Breakdown of Какой у вас возраст?
вы
you (plural)
какой
which/what kind of (m, sister forms: какая, какое)
у
at, by
возраст
age
Questions & Answers about Какой у вас возраст?
Why doesn't this use the Dative case (вам) like we are learning in this lesson?
Because this sentence uses a completely different grammatical structure! The classic way to ask age is Сколько вам лет? (How many years to you?), which uses the Dative case. But this sentence literally translates to 'What age do you have?' or 'What age is at you?'. Because it uses the standard Russian possession structure, it requires the preposition у followed by the Genitive case pronoun (у вас).
Why is the word for 'what' какой instead of что?
Что means 'what' when it acts as a standalone noun (like 'What is this?'). Какой acts like an adjective meaning 'what kind of' or 'which', so it must match the gender of the noun it describes. Because возраст (age) is a masculine noun, we use the masculine form какой.
How should I answer this question? Do I reply with У меня...?
No need! Even if someone asks you your age using this formal possession structure, you should still answer using the standard Dative structure you are learning in this lesson. Simply reply with Мне... followed by your age, such as Мне 25 лет (I am 25 years old).
Is this the normal way to ask someone's age in Russian?
Not in casual conversation. Какой у вас возраст? sounds formal, clinical, or official, much like 'What is your age?' in English. You will mostly hear it from a doctor, a police officer, or when filling out forms. In everyday situations, Russians almost always ask Сколько вам лет?.
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