suì

variant of 岁, year

HSK 1 6 strokes
Stroke order animation for 岁

Words with this Character

Usage of (suì) in Age Expressions

The character (simplified as , traditional as 嵗) is primarily used to indicate a person's age in years. It is placed immediately after a number to express how old someone is. For example, "" means "twenty-five years old." This is the most common and straightforward use of .

Common Collocations and Notes

  • is almost always used with numbers to specify age.
  • It can appear in phrases describing age ranges, such as "" (from three to ten years old).
  • When talking about age, is a neutral and standard term, suitable for all contexts, from casual to formal.
  • Avoid confusing with (year) when referring to age; specifically denotes age in years, while can refer to calendar years or durations.

Summary

Understanding is essential for discussing age in Mandarin. It is a simple but indispensable character that appears frequently in daily conversation, official documents, and media.

Example Sentences

我今年二十五岁了。

Wǒ jīnnián èrshíwǔ suì le.

I am twenty-five years old this year.

他只有七岁,已经会骑自行车了。

Tā zhǐ yǒu qī suì, yǐjīng huì qí zìxíngchē le.

He is only seven years old and can already ride a bicycle.

孩子们的年龄从三岁到十岁不等。

Háizimen de niánlíng cóng sān suì dào shí suì bù děng.

The children's ages range from three to ten years old.