To ask "how + adjective" — how old, how tall, how far, how long — Chinese uses a single, tidy pattern: put 多 (duō) directly in front of a gradable adjective. One little word 多 does the work of the entire English "how _" frame, and it borrows whatever dimension the adjective supplies. 多大 asks "how big / how old," 多高 "how tall / how high," 多远 "how far," 多长 "how long." There is no 是 and — crucially — no degree adverb like 很 (very), because those belong to statements, not questions. Learn the one template and every degree question opens up.
The core pattern: 多 + adjective
The frame is Subject + 多 + adjective? Because Chinese adjectives function as verbs, the adjective is already the predicate, so you never insert 是 in front. 你多大？ lines up as "you how-big?" and stands as a complete, natural question.
你今年多大？
nǐ jīnnián duō dà?
How old are you this year? (neutral) — 多大 asks age via the 'how big' image; no 是 needed.
他多高？
tā duō gāo?
How tall is he? (informal) — 多 + 高 (tall); the whole English 'how tall' collapses to two syllables.
这个箱子多重？
zhège xiāngzi duō zhòng?
How heavy is this suitcase? (neutral) — 多 + 重 (heavy).
你们认识多久了？
nǐmen rènshi duō jiǔ le?
How long have you known each other? (informal) — 多久 asks a length of time.
The dimensions 多 pairs with
Almost any measurable, gradable adjective can follow 多. These are the everyday ones:
| Pattern | Pinyin | Asks |
|---|---|---|
| 多大 | duō dà | how big / how old |
| 多高 | duō gāo | how tall / how high |
| 多远 | duō yuǎn | how far |
| 多长 | duō cháng | how long (length) |
| 多久 / 多长时间 | duō jiǔ / duō cháng shíjiān | how long (time) |
| 多重 | duō zhòng | how heavy |
| 多深 | duō shēn | how deep |
| 多快 | duō kuài | how fast |
从你家到公司多远？
cóng nǐ jiā dào gōngsī duō yuǎn?
How far is it from your home to the office? (neutral) — 多远 for distance.
离地铁站还有多远？
lí dìtiězhàn hái yǒu duō yuǎn?
How much further to the subway station? (informal) — with 离 marking the reference point; see the 离 distance page.
有多 + adjective: the emphatic, measuring variant
You will often hear 有多 + adjective, with 有 ("to have / to reach [a measure]") added in front. It means the same thing but frames the question as "reaches how [big/tall/…]?" — slightly more measured, and especially common in embedded questions ("do you know how tall…?") and in a note of wonder.
你知道长城有多长吗？
nǐ zhīdào Chángchéng yǒu duō cháng ma?
Do you know how long the Great Wall is? (neutral) — 有多长 embedded under 知道; the outer 吗 belongs to the whole sentence.
这条河有多深？
zhè tiáo hé yǒu duō shēn?
How deep is this river? (neutral) — 有多深 as a measuring question.
你不知道我有多想你。
nǐ bù zhīdào wǒ yǒu duō xiǎng nǐ.
You have no idea how much I miss you. (informal, emotional) — 有多 in an exclamatory, non-literal degree.
多大 vs 几岁 for age
Age has two question forms, split by who you're asking. For a small child you use 几岁 (jǐ suì, "how many years"), which presumes a single-digit answer. For a teenager or adult — or for size in general — you switch to 多大. Asking an adult 你几岁 sounds like you take them for a toddler.
小朋友，你几岁了？
xiǎopéngyou, nǐ jǐ suì le?
Little one, how old are you? (informal, to a child) — 几岁 for a young child's single-digit age.
你儿子今年多大了？
nǐ érzi jīnnián duō dà le?
How old is your son this year? (neutral) — 多大 once past early childhood.
For the fuller age etiquette (and the polite 您多大年纪 for elders), see asking someone's age.
Common Mistakes
1. Inserting a degree adverb like 很. 很/非常 mark statements; a 多-question takes the bare adjective.
❌ 他多很高？
Incorrect — degree adverbs like 很 belong to statements, not to a 多 question.
✅ 他多高？
tā duō gāo?
How tall is he? — just 多 + the adjective, nothing in between.
2. Adding 是 before 多. The adjective is the predicate, so no linking 是.
❌ 你是多大？
Incorrect — the adjective 大 is already the predicate; drop 是.
✅ 你多大？
nǐ duō dà?
How old are you? — no 是 before 多大.
3. Using 多少 instead of 多 for a degree. 多少 asks a quantity; degree questions use bare 多.
❌ 你多少高？
Incorrect — 多少 asks 'how many/much'; for 'how tall' use 多高.
✅ 你多高？
nǐ duō gāo?
How tall are you? — 多 + adjective, not 多少.
4. Reaching for 怎么 to ask degree. 怎么 asks manner or reason, never "how + adjective."
❌ 这条路怎么远？
Incorrect — 怎么 can't ask degree; for 'how far' use 多远.
✅ 这条路多远？
zhè tiáo lù duō yuǎn?
How far is this road? — 多远 for distance.
Key Takeaways
- Ask "how + adjective" with 多 + gradable adjective: 多大 (how old/big), 多高 (how tall), 多远 (how far), 多长 (how long), 多重 (how heavy), 多久 (how long in time).
- Always use the positive / larger-end adjective (多大, not 多小).
- Take no 是 and no degree adverb (很, 非常) — those are for statements.
- 有多 + adjective is the emphatic, measuring variant, common in embedded questions: 你知道有多长吗？
- Age splits: 几岁 for a small child, 多大 for anyone older.
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- 多少 vs 几: How Many / How MuchHSK 1 — Chinese has two 'how many' words: 几 (jǐ) asks a small count and REQUIRES a measure word (几个人), while 多少 (duōshao) asks any or unknown quantity and usually drops it (多少钱). Both sit in situ, exactly where the number goes.
- Exclamations with 多 (多好啊!)HSK 3 — The same 多 (duō) that asks 'how + adjective' also builds exclamations meaning 'how …!', usually closed by 啊: 今天天气多好啊! (what nice weather!), 这儿多漂亮啊! (how beautiful it is here!). 多么 adds weight in writing. Intonation and the final 啊 — not word order — separate the exclamation from the question.
- Adjectives Are Stative Verbs (No 是)HSK 1 — A Chinese adjective is a kind of verb — it predicates on its own, with NO copula 是 (shì). 她很高 'she is tall', 天气很好 'the weather is good', 这个太贵了 'this is too expensive' — never *她是高. 高 already means 'to be tall', so 是 has no job; negate with 不 (不高), not 没.
- 离 (lí): Distance FromHSK 2 — 离 (lí) measures the gap between two points — 我家离学校很近 'my home is close to school', 离这儿多远？ 'how far from here?', 离考试还有三天 'three days until the exam'. It states a static separation, never motion (that's 从).