🎂❓

How to Say ‘How old are they?’ in French

Ils ont quel âge ?

eel on kel AHZH

[eel on kel AHZH]

💬 Usage Tip: French asks age with avoir "to have": literally "they have what age?". Swap in Il a quel âge ? "How old is he?" or Elle a quel âge ? "How old is she?".

Phrase Breakdown

Ils ont

eel on

They have

Liaison with a z sound: 'eel-zon'. Don't confuse it with 'ils sont' (s sound).

Example

Ils ont un jardin.

They have a garden.

Words in this phrase

Ils

[eel]

They (masculine/mixed)

Subject pronoun for “they” when referring to a group of males or a mixed group; used with verbs like “ils sont”.

Example

Ils regardent des animes d’aventure tous les week-ends.

They watch adventure anime every weekend.

ont

[on]

have

To possess or hold something.

Example

Ils ont des amis ici.

They have friends here.

quel âge ?

kel AHZH

how old?

Literally 'what age'; French uses 'avoir' (to have) for age. Say 'kel-ahzh'.

Example

Tu as quel âge ?

How old are you?

Words in this phrase

quel

[kel]

what / which

An interrogative adjective used to ask for specific information.

Example

Quel jour sommes-nous ?

What day is it?

âge

[AHZH]

age

Masculine noun for how old someone is; used with avoir to ask or state age.

Example

Tu as quel âge ?

How old are you?

Guides for French learners

Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.Babbel vs Pimsleur: Reading Your Way In or Listening Your Way In?Babbel vs Pimsleur: short structured lessons on screen versus 30-minute audio lessons you answer out loud. Which gets you speaking, and which fits your day.

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