Signification
Asking for someone's age.
Contexte culturel
Asking a woman her age is often seen as a 'faux pas'. If you must ask, it is polite to add a compliment about how young they look. There is a stronger emphasis on using 'Ви' (formal) even with older family members in some traditional villages, making 'Скільки вам років?' the standard even at home. In diaspora communities (Canada/USA), the phrase 'Многая літа' (Many years) is a common song for birthdays, reflecting the older 'літа' (summers) terminology for age. On apps like Tinder in Ukraine, age is usually displayed automatically, so asking 'Скільки тобі років?' might imply you haven't read their profile.
The Dative Rule
Always remember that in Ukrainian, you don't 'are' an age, you 'have years assigned to you'. Use 'Мені', 'Тобі', 'Вам'.
The 1-2-5 Rule
The word for year changes: 1 рік, 2 роки, 5 років. This is the most common mistake for beginners.
Signification
Asking for someone's age.
The Dative Rule
Always remember that in Ukrainian, you don't 'are' an age, you 'have years assigned to you'. Use 'Мені', 'Тобі', 'Вам'.
The 1-2-5 Rule
The word for year changes: 1 рік, 2 роки, 5 років. This is the most common mistake for beginners.
Compliment First
If asking an adult their age, it's always safer to say 'Ви виглядаєте дуже молодо' (You look very young) first.
Teste-toi
Choose the correct formal way to ask age.
____ вам років?
'Скільки' means 'how many', which is used for counting years.
Fill in the correct pronoun for a formal situation.
Скільки ____ років?
The Dative case 'вам' is required for the formal 'you'.
Match the question to the context.
Contexts: 1. Friend, 2. Professor, 3. Official Form
Informal for friends, formal for professors, 'вік' for forms.
Complete the dialogue.
A: Скільки вам років? B: Мені ____ (25) років.
Numbers in the answer remain in the Nominative when stating age.
🎉 Score : /4
Aides visuelles
Year Endings
Banque d exercices
4 exercices____ вам років?
'Скільки' means 'how many', which is used for counting years.
Скільки ____ років?
The Dative case 'вам' is required for the formal 'you'.
Associez chaque element a gauche avec son pair a droite :
Informal for friends, formal for professors, 'вік' for forms.
A: Скільки вам років? B: Мені ____ (25) років.
Numbers in the answer remain in the Nominative when stating age.
🎉 Score : /4
Questions fréquentes
10 questionsTechnically people will understand you, but it's grammatically incorrect in Ukrainian. It sounds like a translation from Polish.
It depends. With elders or in professional settings, it's fine. With women in social settings, it's better to avoid it.
'Скільки' is a quantifier that requires the Genitive plural form of the noun.
You say 'Мені двадцять один рік' because it ends in 1.
You say 'Мені двадцять два роки' because it ends in 2.
You say 'Мені двадцять п'ять років' because it ends in 5.
In very casual settings, you can just say 'Тобі скільки?'
Use 'Скільки тобі років, малюк?'
'Вік' is the noun for 'age' or 'century'.
No, for objects we usually ask 'Скільки цьому [об'єкту] років?' or 'Який вік цієї будівлі?'
Expressions liées
Скільки тобі років?
informalHow old are you? (informal)
Якого ви року народження?
specialized formWhat year were you born?
Мені виповнилося...
builds onI turned [age]...
Який ваш вік?
synonymWhat is your age?
Многая літа
similarMany years
