Log inSign up

La mujer tiene diecisiete o dieciocho años.

La mujer tiene diecisiete o dieciocho años.
The woman is seventeen or eighteen years old.
From Lesson 39:Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about La mujer tiene diecisiete o dieciocho años.

Why does the sentence use tiene instead of the Spanish word for "is"?
In Spanish, you talk about age using the verb tener (to have). Instead of saying someone "is" a certain age, you say they "have" that many years. So, tiene diecisiete años literally translates to "has seventeen years."
How are the numbers diecisiete and dieciocho formed?
They are made by combining three words into one: diez (ten), y (and), plus the final digit. For numbers 16 through 19, the diez y part shrinks into the prefix dieci-. This gives us diecisiete (17) and dieciocho (18).
Why does the "z" from diez change to a "c" in diecisiete?
This happens because of a strict Spanish spelling rule: the letter "z" almost never appears right before an "e" or an "i". When diez turns into the prefix dieci-, that "z" has to become a "c" to follow the rule while keeping the same sound.

Learn La mujer tiene diecisiete o dieciocho años and more in Spanish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Spanish →