oed: Saying Your Age

Saying Your Age

Level 2

To give your age, say Dw i'n + number + oed: Dw i'n ddeg oed (I'm ten years old).

How It Works

Asking someone's age.

  • Faint ydy dy oed di? — How old are you? (to ti; South: Faint yw dy oed di?)
  • Faint ydy'ch oed chi? — How old are you? (to chi)
  • Faint oed wyt ti? — an everyday way to ask
  • Faint ydy ei oed o? — How old is he? (North)

Giving an age. Bod + yn + number + oed. After yn the number softens, as in predicative yn + soft mutation:

  • Dw i'n ddeg oed — I'm ten
  • Mae e'n bump oed — he's five
  • Mae hi'n ugain oed — she's twenty (u cannot change)
  • Dw i'n dri deg oed — I'm thirty

Feminine numbers. The full phrase is really blwydd oed (years of age), and blwydd is feminine. So you will often hear the feminine forms dwy, tair and pedair in ages, even when blwydd is left out: Mae Siân yn ddwy oed, Mae hi'n bedwar deg dwy oed. See dau and dwy + soft mutation and blynedd and blwydd after numbers.

Which numbers? Many people use the modern numbers from decimal numbers un deg un. Traditional numbers are also very common in ages: un ar hugain oed (21); see traditional numbers un ar ddeg ugain.

Examples (6)

  1. Faint ydy dy oed di?

    How old are you?

    Word by Word: How-much is your age you?

    To someone you call ti. South: Faint yw dy oed di?

  2. Faint oed wyt ti?

    How old are you?

    A common everyday way to ask.

  3. Dw i'n ddeg oed.

    I'm ten years old.

    Deg softens to ddeg after yn.

  4. Mae hi'n ugain oed.

    She's twenty.

    Ugain begins with a vowel, so nothing changes.

  5. Mae e'n dri deg pump oed.

    He's thirty-five.

    Only the first word softens: tri → dri.

  6. Mae Siân yn ddwy oed.

    Siân is two.

    The feminine dwy is used because blwydd (year of age) is understood.

Common Mistakes

  • Using blynedd (years) for an age.

    Dw i'n ddeg blynedd.
    Dw i'n ddeg oed.

    Blynedd counts years of time, as in two years ago. For how old someone is, use oed.

  • Forgetting to soften the number after yn.

    Dw i'n deg oed.
    Dw i'n ddeg oed.

    After yn the number takes soft mutation: deg → ddeg, pump → bump.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

oed: Saying Your AgeLevel 2Saying Your Age

Learn This First

Age uses a number + oed after predicative yn.

Words in This Pattern