# FR: I am 34 (years old) - J'ai 34 ans / Je suis âgé de 34 ans - verb usage for age



## Ge Ne Sis

Why is it not "Je suis trente-quatre ans"? Doesn't suis mean "am"?


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## RuK

Languages are not perfect copies of each other, as you probably know living in Malaysia. You can't just slot in a word to replace another - there are whole phrases and forms of grammar that differ. In French I have an age; I am not an age. That's just the way it is. Once you've heard it often enough it becomes just as natural as any other way of saying it.


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## harbottle

Also, in English the full phrase is "I'm 30 years old" --> "I'm 30", not "I'm 30 years".

Think of the English "I have 30 years under my belt", for example. In French we aren't "an age", we "have years". Hope that helps.


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## Drechuin

harbottle said:


> Also, in English the full phrase is "I'm 30 years old" --> "I'm 30", not "I'm 30 years".



The translation of "I'm 30 years old" would be "Je suis âgé de 30 ans".
But it's far less common and less simple than "J'ai 30 ans".


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Hello Ge Ne Sis and welcome to this forum! 

When I was younger, I couldn't understand how we could BE and age. 
On the other hand, in French we also say « Je suis âgé(e) de 34 ans ».


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## Arrius

Language is not always logical. You cannot literally *be *_thirty _any more than you can literally _*avoir* trente ans_ (in fact you have actually _had_ them - they have gone forever). Arabic and Latin which translate literally as "_his age 30 years"_ and "_in the 30th year of his age_", respectively, are far more logical.


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## KaRiNe_Fr

Arrius said:


> Language is not always logical. You cannot literally *be *_thirty _any more than you can literally _*avoir* trente ans_ (in fact you have actually _had_ them - they have gone forever). Arabic and Latin which translate literally as "_his age 30 years"_ and "_in the 30th year of his age_", respectively, are far more logical.


Hé hé. I fully agree: my 34 ans have gone forever! 
More seriously, with the reverse feeling I didn't mean French is more logical at all. I merely stressed someone learning a language often feels the logic of the other language is strange, but it's only because it's not their own habits.


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## Arrius

To *Karine Fr*: I never thought you did. I have said merely that both languages are illogical here.  I have no idea which of the two languages is the more logical overall. The use of French Present Tense in _Je suis ici depuis hier_ and the Future in _J'irai demain soir_ _à Paris_ are more logical than their English equivalents with Present Perfect and Present Simple (or Present Continuous) respectively, but no doubt there are many cases when the converse is true.


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## doinel

J'ai 44 ans and I think English is wonderful!
J'ai un chat j'ai une voiture, how can I 'have 44 years'
It's a kind of metaphysical question;
Age is not something you have it's what you are
English _does_ sound more logical to me.


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## tilt

English speakers don't say *I am 41 years*, as mentioned before. They say *I am 41*.
I'm sorry but I'm not a number, I'm a free man. 

More seriously, *I am 41* sounds to me like a short for *I am 41 years old*, and_ *J'ai 41 ans*_ as a short for *J'ai 41 ans de vie*.
Both make sense, that's all.


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## doinel

Hello
I'm so sorry.
When I wrote 'I Have 44 years' I should have written in French  or in correct English. I won't do it again.
So in French et en glosant 'je suis la somme de 44 ans d'expérience(s) et ce que les ans ont fait de moi'.
Any plastic surgeon please?
Thank you


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## elle0

When describing someone (exact age not known), is it correct to say "Il a environ quarante ans" or Il est environ quarante ans"?


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## snarkhunter

Hello, and welcome to this forum!

No, the FR and EN languages are pretty different here (... too):

In FR, one has an age, whereas in EN, one is an age.

"Il a environ quarante ans" = "He's about forty"


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## elle0

Thank you!


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