Learn Portuguese (Portugal): O rapaz tem treze anos.

O rapaz tem treze anos.

The boy is thirteen years old.

Breakdown of O rapaz tem treze anos.

Questions & Answers about O rapaz tem treze anos.

Why does the Portuguese sentence use tem (has) instead of a word for "is"?

In Portuguese, you don't "be" an age; you "have" years of age. Instead of saying the boy "is" thirteen, you say he "has" thirteen years (tem treze anos). Using the irregular verb ter (to have) to talk about age is one of its most important uses!

I've also seen the word têm with a little hat on the 'e'. Why is it tem here?

Tem (no accent) is the third-person singular form, used for one person or thing, like ele (he) or o rapaz (the boy). The version with the circumflex accent, têm, is the plural form used for "they", like eles or os rapazes (the boys).

I learned that "boy" is menino. Why use rapaz here?

While both mean "boy", a menino is usually a younger child or toddler. A rapaz refers to an older boy, a teenager, or a young man. Since the boy in this sentence is thirteen, rapaz is the most natural choice.

How do I pronounce the 's' at the end of anos?

In European Portuguese, an 's' at the very end of a sentence makes a "sh" sound. So, anos here is pronounced a bit like "ah-noosh".