Expressing Age with Dative Pronouns
In Russian, you don't say "I am 20." Instead, the phrasing translates to "To me are 20 years." Use a dative pronoun for the person whose age you are stating.
- я → мне (to me)
- ты → тебе (to you)
- он → ему (to him)
- она → ей (to her)
To ask someone's age, use сколько (how many) followed by the dative pronoun and лет (years).
The Words for "Year": Год, Года, Лет
The word for "year" changes depending on the number right before it:
1: год
Use год when the age ends in 1 (like 1 or 21, but not 11). Notice how adverbs like уже (already) are commonly added.
2, 3, 4: года
Use года when the age ends in 2, 3, or 4 (like 2 or 22, but not 12–14). Words like почти (almost) help you be more specific.
0, 5–20: лет
Use лет for numbers 5 through 20, plus any number ending in 0 or 5–9. Modifiers like ровно (exactly) and только (only) are frequently used here.
Describing Age
You can also describe people using adjectives like молодой (young), старый (old), and взрослый (adult). These use the standard nominative (dictionary) case.
The noun малыш means "baby" or "toddler." You can easily combine it with the dative age structure.
