Quantos anos você tem?

Podcast Episode

Lesson Audio

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Read through the dialogue. Then listen again and follow along.

A

Quantos anos você tem, Paulo?

How old are you, Paulo?

B

Adivinha.

Take a guess.

A

27 ou 29, por aí.

Around 27 or 29.

B

Acertou, estou com 27 anos.

You got it — I'm 27 years old.

📌 TER vs. ESTAR COM for age
In Brazilian Portuguese there are two ways to say your age:

Form	Example	Note
TER + anos	Quantos anos você tem?	Most common in questions
ESTAR COM + anos	Estou com 27 anos.	Very natural in speech

Both are correct. Estar com literally means "to be with" — Brazilians "are with" their years, not "have" them!

📌 Verb TER (to have) — present tense

Subject	Form	Example
eu	tenho	Eu tenho 30 anos.
você / ele / ela	tem	Ela tem 25 anos.
a gente	tem	A gente tem aula hoje.
nós	temos	Nós temos muito trabalho.
vocês / eles / elas	têm	Eles têm filhos.

⚠️ Note: tem (singular) vs. têm (plural) — same pronunciation in informal speech, but different spelling!

🗣️ Ponto fonológico — "tô" vs. "estou": In informal speech, Brazilians almost always shorten estou → tô. So "Estou com 27 anos" sounds like "Tô com 27 anos." You'll hear this reduction constantly — with all estar forms: está → tá, estamos → tamo, estão → tão.

🎂 Idade no Brasil: Brazilians tend to be more open about age than people in some other cultures — asking someone's age is generally quite natural, especially among friends. The phrase "Adivinha!" (take a guess!) is a playful, very common way to dodge the question. You'll also hear "por aí" a lot — it means "around / about" and is used constantly for approximate numbers, places, and ideas.

Exercise 1 — True or False?

Based on the dialogue, choose the correct answer.

1. Person A asks Paulo how old he is.

True False

2. Paulo tells his age immediately.

True False

3. Person A guesses Paulo is around 30.

True False

4. Paulo is 27 years old.

True False

Exercise 2 — Fill in the blanks

Complete each sentence with the correct word or expression from the word bank.

adivinhapor aíacertouestou comquantos anos

1. — você tem? — Tenho 34.

2. — Quantos anos ela tem? — Não sei, uns 30 .

3. — Tenho 40 anos! — ! Parece menos.

4. — Quantos anos você tem? — !

5. 29 anos.

Exercise 3 — TER or ESTAR COM?

Choose the form that completes each sentence naturally.

1. Quantos anos você ___?
2. Eu ___ 32 anos.
3. Ela ___ 45 anos.
4. Você ___ quantos anos?

Note: both options are often interchangeable — this exercise focuses on recognising each pattern.

Exercise 4 — Your turn

Answer in Portuguese.
Write your own answers. There are no right or wrong responses — this activity is about expressing your own ideas and experiences.

1. Quantos anos você tem? Answer using both forms: Tenho… and Estou com…

2. Ask a friend or colleague their age — write the mini-dialogue (at least 3 lines).

3. Describe someone you know using age + "por aí". Example: Meu chefe tem uns 50 anos, por aí.