Learn Persian words for age, family members and the numbers you need to say how old you are, with examples and a short quiz.
Persian words for age and family
Study notes for this lesson. To ask and answer "How old are you?" you need a few words about age, the members of your family and the numbers. This page lists the core vocabulary, the most useful numbers and some example sentences about Maryam and her family, who appear again in the reading and speaking parts of this lesson.
Vocabulary: age and family
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| سن | /sen/ | age |
| سال | /sâl/ | year |
| چند | /chand/ | how many |
| ساله | /sâle/ | … years old |
| تولد | /tavallod/ | birthday, birth |
| خانواده | /khânevâde/ | family |
| نفر | /nafar/ | person (used when counting people) |
| بچه | /bache/ | child |
| پسر | /pesar/ | boy, son |
| دختر | /dokhtar/ | girl, daughter |
| برادر | /barâdar/ | brother |
| خواهر | /khâhar/ | sister |
| پدربزرگ | /pedarbozorg/ | grandfather |
| مادربزرگ | /mâdarbozorg/ | grandmother |
| جوان | /javân/ | young |
| پیر | /pir/ | old (for people) |
| بزرگ‌تر | /bozorgtar/ | older, bigger |
| کوچک‌تر | /kuchaktar/ | younger, smaller |
Numbers you need for ages
Compound numbers are joined with و, pronounced -o: بیست و پنج (bist-o panj), 25; چهل و هشت (chehel-o hasht), 48.
| Persian | Pronunciation | Number |
|---|---|---|
| ده | /dah/ | 10 |
| دوازده | /davâzdah/ | 12 |
| سیزده | /sizdah/ | 13 |
| بیست | /bist/ | 20 |
| بیست و دو | /bist-o do/ | 22 |
| سی | /si/ | 30 |
| چهل | /chehel/ | 40 |
| پنجاه | /panjâh/ | 50 |
| شصت | /shast/ | 60 |
| هفتاد | /haftâd/ | 70 |
| هشتاد | /hashtâd/ | 80 |
| صد | /sad/ | 100 |
Example sentences
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| شما چند سال دارید؟ | /shomâ chand sâl dârid?/ | How old are you? (polite, literally "how many years do you have?") |
| چند سالته؟ | /chand sâlete?/ | How old are you? (spoken, informal) |
| من بیست و دو سال دارم. | /man bist-o do sâl dâram./ | I am twenty-two years old. |
| مریم بیست و دو ساله است. | /maryam bist-o do sâle ast./ | Maryam is twenty-two years old. |
| برادر مریم از او بزرگ‌تر است. | /barâdar-e maryam az u bozorgtar ast./ | Maryam's brother is older than her. |
| خواهرش دوازده سال دارد. | /khâharash davâzdah sâl dârad./ | Her sister is twelve. |
| خانواده‌ی ما شش نفر است. | /khânevâde-ye mâ shesh nafar ast./ | There are six people in our family. |
| فردا تولد سحر است. | /fardâ tavallod-e sahar ast./ | Tomorrow is Sahar's birthday. |
Three ways to give your age
You will meet three patterns, and all of them are correct. The written and polite pattern uses داشتن (dâshtan, "to have"): من بیست سال دارم (man bist sâl dâram). The second uses ساله (sâle) as an adjective with "to be": من بیست ساله هستم (man bist sâle hastam). The third is the everyday spoken form, بیست سالمه (bist sâlame), which you will practice on the Speaking page. To ask the question, use چند (chand, "how many") with سال: چند سال دارید؟ or, among friends, چند سالته؟. The word سن (sen, "age") appears mostly in forms and in writing: سن شما چقدر است؟ (sen-e shomâ cheghadr ast?), "What is your age?".
Notes on the words
- Persian usually says you "have" years: بیست سال دارم (bist sâl dâram). You can also use ساله (sâle) with "to be": بیست ساله هستم (bist sâle hastam).
- After a number, the noun stays singular: سه برادر (se barâdar), "three brothers", not سه برادرها.
- پیر (pir) is only for people and animals. For old things, use قدیمی (ghadimi) or کهنه (kohne).
- بزرگ‌تر and کوچک‌تر are comparatives of بزرگ (bozorg, "big") and کوچک (kuchak, "small"). With people they mean "older" and "younger". In speech you will hear کوچیک‌تر (kuchiktar).
- بچه (bache) means "child" and also "kid" in a friendly way; بچه‌ها (bache-hâ) is "children" or "guys".
Other parts of Lesson 8
Practice
-
How do you say "forty-eight" in Persian?
Show answer
chehel-o hasht چهل و هشت
-
Ask a friend how old they are in spoken Persian.
Show answer
chand sâlete? چند سالته؟
-
Translate: "I am thirty years old."
Show answer
man si sâl dâram. (or: man si sâle hastam.) من سی سال دارم.
-
What is the difference between pir and ghadimi? پیر / قدیمی
Show answer
pir is "old" for people; ghadimi is "old" for things.
-
Translate: "my older brother"
Show answer
barâdar-e bozorgtaram (or barâdar-e bozorgam) برادر بزرگ‌ترم
Previous lesson: Lesson 7: Reading. Next lesson: Lesson 9: New Words.
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