year.
我学中文三年了。
I've been learning Chinese for three years.
三年前，我开始学中文。
Three years ago, I started learning Chinese.
In all three examples, 年 is related to time.
It can tell us:
-
which year
-
how long something lasts
-
how long ago something happened
So when you see 年, think about time, not someone's age.
岁 is used for age
岁 (suì) is the word used to express someone's age.
The basic pattern is:
Subject + Number + 岁
For example:
我十八岁。
I'm 18 years old.
她二十五岁。
She is 25 years old.
他六十岁。
He is 60 years old.
You can also use 今年 when talking about someone's age this year:
我今年二十五岁。
I'm 25 years old this year.
她今年四十岁。
She is 40 years old this year.
If you're answering the question “How old?”, you will normally use 岁.
You can use 岁 for animals, too
The same pattern applies when talking about the age of a pet.
For example:
我的猫五岁。
My cat is five years old.
我的狗今年八岁了。
My dog is eight years old.
For beginners, 它 (tā) is the standard pronoun to use for an animal:
我的狗叫旺财。它今年三岁了。
My dog's name is Wangcai. It is three years old.
You may also hear Chinese speakers use 他 or 她 for a pet, especially when the animal is treated like a member of the family. But 它 is the standard form to learn when you're first studying Chinese.
Why can't you say 三年岁?
English can make this confusing.
In English, we say:
three years old
So it is easy to imagine that Chinese might work the same way:
三 + 年 + 岁
But it doesn't.
Chinese simply uses:
三岁
The same pattern works with other ages:
五岁 = five years old
十岁 = ten years old
十八岁 = 18 years old
三十岁 = 30 years old
You don't need 年 before 岁.
So:
❌ 三年岁
✅ 三岁
But 年 can appear in sentences about age
It's not that 年 and 岁 can never appear in the same sentence. They can—but 年 still needs to do its own job: talk about time.
For example:
他三年前十八岁。
He was 18 three years ago.
Here, 三年前 means “three years ago.” The 年 is describing time.
Compare:
他十八岁。
He is 18 years old.
三年前，他十八岁。
Three years ago, he was 18.
In the first sentence, 十八岁 tells us his age.
In the second sentence, 三年前 tells us when that was.
That's why it's useful to focus on what the number is describing.
What about 了 in sentences about age?
You will often hear 了 after an age expression, especially when talking about someone reaching a new age.
For example:
我今年三十岁了。
I'm 30 now.
我的女儿今年五岁了。
My daughter is five now.
我的狗今年十岁了。
My dog is ten now.
Here, 了 helps express a new state or a change.
You don't always need 了, though.
For example:
我三十岁。
I'm 30 years old.
is also grammatically correct.
For beginners, don't worry too much about this at first. The most important thing is to remember:
Number + 岁 = age
A simple way to choose between 年 and 岁
When you're speaking Chinese, ask yourself one question:
Am I talking about how old someone is, or how long something lasts?
If you're talking about age, use 岁:
我今年二十岁。
I'm 20 years old this year.
If you're talking about duration, use 年:
我学中文两年了。
I've been learning Chinese for two years.
If you're talking about when something happened, you can also use 年:
两年前，我开始学中文。
Two years ago, I started learning Chinese.
So:
How old? → 岁
How long / which year / how long ago? → 年
That's the basic distinction you need.
Practice: 年 or 岁?
Try filling in the blanks with 年 or 岁.
-
我今年二十五___。
-
我学中文两___了。
-
我弟弟今年十___。
-
三___前，我开始学中文。
-
我的猫今年八___了。
Answers
-
岁 — you're talking about age.
-
年 — you're talking about a period of time.
-
岁 — you're talking about age.
-
年 — 三年前 means “three years ago.”
-
岁 — you're talking about the cat's age.
If you remember only one rule from this lesson, remember:
Age → 岁
Duration → 年
Quick Questions About 年 and 岁
How do you say “I am 20 years old” in Chinese?
我二十岁。
I am 20 years old.
Use 岁 because you are talking about age.
Can you say 我二十年?
No. 二十年 means “twenty years,” usually referring to a period of time.
For example:
我学中文二十年了。
I've been learning Chinese for twenty years.
To say “I am 20 years old,” say:
我二十岁。
Do you use 岁 for animals?
Yes. You can use 岁 when talking about an animal's age:
我的狗三岁了。
My dog is three years old.
One small mistake can tell you exactly what to practice
Going back to the speaking exercise with my student, she wanted to introduce her dog and talk about its age.
Her sentence started with:
我的狗叫旺财。他今年3年……3年岁了。
The natural version is:
我的狗叫旺财。它今年三岁了。它喜欢吃面包。
This is a simple sentence, but it contains language that beginners actually need in everyday conversation.
When you introduce a pet in Chinese, you might talk about:
-
its name
-
its age
-
what it likes to eat
-
what it likes to do
-
what it looks like
-
how long you've had it
These kinds of topics are useful speaking practice because they give you a reason to use the grammar you've learned.
And sometimes, a small mistake like 三年岁 is useful. It shows you exactly what you need to practice.
Quick takeaway
Here's the rule to remember:
Age → 岁
Duration → 年
So:
我的狗今年三岁了。
My dog is three years old.
Not:
❌ 我的狗今年三年了。
And not:
❌ 我的狗今年三年岁了。
Once you start paying attention to what the number is describing, the difference becomes much easier:
三岁 = three years old
三年 = three years
It's a small distinction, but getting it right makes a big difference when you start talking about yourself, your family, your pets, and everyday life in Chinese.
Once you understand the difference, this is one of those mistakes that becomes much easier to avoid.
So next time you talk about your age—or your dog's age—remember:
Age → 岁
Duration → 年