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Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 1 · Chapter 7

你哥哥多大 How old is your brother

Nǐ gēge duō dà

多大 to ask age, numbers 6-10, more siblings (哥/弟/姐/妹), the measure-word version of 二 (= 两).

你哥哥多大 — How old is your brother?

  1. 大山 xiǎomíng, duō? Ma Xiaoming, how old are you?
  2. 马小明 shíjiǔsuì. ne? I'm 19. You?
  3. 大山 èrshísuì. I'm 20.
  4. 马小明 yǒugema? Do you have an older brother?
  5. 大山 yǒu, yǒuge, jiějie. Yes, one older brother and one older sister.
  6. 马小明 geduō? How old is your brother?
  7. 大山 geèrshíliùsuì. jiějieshìèrshíliùsuì. My brother is 26. My sister is also 26.
  8. 马小明 dōushìèrshíliù? shìliǎngrénma? Both 26? Are they twins?
  9. 大山 shìde! Yes!

妹妹几岁 — How old is your sister?

  1. 谢小文 xiǎomíng, mèimeisuì? Ma Xiaoming, how old is your sister?
  2. 马小明 mèimeisuì. She's 8.
  3. 谢小文 shìxuéshēngma? Is she a student too?
  4. 马小明 shìde, shìxuéshēng. Yes, she's also a student.
  5. 谢小文 dine? What about your younger brother?
  6. 马小明 méiyǒudi. I don't have a younger brother.

六七八九十 — Six Seven Eight Nine Ten

  1. 高老师 tóngxuémen, shuō: liùjiǔshí. Class, say together: 6 7 8 9 10.
  2. 大山 liùjiǔshí. 6 7 8 9 10.
  3. 高老师 shān, jiāyǒukǒurén? Dashan, how many in your family?
  4. 大山 jiāyǒukǒurén. Four.
  5. 高老师 xiǎomíng, dimèimeiduō? Ma Xiaoming, how old are your siblings?
  6. 马小明 méiyǒudi. mèimeisuì. No younger brother. My sister is 8.
汉字PinyinPOSMeaning
多大 duō dà exp. how old
多少 duōshao pron. how many (large)
suì m.w. years (of age)
哥哥 gēge n. older brother
弟弟 dìdi n. younger brother
姐姐 jiějie n. older sister
妹妹 mèimei n. younger sister
liù num. six
num. seven
num. eight
jiǔ num. nine
shí num. ten
liǎng num. two (with measure word)
汉字PinyinPOSMeaning
(in 哥哥 = older brother) 哥哥 gēge — older brother
duō many; much 多大 duō dà — how old多少 duōshao — how many (large)多久 duō jiǔ — how long (asking duration)
shí ten 十分 shífēn — very (formal / written register)
jiǔ nine
suì years (of age)
jiě (in 姐姐 = older sister) 姐姐 jiějie — older sister
liù six
liǎng two (with measure word)
eight
(in 弟弟 = younger brother) 弟弟 dìdi — younger brother
seven
shǎo (in 多少 = how many) 多少 duōshao — how many (large)不少 bù shǎo — quite a lot (lit. "not few")多少钱 duōshao qián — how much (money)? — transactional opener

liù six Writing

4 strokes top-bottom

Number 6.

seven Writing

2 strokes standalone

Number 7.

eight Writing

2 strokes standalone

jiǔ nine Writing

2 strokes standalone

shí ten Writing

2 strokes standalone

suì years (of age) Recognition

6 strokes top-bottom

(in 哥哥 = older brother) Recognition

10 strokes top-bottom

(in 弟弟 = younger brother) Recognition

7 strokes top-bottom

jiě (in 姐姐 = older sister) Recognition

8 strokes left-right radical 女

mèi (in 妹妹 = younger sister) Recognition

8 strokes left-right radical 女

liǎng two (with measure word) Recognition

7 strokes top-bottom

duō many; much Recognition

6 strokes top-bottom

问年龄 — 多大 / 几岁 / 多少 Asking age — 多大 / 几岁 / 多少

问年龄三种方法: (1) 多大 = "how old" — 中性 / 一般用. 例: 你多大? (2) 几岁 = "how many years (old)?" — 问小孩 (年龄 < 10). 例: 妹妹几岁? (3) 多少 = "how many" — 问大数 (年龄 > 10 也可以用). 例: 你多大岁数? — 比较正式. 注意: "二"跟量词配的时候用"两". 例: 两个人 (NOT *二个人), 两岁 / 两口人. 数字 1-10 在量词前: 一个 / 两个 / 三个 ... 十个.

Three ways to ask age: (1) 多大 — "how old" — neutral / general. 你多大? (2) 几岁 — "how many years?" — for children (age <10). 妹妹几岁? (3) 多少 — for large numbers (also age >100, but 多大 is more common). KEY: with measure words, 二 becomes 两. 两个人 (NOT *二个人), 两岁, 两口人. Number-MW pattern: number + measure word + noun (一个朋友, 两个学生).

  • 你多大? Nǐ duō dà? How old are you?
  • 我十八岁. Wǒ shí bā suì. I am 18 years old.
  • 你妹妹几岁? Nǐ mèimei jǐ suì? How old is your younger sister?
  • 我有两个哥哥. Wǒ yǒu liǎng ge gēge. I have two older brothers.

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