Russian for English speakers House · Lesson 3

How old are you?

Russian ages — Сколько тебе лет? (How old are you?) — with dative + лет.

Conversation

  1. Lindo Lindo

    Сколько лет твоей сестре?

    Skolʹko let tvoej sestre?

    How old is your sister?

  2. Rose Rose

    Ей двадцать четыре года.

    Ej dvadcatʹ četyre goda.

    She is 24

  3. Lindo Lindo

    А сколько лет твоему брату?

    A skolʹko let tvoemu bratu?

    And how old is your brother?

    Tip: when you give the same question back to your opponent, use the particle “A” - “а твои родители?”

  4. Rose Rose

    Ему двадцать один год.

    Emu dvadcatʹ odin god.

    He is 21

  5. Lindo Lindo

    А сколько тебе лет?

    A skolʹko tebe let?

    And how old are you?

    Tip: when you speak of age, with number 1 is used the word “год”, with numbers 2, 3, 4 “годА” and with numbers 5-20 “лет”

  6. Rose Rose

    Мне семь лет.

    Mne semʹ let.

    I am 7

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

How do you ask 'how old are you?' in Russian?

Сколько тебе лет? (casual) or Сколько вам лет? (formal). Literally 'how many years to you?'.

How do you state your age?

Мне X лет/года/год: Мне 1 год, Мне 2-4 года, Мне 5+ лет. Number changes the form of 'years'.

Why dative case?

Russian uses dative for age: 'to me X years'. Different from English 'I am X years old'.

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Russian lessons.

6 quick questions on what you just heard.

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