Persian packages age and birth in conventional expressions rather than translating English word for word. Everyday age uses چند ساله بودن “to be how many years old,” while explicit سن داشتن means “to have an age” and is common in forms, interviews, and factual descriptions. Birth is an event expressed with به دنیا آمدن or, in more formal records, متولد شدن.
These are vocabulary-and-structure chunks. Learn the complete frame, then change the person, number, or date. This page keeps tense explanation brief; Simple Past Formation supplies the wider paradigm.
The Core Map
| Meaning | Everyday frame | More explicit/formal frame |
|---|---|---|
| How old are you? | چند سالهای؟ | چند سال سن دارید؟ |
| I am twenty years old | بیست سالهام | بیست سال سن دارم |
| was born | به دنیا آمد | متولد شد |
| birth year | سال ۱۳۸۰ به دنیا آمد | متولد سال ۱۳۸۰ است |
| life event | ازدواج کرد | بازنشسته شد |
Asking and Saying Age with ساله
ساله combines a number or چند with the copula: هجده سالهام، چند سالهای؟ The person is carried by the copula ending. The noun سال remains singular after a number, just as it does in other counted expressions.
چند سالهای؟
chand sâle-i?
How old are you? (neutral everyday singular)
من نوزده سالهام.
man nuzdah sâle-am.
I am nineteen years old. (neutral everyday)
خواهرت چند ساله است؟
khâhar-at chand sâle ast?
How old is your sister? (careful standard)
پسرشان پنج ساله است.
pesar-eshân panj sâle ast.
Their son is five years old. (neutral standard)
In everyday Tehran speech چند سالته؟ and بیستوچهار سالمه are especially common (informal, regional: Tehran). Here the possessive-looking clitic identifies the experiencer—literally “how many is your years?”—and colloquial ـه supplies the copula.
شما چند سالتونه؟
shomâ chand sâl-etune?
How old are you? (friendly polite Tehran speech)
بیستوچهار سالمه و دانشجو هستم.
bist-o-chahâr sâl-ame va dâneshju hastam.
I'm twenty-four and I'm a university student. (informal, regional: Tehran)
Do not mix the two frames by adding both the ساله predicate and a possessive age clitic. Choose بیستوچهار سالهام or بیستوچهار سالمه.
سن داشتن: Explicit Age
سن means “age.” The frame سن داشتن is useful when age is the topic as a property or eligibility condition. In ordinary conversation چند ساله بودن is usually lighter; چند سال سن دارید؟ sounds more official, clinical, or interview-like (formal/neutral).
برای ثبتنام چند سال سن دارید؟
barâ-ye sabt-nâm chand sâl sen dârid?
How old are you? (formal-neutral registration question)
این کودک شش سال سن دارد.
in kudak shesh sâl sen dârad.
This child is six years old. (formal factual description)
او هنوز به سن قانونی نرسیده است.
u hanuz be senn-e qânuni na-reside ast.
He/she has not yet reached the legal age. (formal)
The last expression is به سن ... رسیدن, not a direct answer to “How old?” It shows why سن behaves as a noun: it can take ezafe and adjectives. For a simple introduction, من بیست سالهام remains the natural default.
Birth with به دنیا آمدن
به دنیا آمدن is the ordinary neutral expression “to be born.” It is grammatically intransitive: the person born is the subject, and آمدن carries tense and person. Persian conceptualizes the event as “coming into the world,” not as something another person “does” to the subject.
من در شیراز به دنیا آمدم.
man dar Shirâz be donyâ âmadam.
I was born in Shiraz. (neutral standard)
دخترشان پارسال به دنیا آمد.
dokhtar-eshân pârsâl be donyâ âmad.
Their daughter was born last year. (neutral)
کی به دنیا آمدی؟
key be donyâ âmadi?
When were you born? (neutral everyday singular)
In colloquial Tehran, اومدن replaces standard آمدن: به دنیا اومدم (informal, regional: Tehran). Keep آمدم in standard writing.
من زمستون به دنیا اومدم.
man zemestun be donyâ umadam.
I was born in winter. (informal, regional: Tehran)
متولد شدن and Biographical Style
متولد شدن also means “to be born,” but it is common in biographies, applications, introductions, and factual records (neutral/formal). The participial adjective متولد can also combine directly with the copula: متولد ۱۳۷۵ هستم “I was born in 1375.” Everyday storytelling more often uses به دنیا آمدن.
مادرم در سال ۱۳۵۸ متولد شد.
mâdar-am dar sâl-e ۱۳۵۸ motavalled shod.
My mother was born in the year 1358 SH. (neutral biographical style)
متولد بیستوپنجم مهر ۱۳۷۲ هستم.
motavalled-e bist-o-panjom-e Mehr-e ۱۳۷۲ hastam.
