Ways to say it
| Uzbek | Pronunciation | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Necha yoshdasiz? | ne-CHA yosh-da-SIZ | How old are you? | Polite, the default. |
| Yoshingiz nechada? | yo-shin-GIZ ne-cha-DA | How old are you? | Polite; literally “your age is at how many?”. |
| Necha yoshdasan? | ne-CHA yosh-da-SAN | How old are you? | Informal, to a child or a close friend. |
| Oʻttiz yoshdaman | oʻt-TIZ yosh-da-MAN | I am thirty | The number comes first, then yoshdaman. |
| Bolangiz necha yoshda? | bo-lan-GIZ ne-CHA yosh-DA | How old is your child? | For someone else's age the ending -siz or -man disappears. |
Capital letters mark the stressed syllable. Uzbek stress usually falls on the last syllable.
What it literally means
How-many age-at-you? Necha is “how many”, yosh is “age”, -da is “at”, -siz is “you”.
What people say back
Oʻttiz yoshdaman (oʻt-TIZ yosh-da-MAN): “I am thirty”. Put your own number in front of yoshdaman.
In a real exchange
- Receptionist: Necha yoshdasiz?
How old are you? - You: Men oʻttiz yoshdaman.
I am thirty. - Receptionist: Bolangiz necha yoshda?
How old is your child? - You: Qizim olti yoshda.
My daughter is six.
Good to know
- Yoshdaman is yosh (age) + -da (at) + -man (I am): “I am at the age of”. Uzbek names the age; it does not say “I have”.
- For another person drop the personal ending: U yigirma yoshda, “he or she is twenty”. Qizim olti yoshda, “my daughter is six”.
- Use siz with adults and sen with children and close friends, as with any question.
Common mistakes
- Using -san (Necha yoshdasan?) with an adult you do not know well.
- Adding a word for “years” in the answer. Oʻttiz yoshdaman is complete.
This phrase is part of Uzbek numbers 1 to 10 (and how to count to a million) in the free phrasebook, with the grammar behind it.