Lesson 23: How many? Ages | Learn Mongolian A1

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1Limba’s diary

Limba asks everyone's age

Today I ask everyone the same question: how old are you? In Mongolia it is not rude at all. People ask it all the time, because age decides who is older, and so who is ах, эгч or дүү.

Temuulen is ten, Nomin is twenty-two, and Temuulen's best friend, Bilguun, is nine. That makes Bilguun his дүү, and Temuulen is very proud of it.

The numbers change a little when they come before a word, and I keep getting them wrong. But when Temuulen asks me my age, I have the perfect answer ready.

2Dialogue

LimbaТэмүүлэн, чи хэдэн настай вэ?Temuulen, how old are you?
ТэмүүлэнБи арван настай.I'm ten.
LimbaНомин, чи хэдэн настай вэ?Nomin, how old are you?
НоминБи 22 настай.I'm 22.
ТэмүүлэнМиний найз Билгүүн есөн настай.My friend Bilguun is nine.
LimbaЕсөн настай? Тэр чиний дүү!Nine? So he's your дүү!
ТэмүүлэнТийм! Түүний эмэгтэй дүү таван настай.Yes! And his little sister is five.
ТэмүүлэнЛимба, чи хэдэн настай вэ?Limba, how old are you?
LimbaНууц!It's a secret!
ТэмүүлэнНууц биш!It is not a secret!

3Words in this lesson

Mongolian	Letters	English
хэдэн	kheden	how many (before a noun)
нас	nas	age
настай	nastai	aged, … years old (хэдэн настай? = how old?)
гурван	gurvan	three (before a noun)
дөрвөн	dörvön	four (before a noun)
таван	tavan	five (before a noun)
зургаан	zurgaan	six (before a noun)
долоон	doloon	seven (before a noun)
найман	naiman	eight (before a noun)
есөн	yesön	nine (before a noun)
арван	arvan	ten (before a noun)
нууц	nuuts	secret

The “Letters” column is a letter-by-letter guide to the Cyrillic, not exact pronunciation. It disappears after level A1: by then you read Cyrillic directly.

4Grammar and explanations

How old are you?

Чи хэдэн настай вэ?you how-many age-COM Q"How old are you?"

Би арван настай.I ten age-COM"I am ten."

нас means age, and настай is нас with an ending that means "with": word for word, "I am with ten years". хэдэн means "how many", and it stands where the number will be in the answer. The particle is вэ, because настай ends in й, not in в, л, м or н. To an adult, say Та хэдэн настай вэ?

Numbers before a noun

In lesson 22 you counted with гурав, тав, арав. When a number stands in front of a noun (and настай counts as one), it takes its attributive form, the form used before a noun. Most numbers simply add н:

Counting	Before a noun	Example
нэг	нэг	нэг ном
хоёр	хоёр	хоёр ном
гурав	гурван	гурван ном
дөрөв	дөрвөн	дөрвөн ном
тав	таван	таван ном
зургаа	зургаан	зургаан ном
долоо	долоон	долоон ном
найм	найман	найман ном
ес	есөн	есөн ном
арав	арван	арван ном

Two of them move a vowel: дөрөв loses one (дөрвөн) and ес gains one (есөн). And нэг and хоёр never change.

гурван номthree books

таван машинfive cars

арван хүнten people

Түүний дүү таван настай.her sibling five age-COM"Her younger brother is five."

Some books call гурван a "genitive". It is not: it does not mean "of three". It is simply the form a number takes before a noun. And remember lesson 22: the noun stays singular after it.

Go deeper in the grammar guide: Mongolian numbers and the form before a noun · The comitative case

5Good to know

Mongolians ask your age much more readily than English speakers do, and nobody finds it rude: age decides how people address each other. Anyone older than you is your ах or эгч, and anyone younger is your дүү, even outside the family. That is why Temuulen calls his nine-year-old friend Bilguun his дүү.

6Exercises

Choose the right answer, then press Check my answers. Score 70% or more and the lesson is ticked on your course map.

How do you ask a child his age?
Complete: Би ___ настай. (I'm three.)
How do you say "five books"?
Which form goes before a noun?
How do you say "two cars"?
What is есөн?
Complete: Та хэдэн настай ___?
How do you say "ten years old"?
In the dialogue, how old is Bilguun's little sister?
What does нууц mean?

Well done! Lesson 23 is ticked on your course map.

Write it yourself

Write your answer on paper or in your head first, then reveal the model answer.

Ask a friend: "How old are you?"
Show answer
Чи хэдэн настай вэ?
Ask an adult politely: "How old are you?"
Show answer
Та хэдэн настай вэ?
Say "I am ten."
Show answer
Би арван настай.
Say "three books" and "seven cars".
Show answer
гурван ном, долоон машин
Say "His little sister is five."
Show answer
Түүний эмэгтэй дүү таван настай.

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