I was born on 25 Mehr 1372 SH. (formal-neutral self-description)
محل تولدش تبریز است، اما در تهران بزرگ شده است.
mahall-e tavallod-ash Tabriz ast, ammâ dar Tehrân bozorg shode ast.
His/her place of birth is Tabriz, but he/she grew up in Tehran. (formal-neutral biography)
Dates in the Solar Hijri Calendar
Iranian official dates normally use the Solar Hijri calendar. A year such as ۱۳۷۸ should not silently be interpreted as Gregorian. When speaking with an international audience, specify هجری شمسی or give both calendars if clarity matters.
The normal order is day + month + year: دوازدهم فروردین ۱۳۸۲. Year-only expressions use سال optionally: سال ۱۳۷۸ به دنیا آمدم. Month names such as فروردین، مهر، اسفند need no preposition when they form the date phrase.
برادرم سال ۱۳۶۹ به دنیا آمد.
barâdar-am sâl-e ۱۳۶۹ be donyâ âmad.
My brother was born in 1369 SH. (neutral Iranian context)
تاریخ تولدم دوازدهم آبان ۱۳۷۹ است.
târikh-e tavallod-am davâzdahom-e Âbân-e ۱۳۷۹ ast.
My birth date is 12 Aban 1379 SH. (formal-neutral)
For month names, ordinal dates, and calendar conversion conventions, see Dates and the Solar Hijri Calendar.
Life Events as Stored Compounds
Common life events also come as established predicates: ازدواج کردن “get married,” بچهدار شدن “have a child/become parents,” بازنشسته شدن “retire.” Only the light verb changes. These are useful timeline chunks, not a license to invent new pairings.
والدینم سال ۱۳۷۰ ازدواج کردند.
vâledeyn-am sâl-e ۱۳۷۰ ezdevâj kardand.
My parents got married in 1370 SH. (neutral)
دو سال بعد بچهدار شدند.
do sâl ba'd bachche-dâr shodand.
Two years later, they had a child. (neutral narrative)
پدربزرگم امسال بازنشسته شد.
pedarbozorg-am emsâl bâzneshaste shod.
My grandfather retired this year. (neutral)
A Short Conversation
— چند سالهای؟ — بیستودو سالهام. متولد سال ۱۳۸۲ هستم. — کجا به دنیا آمدی؟ — رشت، ولی تهران بزرگ شدم.
— chand sâle-i? — bist-o-do sâle-am. motavalled-e sâl-e ۱۳۸۲ hastam. — kojâ be donyâ âmadi? — Rasht, vali Tehrân bozorg shodam.
— How old are you? — I'm twenty-two. I was born in 1382 SH. — Where were you born? — Rasht, but I grew up in Tehran. (neutral conversation)
Common Mistakes
1. Copying English “I am twenty”
❌ من هستم بیست سال.
Malformed English transfer — age uses ساله plus the copula, or سن داشتن.
✅ من بیست سالهام.
man bist sâle-am.
I am twenty years old.
2. Combining both everyday age frames
❌ بیست سالم سالهام.
Malformed — choose possessive سالمه or adjectival سالهام, not both.
✅ بیست سالمه.
bist sâl-ame.
I'm twenty. (informal, regional: Tehran)
3. Making birth transitive
❌ من در اصفهان به دنیا کردم.
Malformed — birth uses intransitive به دنیا آمدن, not کردن.
✅ من در اصفهان به دنیا آمدم.
man dar Esfahân be donyâ âmadam.
I was born in Isfahan.
4. Leaving the calendar ambiguous internationally
⚠️ او در سال ۱۳۷۶ متولد شد.
u dar sâl-e ۱۳۷۶ motavalled shod.
He/she was born in 1376. Natural in an Iranian context, but an international document should identify the Solar Hijri calendar.
✅ او در سال ۱۳۷۶ هجری شمسی متولد شد.
u dar sâl-e ۱۳۷۶ hejri-ye shamsi motavalled shod.
He/she was born in Solar Hijri year 1376. (explicit formal wording)
Key Takeaways
- Say چند سالهای؟ / بیست سالهام in ordinary conversation; use چند سال سن دارید؟ when age is an explicit formal fact.
- به دنیا آمدن is the neutral birth event; متولد شدن and متولد ... بودن suit biographical or documentary packaging.
- Iranian dates normally use the Solar Hijri calendar and Persian digits; state the calendar for international readers.
- Treat ازدواج کردن، بچهدار شدن، بازنشسته شدن as stored predicates and conjugate only their light verbs.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
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- Dates and the Solar Hijri CalendarA2 — Form Iranian Persian dates with day–month–year order, Persian month names, cardinal or ordinal days, and clearly labeled calendar systems.
- Simple Past FormationA1 — Build the Persian simple past from the past stem and personal endings, including the zero third-person singular and completed-event reading.
- Introducing YourselfA1 — Use natural Persian greeting, name, origin, residence, and occupation patterns with appropriate informal and polite forms.