Introduction
Put 多 (duō) in front of an adjective and you have asked "how + adjective": 多大 (duō dà) how old, 多高 (duō gāo) how tall, 多远 (duō yuǎn) how far. One little word covers a whole family of English questions.
Overview
Structure: Subj. + 多 (duō) + Adj. ?
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Subj + 多大 | 你多大？(Nǐ duō dà?) | How old are you? |
| Subj + 多高 | 你多高？(Nǐ duō gāo?) | How tall are you? |
| Subj + 多远 | 你家离这儿多远？(Nǐ jiā lí zhèr duō yuǎn?) | How far is your home from here? |
| 多长时间 | 你学了多长时间？(Nǐ xué le duō cháng shíjiān?) | How long have you been studying? |
| Subj + 多 + Adj + 了 | 你孩子多大了？(Nǐ háizi duō dà le?) | How old is your child now? |
多 (duō) pairs only with the "big" end of the adjective:
- ✓ 你多大？(Nǐ duō dà?) — How old are you? ❌ 你多小？(Nǐ duō xiǎo?)
- The set is 多高 (duō gāo) how tall，多远 (duō yuǎn) how far，多长 (duō cháng) how long，多重 (duō zhòng) how heavy.
- You ask 多高 (duō gāo) even about a short person and 多大 (duō dà) even about a baby — the question word does not assume the answer.
- Age has three registers: 几岁 (jǐ suì) for small children, 多大 (duō dà) for everyone else, 多大年纪 (duō dà niánjì) for the elderly.
Examples
你多大？
Nǐ duō dà?
How old are you?
你多高？
Nǐ duō gāo?
How tall are you?
你家离这儿多远？
Nǐ jiā lí zhèr duō yuǎn?
How far is your home from here?
你学中文学了多长时间？
Nǐ xué Zhōngwén xué le duō cháng shíjiān?
How long have you been learning Chinese?
你的孩子多大了？
Nǐ de háizi duō dà le?
How old is your child now?
你的房间多大？
Nǐ de fángjiān duō dà?
How big is your room?
Usage Notes
- 多 (duō) here is a question word, so the sentence never takes 吗 (ma). ❌ 你多大吗？(Nǐ duō dà ma?)
- The answer simply replaces 多 (duō) with the measurement: 我二十岁。(Wǒ èrshí suì.) — I'm twenty. 一米八。(Yì mǐ bā.) — One metre eighty.
- 多大 (duō dà) asks about size as well as age, and the noun tells you which: 你多大？(Nǐ duō dà?) is age, 房间多大？(Fángjiān duō dà?) is size.
- 多长时间 (duō cháng shíjiān) is the fixed phrase for "how long" in time. 多久 (duō jiǔ) means the same and is shorter.
- Adding 了 (le) asks about the situation as it stands now: 你孩子多大了？(Nǐ háizi duō dà le?) — How old is your child these days?