سن الطفل خمس سنين.

A natural Egyptian-style pronunciation is:

senn et-tefl khamas sineen

A few notes:

• سن here is pronounced senn or sinn.
• الطفل is not usually pronounced al-tifl in Egyptian. It comes out more like et-tefl.
• خ in خمس is the throaty sound heard in Scottish loch or German Bach.
• سنين is commonly pronounced sineen.

It literally means the child’s age or the age of the child.

This is a very common Arabic structure called iḍāfa (a noun + noun possession structure):

• سن = age
• الطفل = the child

So:

• سن الطفل = the child’s age

One important point: in this structure, the first noun usually does not take ال. So سن الطفل is correct, not السن الطفل.

Because in Arabic, present-tense sentences like this usually do not use a separate word for is / are.

So Arabic says something more like:

• The child’s age five years

But in natural English, we translate that as:

• The child is five years old

This is completely normal in Arabic nominal sentences.

Because ط is a sun letter.

When ال comes before a sun letter, the l sound of ال assimilates to the next consonant. So:

• الطفل is written the same way
• but pronounced more like at-tifl / et-tefl

In Egyptian Arabic, the vowel is usually closer to e, so learners often hear:

• et-tefl

Also, Egyptian pronunciation often makes طفل sound like tefl rather than tifl.

Arabic often organizes information differently from English.

English says:

• The child is five years old

But Arabic can make age the topic:

• سن الطفل خمس سنين
• literally: The child’s age [is] five years

So the sentence is not strange grammatically. It just uses a different starting point from English.

That said, in everyday Egyptian, people very often say:

• الطفل عنده خمس سنين = The child is five years old
• or سنه خمس سنين = His age is five years

This is because of Arabic number-gender rules.

The word for year is سنة, which is grammatically feminine. With numbers from 3 to 10, Arabic usually uses the opposite gender form of the number.

So:

• feminine noun: سنة
• number used: خمس (not خمسة)

That is why:

• خمس سنين = five years

This rule feels odd at first, but it is a standard Arabic pattern.

Because after numbers like five, Arabic uses a plural counted noun.

So:

• خمس سنين = five years
• not خمس سنة

In Egyptian Arabic, سنين is a very common plural for سنة.

You may also see سنوات, especially in more formal Arabic, but in everyday Egyptian:

• سنين sounds more natural

For comparison:

• سنة = one year
• سنتين = two years
• خمس سنين = five years

Yes — سن can mean both age and tooth.

Arabic often leaves out short vowels in writing, so the same spelling can represent different words. Context tells you which one is meant.

Here:

• سن الطفل خمس سنين

can only sensibly mean:

• The child’s age is five years

not The child’s tooth is five years.

So this is a good example of how context resolves ambiguity.

It is understandable, but it sounds a bit more structured or formal than the most everyday Egyptian phrasing.

In daily speech, many speakers would more naturally say:

• الطفل عنده خمس سنين
• literally: The child has five years
• meaning: The child is five years old

If the child has already been mentioned, you might also hear:

• سنه خمس سنين
• His age is five years

So سن الطفل خمس سنين is correct and clear, but الطفل عنده خمس سنين is often the more conversational Egyptian version.