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A1How to sayskólko vam let

How to say “how old are you” in Russian

Age belongs to you in the dative — and the word for “years” changes with the last digit.

Quick answer

Ско́лько вам лет?

skólko vam let — literally “how many years to you?”

The options

Ско́лько вам лет?How old are you? — polite
Ско́лько тебе́ лет?How old are you? — informal
Мне два́дцать пять лет.I am twenty-five.
Мне три́дцать оди́н год.I am thirty-one.
Мне два́дцать два го́да.I am twenty-two.

год, го́да or лет?

Look at the last digit: 1 → год, 2–4 → го́да, 5–20 and 0 → лет. So 21 год, 22 го́да, 25 лет, 31 год.

What you hear back

А вам?And you?
Вы вы́глядите моло́же!You look younger!
Не ва́жно.Doesn’t matter.

Typical mistakes

Я два́дцать пять.

Мне два́дцать пять лет.

Age takes the dative and needs the word for years.

Мне два́дцать оди́н лет.

Мне два́дцать оди́н год.

The last digit is 1, so год.

Check yourself

How do you say “I am 22”?

The last digit is 2, so го́да.

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