how do you say "i am 12 years old" using tener?

Question

I know its wierd you say like i have 12 years instead of i am 12 years but how do you actualy say it

Answer 1

Good question. Here's how you say it.

Yo tengo doce años de edad.

If you wanted to be really exact, you would leave out the "Yo" part. This literally means, "I have 12 years of age".

Buena Suerta (Good Luck)

thanks - trox789, Jan 20, 2014

Answer 2

I know its wierd you say like i have 12 years instead of i am 12 years

For me, it´s wierd to say "I am 12 years." I am a person - not a year. I am only 1 person - not 12 years. How can a person be a year?

For me, it´s wierd to say "like I have something". Does this mean you don´t completely have something? If so, why not just say "I don´t have something"? because you either have it or you don´t have it. This word like is very wierd.

I agree. I finally realized the Spanish version actually makes better sense - dennywells, Jan 20, 2014

I see using the word 'like' as a way to avoid being direct, but in a subtle manor. Hedging or skirting an issue. Way overused, and tends to muddle speech - dennywells, Jan 20, 2014

The original questioner misspelled "weird." The misuse of "like" is weird for me too! The correct way of telling your age in English is, "I am 12 years *old*." - Raja-jani, Jan 20, 2014

Good catch. If it was a 12 year old that's a fifth grader :) - dennywells, Jan 20, 2014

Answer 3

Yo tengo 12 años de edad.

Answer 4

It's enough to say, "Tengo doce años." On the other hand, my actual experience is that if I ask someone, "Cuantos años tienes?", he simply says, "Doce."