In Korean culture, age plays a crucial role in determining the level of formality and respect in conversations. In this post, I'll guide you through different ways to ask "How old are you?" in Korean, using varying speech levels depending on the context.
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1. Cultural Background
Age and social status are significant factors in Korea as they influence the level of politeness in interactions. When the social status is the same, for example, between freshmen in university, they can ask for ages to determine which level of politeness to use.
So, unlike in Western culture, where asking about one's age is considered impolite, in Korea, it is common to ask someone's age. This is especially true among younger people. Even a one-year-old gap can differ the politeness level. 😂
For those who are clearly older, it’s as a matter of course to use polite language, so there's no need to ask their age unless necessary. Among adults (of similar social status), it is often the case that they don't ask each other's age either.
In brief, social status plays a crucial role in determining the appropriate level of politeness to use in speech. Additionally, age can also be a significant factor when individuals are in a similar or the same social standing.
In this post, I'll show you the structures and examples of various speech levels. If you are a beginner, you can focus on the informal polite ones. I'll show you the important ones in the wrap-up section.
2. Words
You'll need to know the numbers to talk about age. Please click here to learn how to read the native Korean numbers, 하나, 둘, 셋.
Here are some words that you'll need in this lesson. Please listen and repeat.
age | |
(honorific) age | |
counting word for age | |
(honorific) counting word for age |
연세 and 나이 both mean "age." However, 연세 is an honorific version of the word 나이. When you talk to someone or refer to someone much older than you, please use 연세.
살 and 세 are working like "years old" in English. After you say number you have to attach the counting words. Are you curious about what about counting words? Please click here to learn the details about counting words and how to use them.
3. Questions: How old are you?
Depending on the politeness level, there are many ways to ask for age in Korean. I'll show you the various ways to ask here.
Formal
A formal way to ask "How old are you?" |
A formal ending is used in official and formal situations. It has a very polite and strict vibe. When you ask someone very politely and strictly, you can use this question.
Informal Polite
The informal polite ones are friendly yet polite. So, they are commonly used in daily life including to a stranger. There are many ways depending on whom you talking to or referring to. There are mainly two structures.
Structure 1
In Korea, longer and more complicated structures tend to be considered politer than shorter and simpler structures. "어떻게 되세요?" is a structure of a bit more politer tone.
Informal Polite - Honorific |
If you are asking someone much older than you, yet if you want a nicer & less strict tone, please use this one. In a hospital, a nurse can use this form for an old patient.
Informal Polite |
To a person who doesn't seem too much older than you, then you can use 나이 instead of 연세. It is still quite polite, but not as polite as the above one.
Structure 2
We can use 몇 살 (what age) structure as well.
Informal Polite - Honorific | |
Informal Polite |
If you ask someone of similar-looking age, you can use this one to specify who is older. In Korea, even 1-year gap can differ in politeness levels. So, people usually start to get to know from knowing each other's age.
Informal Casual
The informal casual form can only be used when speaking to someone of the same age or younger. Therefore, you can ask "How old are you?" informally only when addressing individuals who are definitely younger than you. This version is suitable for interactions with your nieces or nephews, children in your neighborhood, your friend's kids, and so on.
Informal Casual |
4. Answer: I'm 00 years old.
Now, let's explore how to respond when someone poses the question mentioned earlier. When talking about your own age in Korean, avoid using honorific terms like 연세 or 세. In Korean, it is considered impolite to refer to oneself in a respectful manner.
Formal
When you answer in a formal or strict situation, you can answer like the example below.
My age is 20. |
제 means "my". It is a short version of 저의. So, 제 나이 means "my age". 입니다 is a present tense formal statement ending the word 이다(to be). It can be translated as "am," "are," or "is" depending on the situation.
You can say your age by using the expression "제 나이는 00입니다." I used the example as 20 years old which is 스무 살.
I'm 20 years old. |
You can also just say "I'm 00 years old." by saying "저는 00입니다."
Informal Polite
My age is 31 (years old). |
Well, informal polite ones are pretty much the same. You just have to use the informal polite form 이에요 instead of 입니다. It is polite yet friendly, so those are the ones people usually use in daily life.
I used the example, 서른한 살 31 years old. You can add your age instead of the example, in the structure "제 나이는 00 살이에요."
My age is 31. |
Since the age is mentioned in the sentence, we can also talk like this. You can omit the counting word 살 and just add the number itself. 서른 하나 (31) ends with no final consonant, so we will add 예요 instead of 이에요.
I'm 31 years old. |
You can also mention your age with "I'm 00 years old." In Korean, the structure is "저는 00살이에요."
Informal Casual
An informal casual ending is not polite at all, watch out for using it. Even if you are old, you can still use the informal polite versions to younger-looking people.
My age is 22(years old). | |
My age is 22. | |
I'm 22 years old. |
When speaking politely, you would use "저" as the polite form of "I". When speaking casually, you should use "나", which is the informal version of "I".
Omissions
The examples above are full sentences and are good to use when you introduce yourself. When you use those expressions as answers, you can omit to talk about "I (저는 or 나는)". You can also omit "My age (제 나이는)" Those parts are too obvious.
Q: 몇 살이에요? How old are you?
A: 스물아홉 살이에요. (I'm) 29 years old.
You can say "저는 스물아홉 살이에요," but it is not necessary. Because when someone asks you directly, it is obvious that you are answering about yourself.
5. Examples
1
(In a hospital, a young nurse is asking an old patient.)
간호사: 연세가 어떻게 되세요? Nurse: How old are you?
환자: 쉰살이에요. Patient: (I) am 50 years old.
A nurse(간호사) is asking a patient(환자) using the polite and honorific version. Even though the patient is older than the nurse, he is still using the informal ending to be polite. He skipped the part "저는(I)" because it is quite obvious he was talking about himself.
2
(You meet your friend's daughter.)
Q: 몇 살이야? How old are you?
A: 저는 세 살입니다. I am 3 years old.
You are obviously older than the kid. So, you can use the informal casual form for this child. Well, if you want to treat her politely, there is no problem with using the informal polite one! The child wants to be super polite, so she used the super polite version, a formal ending.
3
(You meet your university friends for the first time.)
A: 몇 살이세요? How old are you?
B: 저는 스물하나예요. 몇 살이세요? I'm 21. How old are you?
A: 저는 스무 살이에요. 말 편하게 하세요. I'm 20 years old. Please feel free to talk in a low form of speech.
B: 그래. Okay.
When you go to a university, people of all ages can be met in the class. To decide which level of speech to use, people often ask about ages to each other. When someone is older than you, you can suggest they use the informal casual ending(=a low form of speech; 반말) to you.
4
(You just entered the new firm. It is your first day. You are introducing yourself in front of your team.)
안녕하십니까? 저는 김민수입니다. 제 나이는 스물 여덟 살입니다. 잘 부탁드립니다!
Hello. I'm Kim Minsu. I'm 28 years old. So nice to work with you!
Introducing yourself in front of the team is an official situation. So, it is good to use the formal endings.
6. Wrap-up & Worksheet
You saw the various versions of how to ask and answer questions about age in Korean. If you are a beginner, try to memorize these most commonly used ones in daily life below. When you practice answering, try adding your age.
연세가 어떻게 되세요? How old are you? - For much older people
몇 살이세요? How old are you? - For similar age-looking people
저는 00살이에요. I'm 00 years old.
Here, I prepared the free and printable worksheet! While you write, make sure to read aloud.
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