Ile masz lat? — Mam dwadzieścia dwa lata.

Because Polish expresses age with the verb mieć (to have), not być (to be).

So:

• Ile masz lat? = literally How many years do you have?
• Mam dwadzieścia dwa lata. = literally I have 22 years.

That is the normal Polish way to say How old are you? / I am 22 years old.

So Jestem dwadzieścia dwa lata is not correct Polish.

Ile means how many or how much.

In this sentence, it is asking about the number of years:

• Ile masz lat? = literally How many years do you have?

So even though the natural English translation is How old are you?, the Polish structure is built around how many.

This is because Polish changes the form of the noun depending on what comes before it.

• After ile, Polish uses lat
• After 22, Polish uses lata

So:

• Ile masz lat?
• Mam dwadzieścia dwa lata.

A very useful pattern is:

• 1 → rok
• 2, 3, 4 → lata
• 5+ → lat
• numbers ending in 2, 3, 4 also use lata, except 12, 13, 14

Examples:

• Mam 2 lata.
• Mam 4 lata.
• Mam 5 lat.
• Mam 22 lata.
• Mam 25 lat.

Because rok has irregular plural forms.

Its main forms are:

• rok = year
• lata = years
• lat = of years / years in number expressions

So in age expressions, you usually need one of these forms:

• Mam jeden rok. / more naturally for a small child, Mam rok.
• Mam dwa lata.
• Mam pięć lat.

This is just one of those noun patterns that learners need to memorize.

Because Polish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb ending.

• masz already means you have
• mam already means I have

So:

• Ile masz lat? already means How old are you?
• Mam dwadzieścia dwa lata. already means I am 22 years old.

You can add ja or ty, but usually only for emphasis or contrast.

Yes. Masz is the informal singular you form.

Use it with:

• friends
• family
• children
• people you are on informal terms with

For a formal question, Polish uses:

• Ile ma pan lat? — to a man
• Ile ma pani lat? — to a woman

These literally mean How many years does sir/madam have?, but they are the normal polite equivalents.

Because the noun rok is masculine, and with masculine or neuter nouns Polish uses dwa.

So:

• dwa lata = two years

Dwie is used with feminine nouns, for example:

• dwie książki = two books

Even though lata may not look obviously masculine, it belongs to the noun rok, which is masculine, so dwa is correct.

In conversation, you can often shorten it if the context is clear.

So after Ile masz lat?, you may hear:

• Dwadzieścia dwa.

But for learners, the full answer is safest and most natural to practice:

• Mam dwadzieścia dwa lata.

That way, you reinforce the correct structure.

Use the same pattern:

• Mam + number + appropriate form of rok

Examples:

• Mam 18 lat.
• Mam 20 lat.
• Mam 21 lat.
• Mam 22 lata.
• Mam 24 lata.
• Mam 30 lat.

A quick rule:

• 2, 3, 4 → lata
• 5 and above usually → lat
• but numbers ending in 2, 3, 4 also use lata, except 12, 13, 14

These are the most neutral, standard versions:

• Ile masz lat?
• Mam dwadzieścia dwa lata.

Polish word order is more flexible than English, but changing it can sound marked, emotional, or unnatural for a beginner.

So it is best to learn these exact patterns first and use them as your default.