Questions & Answers about Mně je třicet let a sestra je o dva roky mladší.
Czech talks about age differently from English.
- English: I am thirty (years old).
- Natural Czech: Je mi třicet (let). / Mně je třicet (let).
Literally: "It is to me thirty years."
So:
- je = “is”
- mi / mně = “to me” (dative case)
- třicet let = “thirty years”
You cannot say:
- ✗ Já jsem třicet let – sounds like “I am thirty years (time period)” and is wrong for age.
- ✗ Mám třicet let – directly modeled on French/Spanish, sometimes heard from learners, but not idiomatic in Czech (it sounds foreign or childish).
Correct ways:
- Je mi třicet (let). – most common.
- Mně je třicet (let). – same meaning, different pronoun form and emphasis (see below).